Brand spankin new to C++

[Copy]

Okay, so recently it dawned upon me that I wanted to start programming. And I have almost no background in this kind of stuff at all. I took a quarter or Computer science 1, and that wasn't really too interesting to me. I would rather work at my own pace...

Anyways, as I'm just starting out. I have already decided that I want to start in C++, because I jumped around from site to site reading about where to start with no previous knowledge. . .

Now also reading, I have decided to download Ubuntu, a Linux Distro as you know. And I got Notepad ++ to work in. But the trouble is finding "good" tutorials. Meaning tutorials that are made for people with absolutely no knowledge what so ever. A step by step with pictures maybe...

I have no end goal to programming, I just know that it's something I would really like to learn and I've got the time to learn it, at my own pace... But again with the tutorial, it would be better if it was actual text instead of a video...

I'm sure you guys get many people just starting out, but any advice or anything would be welcomed. Thanks!

[NiceCoat]

There are lots of books out there and tutorials. TheNewBoston has videos on c++.

[Aramil of Elixia]

first dont use notepad++. use textedit and gcc which should be implemented into your terminal. if you want to cut corners use eclipse or code blocks which are ides.
third here are some c tutorials that i started out on. i know that its not c++ but it will compile as valid c code and that way you have a base for learning c++ and the tutorial u use wont matter then
http://www.linfo.org/create_c1.html

[TheIdeasMan]

Hi Copy - Welcome to cplusplus forums !!

http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

Have a read of this.

There is also a lot of good stuff in the reference section, and don't forget your best friend Google

When you post your code, don't forget to put it inside code tags - use the <> button on the bottom of the page for a new thread, or on the right in a post.

If your code does not compile, post the compiler output in full, using the program output button (next to the <> button)

I have never used Notepad++, I was under the impression it is an editor designed for C++ coders. I will probably attract lots of flame for saying that - but I admit my ignorance right now.

If you are conscientious, It might be worth installing an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to help you. Check out how it does things - eg what compiler options it uses, then go and look them up on the gcc man page (Manual Page - type man gcc at the shell prompt). Just remember to compile a C++ program you run the g++ command - otherwise you will get untold errors. The gcc command is for C programs. The man page is all combined into one - just to be confusing for newbies.

I use KDevelop or QtCreator, these are good & mature IMO, but there are others. There are a lot of fancy things - like it shows syntax errors as you go along. This can be really handy for a newbie, but then again there is nothing like the school of hard knocks where you have lots of compiler errors every time you compile !!! Might learn better this way.

Just be careful not to get addicted to the IDE, before you learn how it all works. You can learn a lot by compiling from the shell, but sometimes it is hard to learn it all yourself, so that is why I recommend doing a bit of both.

Hope all goes well.

[Aramil of Elixia]

i disagree. before i had even heard of ides i compiled from the shell. (incidentally this is why I think newbies (excuse the term) shouldnt use ides). i also didnt think to go on any forums as a side note. i was not a good coder and would get long lists of errors but I would go back at my code and fix the obviuos mistakes, get a new error output and compare it to the old one. then when i figured out what the missing one was, i new what it would mean for next time. it didnt take long before i could take one look at the error output and fix my program in the next go. and yes notepad++ is for writing code, but it is horrible.

[TheIdeasMan]

@Aramil of Elixia

Yes, I know what you are saying.

I learnt by compiling from the shell as well, it was in 1987, before I had internet, so no Google, no example code, no reference material and no forums. All I had was K&R C Programming, some very basic books about shell scripting that came with the Sun Microsystems computers we had at work, and the man pages. I used the vi editor for everything.

Sure, I got good at learning from my mistakes - just like you, but it took a long time to figure out compiler options (there are a zillion of them in gcc). Same for make. I don't think I was even aware of a debugger (not sure whether they even existed back then), if there was that would have taken more time to learn. I did my debugging (when it did finally compile) by doing printf's every where.

Edit: Sometimes I felt like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that wasn't there!!

At one stage at work, we used the vi editor for everything, and used our own make files to build 80 directories worth of code.

It is much easier these days with access to resources everywhere.

So what I am saying is - "Do a bit of both", and I made several references to the down side of being addicted to the IDE. And I am saying use the IDE to help learn compiling from the shell.