   Where to go from here?
  Hello!  I am going off to college this fall to study Computer Science.  Previously, I have just done programming in my spair time; now I need to take my interest seriously and polish my skills.What I've done so far---------------------1. I've taken a year long AP Computer Science class and learned Java.2. I programmed in QBASIC on an old computer between ages 10-12.3. I have  decent HTML skills.4. I've studied the entire Cprogramming.com tutorials on C++.5. I've studied the entire Cplusplus.com tutorial.6. I've purchased and studied one of those "learn C++ in a weekend books".7. I study Sun's Java AP on a regular basis.8. I have dabbelled in C++ for a few years now.9. I have the entire summer off to study!So, basically, I have a lot of general knowledge but not anything very sophisticated.  I can read any basic C++ code, or any code that uses an API that I'm familiar with.  But, when people start getting into the very technical side of why things work and why they don't, I become confused.Things that I need------------------1. I would like advice on how I should proceed.2. Are there an Internet sources that could help me?3. How does the Visual C++ Express Edition Work?  Do I need the PSDK too?4. What kind of computer should I buy for college, so that I won't need to replace it soon (I'm going to dual boot with Ubuntu Linux--I've never used Linux before)?Thanks to anyone who can help, or anyone who took the time to read all that. =)   
  Things you could do this summer:*)Buy a book or search for tutorials on algorithms and data structures. Chances are, you'll be doing this at college anyway, so might as well get a headstart.*)Polish your skills by making a game for GameDev's 4E5 contest.*)Depending on what specific topic you are interested in (for games let's say pathfinding, rendering, effects, neural networks, object management, whatever), find books or tutorials on that subject. You need the Platform SDK if you want to make anything non-trivial in Win32 (unless it's in Java or Python or some such, of course). You'll probably also need the DirectX SDK if you want to make any programs using DirectX.   ;  So, you don't think lacking a technical vocabulary is a bad thing?  I can write decent code, but when a conversation turns to "vtable", "heap", "stack", ect. I am totally lost.  Do you think it would be good for me to learn the techinical side of such things, or is coding good enough for now?Do you happen to know how big the Platform SDK is?  I'm on dial-up. =(Thanks!   ;  That's why I'm suggesting you get a book on algorithms, then you won't be so lost anymore when people talk of queues, stacks, linked lists, or radix sort. You'll also be a better programmer, and better equipped for your college classes :)Note that I haven't taken any college programming classes beyound fundamentals, and I'm not a professional programmer, so my advice is limited ofc. The platform SDK is about 400 mb total. ;  C++ for Game Programmers does an excellent job of explaining the various internal components of C++, and has many tips on organizing your project and code to make it cleaner to work on. I'd recommend it to anyone.And yes, it does explain inline functions, vtables, heaps, stacks and other memory fun.   ;  I'm rather short on cash--is there a comparable resource in e-book form? Thanks! =)   ;  Non game related but still very good:Thinking in C++ as a free ebook.   ;  Thank you for the suggestion, but that happens to be the one C++ e-book I already have!  Can you recommend any others?   ;  It's not an e-book per se, but for C++, I strongly recommend reading this beginning to end. There are a lot of good language-agnostic hints in there about programming design and "software engineering", too. :) (The FAQ doesn't really set out to cover that stuff, but in some places it's necessary in order to support the C++-specific discussion.)   ;  Thanks alot!Can anyone give me advice about my computer? ^_^   