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I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 4:27 pm
by Joey
yah i want to learn visual c++ 6.0 I have the introductory edition which came with a book SAMS Teach Yourself Visual C++ 6 in 24 hours. i have just done the first chapter and really dont understand what i just did. i dont get what the code meant. i understood some, but not all. i would like to learn this and have it stick with me so i will never forget it. does anyone know of a good tutorial or something different i could do so that i will not have to look back in the book to make a hello world program again?
also, i have a book on a cd, SAMS Teach Yourself Visual C++ 6 in 21 days or something like that. would that be better? i got to the second chapter and ran into trouble. and i tried starting that chapter over a few more times, but it still didnt work.
i would like to know HOW i can learn this language. this is nothing like AGI. ::)
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 6:02 pm
by ark
when you say "learn visual C++ 6.0", do you mean you want to learn how to do C++, windows programming, MFC, what?
A C++ hello world program is extremely simple:
Code: Select all
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
cout << "Hello world";
return 0;
}
But a Windows hello world program is a bit more complicated, and an MFC hello world program with AppWizard would probably just be completely confusing to you.
I'm sure there are plenty of online resources for learning the C++ language, although I don't know of any specific ones because I learned the language from a book.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 7:35 pm
by Joey
i just want to learn C++. how to make win apps mostly. i wanna learn it so i can make my own games, some apps, and game engines or my own game development programs. this will be long down the road. but see i dont get what int means, and all that other stuff.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 8:14 pm
by Tom
Well...my first C Book was exactly what you have.
If you REALLY want to learn C++ fast...then
Learn C++ TODAY! ( you don't really learn
all of C++
that day
This book lets you learn lots of C++ everyday...and I mean really fast. You'd have to know how to use abit of DOS though, but I bet you can do that If you know how to program...best of all...the disk and program and TC++ compiler is compatible with your WinXP!
Now...after reading this book ( or at least getting to chapter 8 [what I did] ) you can move on to the VC++ stuff. But, I did a strange turn in my course of programming after learning a bit of VC++. I desided to learn OS programming ::)
Anyway....you'd have to be a complete computer dummy to not learn C++, powerful language, with this book ( i.e. you'd have to think turning on the computer is hard...)
But...everytime you read this book...open up a dos box.
I learned C++ in 5 months ( prob less ) with this book.
There ARE some errors in that book...[glow=gold,2,300]BUT PLEASE DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM GETTING THIS BOOK![/glow] I can and alreay have corrected ALL the errors in this book...the only errors are just simple typos in the code. ( I REALLy have corrected all the errors...I tested the code myself...just IM me when you have a prob...and "BeyondSocity" got this book to)
My idea for you:
Buy Learn C++ TODAY! -> Read that book -> Go to VC++ Book.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 6:47 am
by Joey
ok thank you. i might get that. i found a nice tutorial online. or atleast i think it is nice.
http://www.cprogramming.com/tutorial.html
i have dont the first chapter and remember how to do everything i programmed in it. i understand the cout and cin commands. they explain what each command does. i think it is good for now. after i complete this tut, i may go to my book, or maybe the book tom suggested.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 8:32 am
by Tom
I started learning from that tutorial too....it helped a bit, but I still really couldn't understand C++ untill I got the learn C++ today.
If you are very familer with other languages, that tutorial will probly help alot though.
I got Learn C++ Today because I really didn't know any language at all...that's probly why that tutorial didn't work for me.
Oh...and I lost that link you found.....now I can go to that web site again...
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 9:11 am
by juncmodule
Learning game development is a little bit harder than just learning Visual C++. You should become familiar with just straight C++, which is what it seems like you are trying to do. That "teach yourself Visual C++" book is going to be useless to you for a while. I like the "Teach yourself C++ in 24 hours" book a great deal. That "Visual" part of the tittle makes a big diff. As far as learning how to make tools and develop game engines you will most likely need to learn Assembly too. Check out the OS forums book recommendations. Really useful stuff. I bought "Assembly Language Step-by-Step, by Jeff Dunteman" and "The Humane Interface, by Jef Raskin" and they are really amazing. In order to get any programming language you are going to have to be able to make it through a book like "Teach yourself C++ in 24 hours". Those basics in the first few chapters are pretty much the same in any language. Int, Conditionals, loops, Arrays, etc. are all things you REALLY need to be comfortable with. Don't worry about Assembly until you've got C++ down. You can do a lot with C++. Assembly is a little bit tricky anyway.
