Programming question

[Fearless888]

I am running windows 7 64 bit OS. I want to download the visual c++ studio from microsoft's website, but the free version only has a 32 bit compiler. Will this cause me any issues?

Also, if anyone has suggestions for something better for c++ programming I would love to know.

I dl'd the 2010 express version of microsoft's visual c++ studio and I can't even get a simple output program to work.

Thanks.

:facewall::facewall::facewall::facewall::facewall:

 

[_Sushi]

I am running windows 7 64 bit OS. I want to download the visual c++ studio from microsoft's website, but the free version only has a 32 bit compiler. Will this cause me any issues?

No

Also, if anyone has suggestions for something better for c++ programming I would love to know.

Mac OS X/Linux/Anything but Windows.

I dl'd the 2010 express version of microsoft's visual c++ studio and I can't even get a simple output program to work.

If you're trying to learn C++ as your first language, stop. Learn Ruby or Python the hard way.

 

[Endiment]

I agree with Sushi about c++, it's one of the largest modern programming languages in terms of the scope of its features and its complexity. it's too hard for beginners and honestly it's too hard for a lot of experts.

if you specifically need to be working with c++ however, a UNIX based system will be a lot simpler to work with. if you are on a reasonably powerful windows PC, you can download Oracle VM VirtualBox and give it a Lubuntu virtual instance if you want to try out linux. doing c++ on linux is easy:

install c++ tools:
sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install g++
sudo apt-get install vim

(build-essential may contain g++ and/or vim. I forgot.)

edit your c++ files:
vim <filename>

(vim can take getting used to. you can use any text editor you want. some people like nano, some people use gvim, some people get Sublime Text.)

compile your c++ code:
g++ -o <filename> <programname>

generally, if your filename is foo.cpp, your programname will be foo.

run your c++ code:
./<programname>

when you get to projects with multiple files, you'll want to learn to write a Makefile. it isn't too hard once you get the hang of it, and it's a great skill to have.

 

[Blue Stealth]

My preference is Eclipse CDT (juno) + mingw for environment and compiler, respectively. Unfortunately these two are incredibly difficult to get working together fully on 64-bit windows, but if you can get it working, its a good combination.

I agree with the others in that c++ is not the easiest place to start, but if you feel confident in your abilities, starting with that or java will save you time down the road. Both are widely used and incredibly useful in terms of learning how to learn languages, if you will.

-Blue

 

[kYuKi]

Well, first off what are the errors you getting (if there are any)?

+ I'm learning C++ too, but I'm taking it slow. Good tutorials online, but you should find a open-source game and have a peek in the coding and experiment with it just to understand it a bit better. But since I'm no expert, I can only suggest.

Since Sushi suggested "learning python the hard way," I will definitely have a look at that.

 

[oey192]

I started out in C++ and was able to learn it just fine. I would agree that it's a large language but that doesn't necessarily make it hard to learn. Since I already knew programming fairly well before I learned python, I can't say if it's easier to start with python than it is with C++ or not.

Whatever you do, don't start with Perl. It will melt your face unless you know what regex are.

I personally use Sublime Text 2 or Xcode when writing C++ (Mac user here - much better than windows for coding) and Sublime Text 2 for most other languages (exceptions are Objective C and Java).

 

[whatever212]

I've been using notepad++ for my C++ class (it's the first language you learn at my college) and mingw to compile. I used to code in eclipse in Linux but I never found a way to compile a windows binary without spending at least 15 minutes on the internet finding the command for it (something like g++-mingwc-msvc-i586-even more that I don't remember)

 

[Fraurrix]

If you're trying to learn C++ as your first language, stop. Learn Ruby or Python the hard way.

Personally, I'd recommend learning C# first.

 

[BaHAmuT]

I'd also recommend learning Ruby to start off. You won't hit topics like memory management or pointers, but it's probably not important for you in the beginning. Plus, ruby will expose you to a nice object system.