Where'd you learn C++?

I was wondering what you guys look at, because I see all these lines of codes, and I'm thinking: "Wow, these guys must know their shit, when it comes to C++." I've been looking at the "Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days" book, and it's going pretty good. But I want to see what you guys have to say, when it comes to where you've learned.

Oh, P.S.
- No, I don't want to learn D.
- No, I don't want to hear about some other language, just C++.

Holy crap, what is wrong with you people?

[Programming] Books are gay, real men learn from the specifications.

Also, learn Haskell.

>...  I see all these lines of codes, and I'm thinking: "Wow, these guys must know their shit,"


yeah, uh... people who write READABLE code are the ones who know their shit.

>>1
Avoid all the collection "learn faggotry in 21 days". If you don't want to spend money, Thinking in C++ is pretty good.

>>1
Do yourself a favour and learn Python, Ruby, Scheme or Common Lisp.

Avoid books they are pieces of shit. Learn C first, then C++. Learning C++ first a proof of extreme nubness because C++ is not superior to C(and C is not superior to C++) but C++ shows a different way to program (OO n' stuff) to understand that concept you need to have a background as a programmer if you keep learning C++ you will become one of those C++ nubs who don't even know a shit about OO programming and pretend "being a pro in C++" and who don't stop talking shit about their next "MMORPG IN C++ !" when they can't even make a hangman game in teh consolez0r. W/e 98% of C++ learning attempts result in a failure.

So learn C and after learn C++. C++ is a superset of C(no flame pl0x I'm bringing the facts) you won't have to start from zero when you will have learned C and it will be time to learn C++.

BTW,
But I want to see what you guys have to say, when it comes to where you've learned.

http://www.siteduzero.com/ It's in french translate it if you want, that's where I learned C and I learned C++ by myself lurking on lots of websites and reading lots of tutorials.

because I see all these lines of codes, and I'm thinking: "Wow, these guys must know their shit, when it comes to C++."

Don't be amazed by the codes on 4chan, there is nothing amazing.

One more thing, learn whitespace.

It's in french translate it if you want,

I mean use google tr4nsl4t3z0r1z0r3r

Well, the 21 days book was kinda recommeneded at gamedev.net... that's why I got the book.

>>7
and, you say start off with C? Hm... alright, I'll look at it.

It's quite an amazing story, actually.

Close to two years ago I was at my regular sunday church service listening to the pastor preaching the Word of God.

As I bowed my head to commune with the Lord our God he spake: "Dearest /b/rother, there exists on this earth a man of divine insight who has passed on a programming language invented by my own omniscient mind. Leave my place of worship, go to sleep and upon awakening you too will know this sacred language."

I followed his directions, woke up and knew C++. It's been my mission to spread the benefits of the language ever since.

>>9

All the "Learn C++ in X days!" books are crap, mostly because there's a helluva' lot more to learning the language than you can pick up in 21 days.  Hang around in comp.lang.c++.moderated, browse quality documentation, and find yourself a copy of Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language".  You want to learn C++?  Work through the exercises he puts in that book, you'll learn C++.

>>11
I had that book once, and I left it at a fucking Applebees in Georgia.. I'm kinda broke at the moment, so no more $60 books for a bit.

Learn OOP. C++ kinda straddles procedural and OO paradigms and muddies their distinction. Learn it, so you know where to use it, and more importantly, where _not_ to use it.

And for some reasons why these "Learn X in Y days!" books are shit:

"Teach Yourself Programming In Ten Years"
http://norvig.com/21-days.html

All the "Learn C++ in X days!" books are crap, mostly because there's a helluva' lot more to learning the language than you can pick up in 21 days.
Signed.

Especially when it comes to C++. I don't think anyone has truly mastered it.

Anyway, a good path is Accelerated C++ -> Effective C++ -> Modern C++ Design.

C++? GameDev? Enjoy your AIDS.

FAQ U

I learned C++ at my university. They used to give all kinds of programming assignments that were quite educational. Being lazy I would have never voluntarily done all that painful work of actually coding.

