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C++ question
Hello all you pros out there. I have a question. First off I have taken an intro to c++ class last semester at my local community college. This semester I am taking the full class. We are almost finished and I have to say that I really think their is so much more to learn. I researched alot of the problems right here on this website I had with programs I was writing. Most of the solutions I found drove me to come up with code that was not taught or gone over in either of my two classes...so much was different. My instructor really just skates through the class as if people were taking her class just to satisfy credits. Most people do just that but not me. I really want to learn this whole thing. I really want to get good at this/ I want to graduate from college and be a software engineer. Do any of you pros know of a real good online school or know any online teachers that are willing to teach me. I will pay!!!!!!!
Thanks for your time
-CI
Thanks for your time
-CI
first of all i'm not a pro.. but i suggest buying a book and teaching yourself..
How was I supposed to know if you were a pro or not when I had no idea that you"blackcoder41" was going to reply? And I do have a book silly...apparently you missed the part of my message making mention of two college courses. Those typically have books that go along with them. I know you good programmers have a sense of cockiness to you...I get that...and it is rightfully so...but maybe you should leave this question to the pros, like the ones I made mention of in my first post.
-CI
-CI
Books and courses are a nice aid, but the only real way to get better at a language is to use it.
Start writing stuff.
Classes and books generally show example code to illustrate or teach a specific aspect of the language.
As a contrast, start writing your own programs. Something you want to make. Something that's fun for you. As well as providing you many opportunities to practice what you have learned, it also presents you with new problems and forces you to learn even more in order to solve those problems.
Programming is all about critical thinking, problem solving, and the foresight to plan ahead. Classes and books can't teach this nearly as well as hands on experience.
Don't bite off more than you can chew, though. Think about a program you want to write, try to pick out what things you need to learn how to do in order to make it work, then write smaller test programs to get those things working before you try on the bigger program. (This actually is something I still do even after 10+ years. Whenever a program requires I use a new library or something that I'm not familiar with, I always write a quick test program to make sure I can get it working before I try to implement it in my main project)
Don't expect to make masterpieces, either. Beginner programs are usually horrifically designed and have hideous code. But try the best you can and always accept that there's room to grow.
You can, however, make fully functional programs (even if the underlying code is a mess). So yeah. Dive in. Get your hands dirty.
Start writing stuff.
Classes and books generally show example code to illustrate or teach a specific aspect of the language.
As a contrast, start writing your own programs. Something you want to make. Something that's fun for you. As well as providing you many opportunities to practice what you have learned, it also presents you with new problems and forces you to learn even more in order to solve those problems.
Programming is all about critical thinking, problem solving, and the foresight to plan ahead. Classes and books can't teach this nearly as well as hands on experience.
Don't bite off more than you can chew, though. Think about a program you want to write, try to pick out what things you need to learn how to do in order to make it work, then write smaller test programs to get those things working before you try on the bigger program. (This actually is something I still do even after 10+ years. Whenever a program requires I use a new library or something that I'm not familiar with, I always write a quick test program to make sure I can get it working before I try to implement it in my main project)
Don't expect to make masterpieces, either. Beginner programs are usually horrifically designed and have hideous code. But try the best you can and always accept that there's room to grow.
You can, however, make fully functional programs (even if the underlying code is a mess). So yeah. Dive in. Get your hands dirty.
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Ooops! sorry if my post seems arrogant, i didn't mean it.. i just want to make my statement short and simple..
Disch+1
Disch+1
Always, the best way to learn how to program is to write progs, whether teaching yourself or in a class of some kind. There's no other way to advance your skill.
Two really good learning from nothing books:
Problem Solving with C++ by Walter Savitch
Data Structures & other Object Using C++ by Michael Main & Walter Savitch
Problem Solving with C++ by Walter Savitch
Data Structures & other Object Using C++ by Michael Main & Walter Savitch
| blackcoder41 wrote: |
|---|
| first of all i'm not a pro.. but i suggest buying a book and teaching yourself.. |
Agreed.
| collinisaac0104 wrote: |
|---|
| [...] And I do have a book silly...apparently you missed the part of my message making mention of two college courses. Those typically have books that go along with them. |
I have read 12+ books and counting on C++ alone. The C++ books used in undergraduate studies are as beginner as it gets. I suggest the following, which should pick up right about where school leaves off: Effective C++ by Scott Meyers, Generic Programming and the STL by Matthew H. Austern, and Design Patterns by GoF. Those should cover some very eye-opening topics and they are all very easy reads.
| collinisaac0104 wrote: |
|---|
| I know you good programmers have a sense of cockiness to you...I get that...and it is rightfully so...but maybe you should leave this question to the pros, like the ones I made mention of in my first post. |
In my experience the "good" ones are exactly the opposite. They know to avoid calling out names, pointing fingers, throwing tantrums, and dismissing others input without consideration. In the real world these things can only hurt them.
C++ Primer Plus 5th Edition seems pretty solid.
But I have not read as many C++ books as I should. I have flicked through Effective C++ by Scott Meyers and the stuff in there is very solid.
As people have said, and a big belief of mine is programming is a bit like a trade (in the same sense as carpentry or metalwork). You only become better through practice. The 1st time you implement something, say a Tree. It's hard, you fumble around, its all a bit unclear, you get lots of seg faults and exceptions spend a lot of time debugging, and its all probably a bit messy and horrid. But the 10th time you do it, it'll be clear as day. Take you a 10th of the time, and will be a much cleaner, nice implementation. As quite simply, you have learnt from experience., now instead of trying to understand a concept and implement it. You can just think about how to implement it the best.
Imagine as a carpenter, your first butterfly joint compared to your 1000th. Which one is better, which one was done faster?
But I have not read as many C++ books as I should. I have flicked through Effective C++ by Scott Meyers and the stuff in there is very solid.
As people have said, and a big belief of mine is programming is a bit like a trade (in the same sense as carpentry or metalwork). You only become better through practice. The 1st time you implement something, say a Tree. It's hard, you fumble around, its all a bit unclear, you get lots of seg faults and exceptions spend a lot of time debugging, and its all probably a bit messy and horrid. But the 10th time you do it, it'll be clear as day. Take you a 10th of the time, and will be a much cleaner, nice implementation. As quite simply, you have learnt from experience., now instead of trying to understand a concept and implement it. You can just think about how to implement it the best.
Imagine as a carpenter, your first butterfly joint compared to your 1000th. Which one is better, which one was done faster?
| collinisaac0104 wrote: |
|---|
| My instructor really just skates through the class as if people were taking her class just to satisfy credits |
Now you have found out what it is all about. All education works this way.
Take it from GuestGulkan who is an old hand and has done dozens of courses in his time.
You are taught about 30% the other 70% you have to fill in for yourself.
But here is is one thing you MUST do when :
"Always give the answer you know they are asking for"
hey i also have C++ Primer, but i have the 3rd Edition
anyway this topic reminds me of some qoutes from Albert Einstein
"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."
anyway this topic reminds me of some qoutes from Albert Einstein
"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."
EDIT: nvm. You said C++ Primer Plus, which is a different book from C++ Primer.
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