macOS learning C++

[thekev]

Do not take shortcuts, you will write very bad code and your potential will be stunted, e.g. you will never get hired at the most prestigious firms out there.

Heh.. you misunderstand my goals slightly. I'm not looking to be a programmer. I'm looking to implement very basic functions with clean code rather than making sloppy mistakes because I don't know any better. It's a case of where I want to do very basic work but keep it efficient.

Try to rely on composition rather than inheritance. This will be hard initially since deciding which is better is very much a decision influenced by past experience and most of your teaching material will have you creating all sorts of inheritance chains. Just keep an open mind to how you implement things and you'll be fine.

I didn't realize my thread had been resurrected, but this is an amazing response, and yeah while I only quoted part of it, you're correct about not making lazy mistakes. It applies to anything. I'm not looking to write entire programs, but rather customize small functions via API, but yeah I had making mistakes. I've looked at all of the links in the thread, but I haven't really moved forward with this much given that i've been working on other things.

Learning to program is NOT the same as learning a programming language. It is like writing a novel. You could write a novel in Spanish or English but in order to do so you h=first have to learn how to develop characters and story lines and so on.

Class es at a community collage are the best way. Then you have access to an instructor and may get to work on projects with other students.

I'm quite aware of that, and I may sign up for courses. Heavily structured learning has always been problematic for me though. I get bored when they go too slow, and if I find something I wish to investigate, I can't always do it at that moment. The thing about courses in general is that it's easier to discern good ones if you know more about the topic. They're not all equal, even at really good colleges.

 

[chrono1081]

Class es at a community collage are the best way. Then you have access to an instructor and may get to work on projects with other students.

This really depends...

I learned programming on my own through books before college, and in college we didn't learn nearly enough to be effective (and I went to three colleges).

The worst out of the three was Penn State, it took us 16 WEEKS just to get to overloaded functions, and we didn't touch classes or inheritance or anything like that.

Although a class would be useful to a beginner, honestly in my personal experience its rare that its worth the money.

 

[Cactus Dan]

Howdy,

...If you did have a software background then I'd say to just get a reference book and use C++ on the next project and look up everything as you need it...

For some of us, particularly those of us who are self motivated, this can sometimes be the best method.

Adios,
Cactus Dan

 

[PrismaticRealms]

I can learn from books pretty well, and is usually the way I go. But you need a certain amount of motivation to keep going, and not everyone can do that.

Another option you have is online training. I took a couple of courses at gameinstitute.com, including a C++ Programming course. I took it as a refresher, but it starts from square one, so you can use it to learn C++ from scratch. That course includes 2 thick text manuals full of material, examples and exercises, access to an online community of students, access to teachers via email, and presentation videos. There are online exams that you must pass, and you'll receive a certificate from them for completing the course with a passing grade. (I passed with a 94%. )

In fact, they have been running a special for a couple of months now where you can buy that course, as well as every other course they carry in their game developer package, all for $99! I actually bought the package a few weeks ago. Great friggin' deal, even though I had already bought a couple of the courses from them before.

(And no, I don't work for them. )
Good luck!