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- Path: news.uiowa.edu!usenet
- From: larued@crpl.cedar-rapids.lib.ia.us
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
- Subject: Re: C, C++, or both..??
- Date: 29 Jan 1996 07:16:30 GMT
- Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Distribution: world
- Message-ID: <4ehs8e$iok@flood.weeg.uiowa.edu>
- References: <4ehif2$ljf@news.iconn.net>
- Reply-To: larued@crpl.cedar-rapids.lib.ia.us
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-
- In <4ehif2$ljf@news.iconn.net>, thecrow@iconn.net (The Crow) writes:
- >I am 17 years old, I have a rudimentary understanding of both C and C++ at this
- >point.(I know Pascal well) I want to really delve into something at this point.
- >My eventual goal is to either start my own software company, or work for one as
- >a programmer. Should I concentrate only on C++ for now, only C for now, or
- >both? Or does it not really matter? I have read up on C++ and I really don't
- >see much benefit from it. People have kept applications in order (mostly) for
- >years without 'object oriented' programming...and C seems to be faster and much
- >less of a pain.
- >
- >I have a few programs in mind were object orientation would be a more natural
- >way of going about the program (evolution similuations) but a lot of programs
- >don't really benefit from it at all. The biggest improvements in C++ that I
- >can see at this point are COUT/CIN, the comments, and NEW and DELETE...the rest
- >just seems to make me type and think more. Is it because I am just not used to
- >the idea yet or is it really more complicated? The thing I hate most is the way
- >member functions have to be outside of their class, totally counter intuitive
- >and makes things very hard to follow.
- >--
- >The Crow - thecrow@iconn.net
- >"It can't rain all the time"
- >-Kryptology
- >
-
- It sounds like you have a grasp of some of the differences of C and C++.
- Most, if not all, C programs will compile under a C++ compiler. There are
- a few minor exceptions due to new reserved words and such.
-
- Why not start your projects under C with some of the concepts of C++ that
- you know. When you find true needs to use C++ concepts the ability will be
- there. Not all code done in C++ need be made of perfect classes. In this
- way your C and C++ skills can grow. You will find out which techniques are
- best for you as your skills evolve.
-
- I have always built code in ways similar to OO methods. I made extensive
- use of copied code and structures with accesor functions. About a year ago
- I started using C++ for making tools for my own use. Now I am able to add
- ideas from others (classes) and build new concepts of my own. True, this
- does cause considerable forethought before coding. It may even dictate a
- small rewrite once te true nature of the project is discovered. The results
- however can be very useful. Classes eventualy have a habit of becoming
- tools that get reused very easily. If done right they can also provide a
- simple way to restructure programs. How often does a program, after it has
- been built, does the user want a small change, that actually becomes a large
- fundamental change. Sometimes the concepts are more easily changed when
- the ideas have already been packaged by the concept of classes instead of
- spread throughout a project.
-
- It doesn't hurt to explore and determine the strengths and weaknesses of
- C++.
-
- Hope this helps,
-
- Dave LaRue
-
-