Good luck,
-junc
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 9:24 am
by Tom
I don't really like the Learn ... in 24hr books because they don't really let you understand in a nice simple way.
The books may be small so you can read them fast, but they where too small for me to understand.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 9:48 am
by ark
Well, for regular old C++ programming I recommend C++ in Plain English, by Brian Overland. I can't guarantee that it's a perfect book for a beginner, because I already knew Pascal when I started learning from it, but it is a good one (I'm not saying it's not a good book for a beginner, by the way, just that I don't know).
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 11:08 am
by Tom
The Learn C++ TODAY! book guesses that you already know some type of BASIC ( or other simple language )...and joey does I belive....but anyway...
Another good place is probly that tutorial you found....has a forum for help there....
but I like this strange purpel look for some strange reason...
Another good free place is
here
it's another fourm for VC++ help.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 2:27 pm
by Mastercard
I started with the Visual C++6.0 Introductory Edition and two books, "Visual C++" and "Visual C++6.0" yes REALLY. Both were in finnish.
Then I bought Visual C++.NET Standard Version and also a new book, SAMS, Learn Visual C++.NET in 30 days(english). That is a great book and i recommend it.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2002 7:12 am
by Schol-R-LEA
I can't comment on Visual C++ as a learning environment for C++, as it is quite different from the ones I learned on myself; it is a good development environment overall, if somewhat infuriating at times (which is true of any environment). I would definitely work exclusively on console applications at first, until I had the core language down solidly, before trying to write any Windows applications. I'd also suggest downloading some other free C++ compiler - the ones I know of offhand are
Borland C++ Builder,
LCC, and the various ports of gcc (
DJGPP,
Cygwin, and
DEV-C++) - and try compiling your console apps with them; this should give you some idea of how to tell generic C++ from the Visual C++ specific extensions, and familiarize you with different kinds of programming environments.
As for books, the best overall C++ books are
Thinking in C++ by Bruce Eckel and
C++: The Core Language by Satir and Brown. However, both assume a background in C, and both are rather heavy to digest for a beginning programmer. My advice is to browse through the online version of Eckel's book, and if it is too much, then finish a more basic text and come back to it later; and to pick up the O'Reilly & Assoc. book as a reference.
Lastly, while I probably sound like a broken record on this, I'd suggest that after you have a solid grasp of C++ (or earlier, if you don't think it would confuse you), you should pick up some assembly language, and learn about at at least two or three other languages as well. Different languages encourage different perspectives, and just as speaking more than one human language can help you better understand you native tongue, so too can a knowledge of different programming language make you a better programmer overall. See my postings in the
book thread (in the OS development board) for more details. Learning a bit of
compiler theory can help as well, as knowing how code is generated can give important insights into how software actually works - but I'm getting ahead of myself; that's a very advanced topic to keep in mind for study much later on. See my postings in the book thread for more details. These things are hardly mandatory - many coders never learn more than one language and environment - but it is strongly advised.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2002 1:01 pm
by Mastercard
Oh, one point here.
You have of course programmed with AGI but we don't count this kind of programs. Have you used any other programming languages?Even basic or (god..)pascal?I think you don't have to dig these up anymore but I think that anyone who wants to learn object oriented programming should try for instance QBasic. You learn the basic things about programming from there, trust me, I experienced it^^
Then to that one thing...AGI actually IS quite something like C++ if you look the code. You can find many same things from C++ if you look hard enough^^;Also the using of { and } is in both although it is used differently.
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2002 1:34 pm
by Joey
ok thanks guys.
mastercard: i did notice the things about AGI. I dont know any other language besides AGI. I did a little with Qbasic. Only the print commands and stuff. So are you saying I should start with an easier language?
im thinking about getting that book Tom suggested. It seems helpful. I want to learn C++ but basically to ONLY make games. maybe and app now and then, but mostly games. are you saying C++ isnt right for that? what is assembly language? could you suggest an assembly language for me to learn?
Re:I want to learn Visual C++ 6.0, where should i start?
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2002 1:45 pm
by Mastercard
No, I'm not saying you should start with something easier, but if you don't fully understand variables and such blah blah blah programming and how ewerything functions it would really be helpful. I prefer basic/qbasic over Pascal, it sucks^^;
If you are going to make ONLY games with Visual C++, be prepared. You must study also fully graphic programming(if you want to make graphic games) and also separately game programming. For that there are many books and magazines but here you can also find help from the web. Also...if you want to just make games, and really, JUST make games, you could consider Visual Basic.