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- Path: news3.noc.netcom.net!zdc!zippo!drn
- From: jgraydill@paloverde.com
- Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
- Subject: Re: How to learn C++
- Date: 15 Mar 1996 04:01:48 -0800
- Organization: Zippo
- Sender: http@doc.zippo.com
- Message-ID: <4ibm7c$pko@doc.zippo.com>
- NNTP-Posting-Host: pv-phx-ts1-56.paloverde.com
-
- In article <4i5lgr$2gd@pipe3.nyc.pipeline.com>, mmoe414@nyc.pipeline.com says...
- >
- >
- >As a graphics lover and computer hobbiest I have found an interest in
- >computer programming. I have a very basic book about terms and
- >understandings within the computer programming field but now I would like
- >to learn a language. prefferably C++ or powerbuilder. Can anyone explain
- >the different languages and what they are used for also where would be a
- >good place to start learning through classes. Thanks
-
- If you've got a bit of experience programming, the best book on C++ is
- the C++ Programming Language by Bjarne Stroustup. I should warn you though
- that C++ is a complex and subtle language that can't be learned in a weekend.
- A good way to ease into it might be to take an introductory progamming course
- in Pascal or C/C++ at a local college.
-
- On the differences between programming languages - well, people write entire
- books on this subject but briefly it's sorta like the differences between
- automobiles - when you know how to drive one, you can pick up another one
- pretty quickly but you wouldn't use a Porshce to haul lumber or a big trailer
- truck to go drag racing. For example: C, Pascal, Fortran, and Cobol all have
- a lot in common - variables, loops, procedures; but each had a somewhat
- different application in mind - C is great for system programming (hardware
- manipulation, writing an operating system), Pascal is often used for teaching,
- Fortran is used for numeric work, and Cobol is used in a lot of business
- applications. Keep in mind though that there's a lot of overlap - these
- aren't hard and fast boundaries just like you can use a Camry to go drag racing
- or haul lumber, or just cruise around.
-
- If you're really interested in 3d graphics, an excellent starting point is
- Computer Graphics Principles and Practice 2nd Edition by Foley, van Dam,
- Feiner, and Hughes.
-
- Hope this helps - good luck!
-