Did I pick the wrong langauge?!
 

For all you Computer Programmers:

I've been doing some Christmas shopping, (for myself :D ) , and I've been currently getting into Computer Programming. I'm learning Visual Basic.net at the moment, and it's quite fun so I decided to purchase another coding book on another language....C++

I was excited at first for C++ as I've heard alot about it, however, I looked at the syntax of the langauge and I wasn't happy. It doesn't follow the object oriented approach that I'm used to (and more fond of) as in vb.net. Is C++ valuable? Or should I learn something else, that I would enjoy more like Java or C#?

Isn't C# replacing C++ ?

Seems that way, I'm really upset I spent $40 on a C++ book. I'm hope we're both wrong. :D

C++ is ok but like Paul said, c# is the way to go if you want to stay away from the curve. I learned c++ a long time ago before php and it threw me off when I started php coding.....

Hm...well C++ looks very similiar to php to me...

It is more similar then say regular C. When I learned c++ after using C for years.....That was messy.... C is so easy. I think they teach it as an elective in High School now. Wish I could of done that, would of saved me a lot on student loans.

If you want to do application programming you need to learn C and C++ it is as simple as that.

Apache, Linux, Windows, PHP, MySQL and a lot more are programmed in them. Learn them, love them, Code them.

PHP, Javscript and Java are among languages commonly referred to as C-Syntax Languages. Their overall syntax is similar to C and thus C++. However the object systems in each are very different.

p.s. I took C as an elective in High School back in 1985.

Our edjumacation system wasnt very up to par......

:ermm:

It is amazing how much is done with C.

Go for it.

C/C++ was, is, and most likely will be (in the near-middle future) THE language for all major Applications.

that's what i thought :S

Its been a while since I was coding c++, but that was the word around the office. .Net came out in 2002 I beleive. I could be wrong as I just didnt and dont care really. :mad:

All of my professors have been telling me C and C++ are going out - Our courses all focus on C#, Java, J++, and Visual Basic.NET. The only professors still teaching C/C++ is the Linux/Unix guy, but his classes are optional (Though I will prolly take them anyways.)

I hope so, I hated C++ with a passion! :squareeyed:

No, but they can be used for the same tasks in Windows at least.

C++ is a horrible language, especially if you're coming off another horrible (for different reasons) language like Visual Basic. Learn Java or C#.

You neglected to mention what your after? - your objective has as much to do with the language that best fits those needs. Regardless of what people think and feel.

I think you will enjoy Linux if that is taught also. I really enjoyed my classes in it.

I thought it was horrible after learning C. I went into it thinking it would be easy, but it was a big change of pace for me.... I mean its pretty much the same but I didnt like classes and how the same fuctions like scanf and printf where changed and ect down the line. I guess thats stupid to complain about but I figured they would be more alike in syntax then they are. It is nice to debug a few lines of code in a class then it is say 10,000 lines in C.

OOP (classes) are great and what every modern language (which excludes C++) use. C++'s implementation is a piece of crap, especially given the language can be used as mix of procedural and object-oriented. Java and C# require everything to be object-oriented.

PHP's OO model is even worse but I digress. PHP is hardly the best language; the reason most companies use it is by virtue that it is the most commonly available server-side language and possibly the easiest to deploy and maintain. ASP and JSP are less common except for enterprise-level stuff and harder to install and maintain, but scale much better and are dramatically cleaner than ugly PHP.

I've seen quite a few comparisons/benchmarks, and the differences weren't exactly thaaat huge.

Not going to debate on OOP, as I might have slightly different opinions ;)

Just my opinion for whats its worth. I think having a book on C++ would still benifit you. Lets say you wanted to make something and had some example written in C++ you would know how to reference it. If you really do want to understand them all just study microsoft windows script. Write some sample scripts to learn basic functionality. Then move on to C++. After that all the others are just made much more understandable. Personally I use good ole visual basic. Still without some background in microsoft windows script I wouldve never understood java, php, C++, or visual basic.

C++ isn't object oriented??? :eek:
We have a subject called "Object oriented programming" in the univerisity I go and it's mainly C++! :confused:

debate it, i'll get the popcorn and watch :)

i'll probably read a book on java or c# after i finished reading my php5 book that's collecting dust.

but what would you recommend outta the two and for which reasons?

filburt said C++'s implementation is crap when compared to Java or C# ;)

Not that it wasn't OO ;)

Chris

Well, I'm looking to learn things that will benefit me in the future. (Ie. College and jobs) I guess it wouldn't hurt learning C++...

You'll find that most commercial applications are still coded with mostly C and maybe a smattering of C++ tossed in. I know a lot of the games sold today are done in C mostly still.

Of course.. For one, the C++ ANSI standard is not followed very well. You have Visual C++, GTK, etc... Everyone has dipped their hands in the pot and "optimized" the honey. You have people releasing libraries that don't follow conventions and redo what the OS is supposed to instead of letting the OS handle things. This is why it takes forever and a day to port an application from one OS to another, why there are UI consistency issues in ported applications and a whole mess of other problems like memory leaks, buffer over/under runs and just things being a royal pain in the patookus.

With Java and C#, you don't have that as they are controlled by a single entity. Companies with long histories of developing and providing development environments. They have taken what works in C++ and fixed what is broken. They have learned from the mistakes of the past to provide languages that are closer to being truly cross-platform.

However, if you do learn C/C++ then you have the basis for future languages. Combine this with some good coding practices (comments, logical naming, freeing objects explicitly, etc...) then you can easily have a fulfilling lifelong career. If you go to a development house with just Java and C# on your resume today, you will have a hard time getting a job. Might change in 5-10 years but then there will be a new flavor of the month language that comes along.

That said, I am personally teaching myself C# right now. Did C/C++ programming for 10 years, went to school for that but it is time for me to move on. C# fits the bill for my personal development project which is maintaining one or more stores (online and offline) from a central location over a VPN connection.

Nicely put, Wayne. I agree with every bit.

sabe, I would learn Java, then C#. C# is a bit harder to learn given it still borrows some concepts from C++ like explicitly making methods virtual. There are also a lot of IDEs for Java (Eclipse is the only one I recommend now) whereas for C#, there is only one major one: Visual Studio.net.