What should I use? Newbie

[F79Cvis]

Hey Guys, Years ago I programed with GFA-basic on the Atari ST computer. Now you know my age....ha ha. I want to get back into doing some programing, redoing some of the programs I wrote back when. What would you guys recommend? C or C++, Visual C ect. ect. Also, What Compiler....... I will probably take a course over the net. The thing that has me confused also is....Do I just use note pad or Words to write the program? Where would you start if you where me? Thanks.....

[haxxorpoop]

Although it hasn't worked for me in the past, Bloodshed Dev-C++ is a very good compiler for C++ (I think it does C as well). If you want to learn Visual C, I've heard that there's a free Visual C++ compiler that Microsoft offers. You can also try Borland or Cygwin if you like. There are a lot of options out there for you to choose from.

[F79Cvis]

haxxorpoop, I was reading a couple of your old post. I just didn't get the answers I needed. What program do you use to write c or c++ language? I mean, this is real basic to me. I use to have to load a program call GFA-Basic. Then I could start adding lines of info to program. Someone told me u just use notepad or words now !!!! What am I missing here?

[haxxorpoop]

Yea you can use notepad to write your program. But in order for you to compile or debug your program, you need a debugger and a complier. An editor/complier/debugger is called an IDE (pretty sure). You can write your programs with anything, you just cant compile them. This is my understanding of the issue.

[MoJoe]

What kind of progamming are you wanting to do? I use Perl, and Komodo.

[F79Cvis]

I wrote this lotto program years ago. It kept track of all numbers picked, combinations ect. ect. I know they have programs out there that do this. But, the fun was in the writing of it. Basic stuff was also fun. Stupid stuff like, ask the computer a question and it would give you an answer. It was random answers...example.... Will I ever turn 18? Answer, When pigs fly. ect. ect. Just old fashion programing is what I want to do!

[large_nostril]

That's pretty close. The IDE (Integrated Developing Environment) ties the editor, compiler, debugger, etc. together. If you don't have an IDE, things get difficult to compile (especially if you have a large project). Without an IDE you'll have to learn all the command line routines (and there are a lot of them) to compile something using the various compilers. And then linking files is a whole other issue.

And you can write your code in basically anything, like notepad. In fact, I used notepad for most of the header files in a recent project.

Cygwin and Mingw are C++ compilers (based on the GCC compiler). Bloodshed Dev-C++ is a great IDE that uses the Mingw compiler by default but can use any GCC based compiler.

Visual C++ is like dog poop on a stick; you wanna keep it as far away from you as possible . Actually, it isn't bad at all if you use it to program C++; but it you use it to generate your code, it's terrible. Although it is decent for learning the basics of using MS visual libraries. MS does have a free (student) version of Visual C++. I think you have to prove you're a student or something. But then anything you compile with it has a warning message at the beginning saying the program was compiled using the student version and you're not allowed to distribute it (although, if you learn your C++ well, it's easy enough to recompile the VC++ libraries to not include this nuisance).

My suggestion is to get Bloodshed Dev-C++. The Mingw and Cygwin compilers are awesome and the Dev-C++ editor uses syntax highlighting (making your code easier to read/understand). It also comes with some basic examples that will show you how to do things. It even comes with example source code to make your own "notepad replacement" and example code for using OpenGL (so you can make games).

If you're looking for something better than Dev-C++, Borland and Intel both make the best compilers although they'll cost you an arm and a leg.

As far as taking a class online, I wouldn't recommend it. You should get yourself a good book and just play around. You can always ask people here and they usually will help. Usually the SAMS Teach Yourself and O'Reilly books are the best for learning the basics. If you're lucky, you can probably find these books for about $5-10 online. Here's SAMS Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours for as little as $2. If you're not familiar with pointers or arrays, don't actually expect to learn it in 24 hours, you'll be pulling your hair out at about hour 7 or 8

[haxxorpoop]

I own "C++ For Dummies", and highly reccomend it if you are going to purchase a book. It's very good if you dont have a lot of programming experience.

Oh, and you dont have to prove you're a student when getting VC++ Express. It's very nice from what I've seen so far. Will get kind of confusing if you dont know what you're doing though.

[F79Cvis]

Hey Guys, Thanks for all the help so far. I went with Dev-C++ at the present time. I just wrote my first program......."Hello, World" The thing that through me off though was, I had to go to a Dos prompt to see it work???? I can tell, I have a lot to learn. I quess thinking back, I did have to create windows and learn how to program the mouse and....on & on. I'll be back.............Thanks

[haxxorpoop]

Yes. C++ runs in a command-line area (that means it runs in DOS).

You can always use Visual C++ to create a Windows-based application.