From Bjarne Stroustrup himself. :-D

>>17
Rofl, yeah, that's how I feel.. I keep trying to learn it by myself, or by book, but then I end up getting lazy and doing something else.. But, then again, I don't really want anyone to teach me; I don't like being mother`d.

At the Univ. First semester functional programming in scheme (hellish) and finally straight C++. Look into namespaces, inheritance and the Standard Template Library. If you then plan to do gamedev stuff (windows) you'll have to regress into plain C to understand a lot of the ugliness of the Windows API.

I don't program for a job, but a lot of compiler-related experience. All books go over the same concepts pretty much. You should get a specific subject book just to learn the applications of your current text. For instance, AI programming with C++ or something so you can start seeing which language features are relevant and where they come in handy.

My school had a mid-level software development class about code reuse, polymorphism and about four major assignments. Working live with a small group, or even a single pair, can do wonders for your skills. Find someone with a bit more skill and ask him to go over some largish project from the book with you, checking how he designs the solution OR improves your code. Or teach someone with a bit less skill than you... because you'll find that it helps solidify your knowledge and confront your weaknesses by peer review.

I invented C++. I am Bjarne Stroustrup.

I figured it out my self after reading Art of computer programming

>>21
Yeah, and I'm Dennis Ritchie.

Learn D or some other language.

Learn a procedural language (C), a functional language (Scheme), and finally an object orientated scripted language (Ruby, Python). Fuck C++, it's probably the worst language out to date.

Scrap all your shitty textbooks like "Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days" and take out a real textbook like Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.

>>25
2 TRUE

I use "Learn C in 21 Days", but I'm learning c rather then c++. C++ books make you learn how to program with c and with the object oriented c++ thing.

Learn C then C++ and don't buy a book unless it is The C programming language or The C++ programming language.

>>7
I'm in a Game Development course in college, and I'm learning C++ and I've never learned or even looked at code before. C++ is Really easy to learn.

>>1
Go to school for your learnings



Teaching Yourself Is A One-Way Road To FAILURE

>>29 sucks.

No, school is useless for this kind of shit. It's best to pick up a book for something like Python or Ruby, learn from there then C++ will be a breeze by comparison. At least with interpreted languages you can run it from anywhere the byte-code compiler is installed. :-P

>>31

Yeah, school tells you the theory but you really need to knuckle down and write some code to actually learn C++ well.

>>32

Agreed, school is good for the abstract parts, but I would dare say if you want to learn that stuff take a non-credited course in smalltalk or something, that will give you a good grasp of the ideas, then go learn the language you prefer. But you'll find yourself realizing no one language is the best, rather they all have a use and some are better at it than others in regards to byte-code compilers and machine-code compilers.

>>1
I like that book, and it's a good reference. I learned C++ in college, and I think a class is the best way to learn a language. People talk about "oh, college just teaches you theory", but really, any class is going to have you implementing things. They'll force you to be exposed to parts of the language you might not necessarily be immediately interested in.

Unfortunately, my university's C++ class kind of sucked. It was mostly review of C, then advanced programming concepts. Get this: instead of learning about the STL, we learned how to do linked lists from scratch. That was our final project- to develop a program that used linked lists. So, it's vital to have better sources of information. Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days definitely does not teach everything, but it exposes the reader to enough that you'll be able to go in-depth with free stuff on the internet (a bad place to start).

Also, it's funny how everyone has this obsession with languages that nobody's ever heard of, and experimental languages that only exist because of PhDs with too much time on their hands. D is supposedly good for game development, but it's essentially just C++ with some stuff changed. Most of what's out there is just completely useless for any real purpose.

Scott Myers has the best books on C++, and the books have good ideas even for non-C++ programmers. The full C++ language reference, although quite large, is also good to have. You will learn even more about C++ by examining the disassembly from the programs you write.

I learnt C++ by being anally raped by my family every day when I was a kid. True story.

class Person { ... };
class Moron : public Person {
public: Moron(int id);
private: int id;
};

Moron::Moron(int id) {
 this->id = id;
}

Person *getNextTroll(void) {
 return new Moron(36);
}

>>37
I lol'd

>>37
lol nice one

>>1
Have you considered Ruby?