   Newbie needs some help here. Please help
  Okay , for these 2 weeks a have been banging my head with C++ and it was worth it. I understand the total basic things. I know types of data types(int,double, etc etc) and i can create class (it took me 1 day to understand but it was worth it).i can create pointers, arrays, loops (for, do-while, while).But never mind about me. I need some question to be answered.1. Should i study C ? (i skip it. Did i miss anything important in C that i can use for C++).2. Is it impossible for me to study 2D and 3D?3. if it's possible, what books should i study ( please not hard books, my english is not very good, i read about 5 books about C++ and now i understand the basics, but i'm not satisfied. I want to study graphics to create 2D games). Please help me.Pointers is so hard. I know they are only variables taht hold an address but it can get confusing for a beginner. 4. Is it worth it to study visual basic and C ? ( i been told by many progs that i should study C++ and Java only. Is it true guys?)Thanks   
Quote:Original post by goldenknight1. Should i study C ? (i skip it. Did i miss anything important in C that i can use for C++).If you want to master C++, you will need to know C, since C++ is not separate from it. Quote:Original post by goldenknight2. Is it impossible for me to study 2D and 3D?Given enough time, why should it be impossible?Quote:Original post by goldenknightPointers is so hard. I know they are only variables taht hold an address but it can get confusing for a beginner. You can always switch to Java or C#. I would only study C++ if you actually want to work in the games industry (and are not aiming at mobile platforms or browser games). Quote:Original post by goldenknight4. Is it worth it to study visual basic and C ? ( i been told by many progs that i should study C++ and Java only. Is it true guys?)Visual Basic seems rather useless for games (I'm sure it's decent for application prototyping or simple applications). You'll need C to fully understand C++ but it's unlikely that you'll have to write a game in C these days. Generally you want to study programming, and not languages. The language doesn't matter as much as the algorithms, data structures, patterns, and paradigms. ;Quote:1. Should i study C ? (i skip it. Did i miss anything important in C that i can use for C++).All of C's features are in C++, so if you can program in C++ then you can (give or take a few minor differences) then you can program in C. That is however only theoretically, because the way of structuring code and thinking is completely different in the two languages. I've however found that C projects are generally harder to maintain, and by looking at open source C projects I've also found that they're generally harder to understand. Therefore I'd suggest not learning C, for now. At worst, it will give you habits which might harm your C++ code.Quote:2. Is it impossible for me to study 2D and 3D?If you've only been learning programming for two weeks I think you should wait a bit. Make sure you've really grasped the basics first.Quote:3. if it's possible, what books should i study ( please not hard books, my english is not very good, i read about 5 books about C++ and now i understand the basics, but i'm not satisfied. I want to study graphics to create 2D games). Please help me.I recommend Beginning C++ Through Game Programming, 2nd Ed. by Michael Dawson. The first book was very good so I would expect the second edition to be even better.Quote:Pointers is so hard. I know they are only variables taht hold an address but it can get confusing for a beginner.Pointers are a surprisingly difficult subject to grasp, even if they're so simple. Luckily though, pointers should be used as seldomly as possible, because you should use references instead wherever possible. Read about them from many sources to get a wide picture of them, and give them some time and the whole concept of pointers will finally sink in.Quote:4. Is it worth it to study visual basic and C ? ( i been told by many progs that i should study C++ and Java only. Is it true guys?)It is not true that you should only learn C++ and Java. I would say that it would be easier to grasp C++ if you had a programming background with another language. Python, for instance, is an excellent choice if you want to get the hang of programming: it's simple and doesn't delve into the details too much. A flavor of basic is also a good method of understanding how programming really works.It is always better to know more languages, because then you can always pick the one which fits your situation the best. C++ is not the ultimate super-language, since it has flaws as well as strengths. I suggest that you pick a simpler language and then move on to C++ again, noteworthily Python which I mentioned above.   ;  Thanks, you guys are very nice people. Can you give me another good books please.   ;Thinking in C++ is available for free. I have not actually read it, but I did read Thinking in Java, by the same author, and it was very nice and clear and helped me learn Java originally, so I believe the author to be a competent writer.   ;  Ehm, i have another question. What is XML , do i need to study it to be able to write games? (sorry for this kind of "stupid" question).I'm aiming at totally mastering C++ then try to use that language only. But some says that you can't write games for consoles using C++ (What i know from my books that i have read so far is that C# is like Java) So the question is, How hard, how long it takes to understand C++ thoroughly.And let's say after i understand C++, how long it takes to understand directX?all these times i only used consoled based program, not windows32 application.What books should i read to understand the VERY BASIC about windows application and directx ? (and i mean total beginner books.) Thanks   ;Quote:What is XML , do i need to study it to be able to write games? XML is a data interchange language/markup/format. Games existed before XML, so you can safely bet you don't need to study it [smile]. However, it is useful to know in general, and quite easy to learn. That said, I wouldn't bother learning it before I found a use for it.Quote:(sorry for this kind of "stupid" question).Don't be.Quote:How hard, how long it takes to understand C++ thoroughly.Years. You will get a "working knowledge" of C++ in less than a year, but you will trip yourself up from time to time because your simplified views of the language don't reflect what is actually going on. Also, your code will be hard to read and maintain unless you learn idiomatic C++.This is my experience anyway, I had to relearn how to program in idiomatic C++. The sources I used didn't emphasise it at any rate. I also had to learn how to write large systems, which can take quite a while. The time you spend fighting with the language will mean you will probably produce less games in this period.Even now, while I am very good with the language having used it for a number of years, I still learn new corner cases every few months.Quote:And let's say after i understand C++, how long it takes to understand directX?Personally, once you are good at C++ I would use an API like SDL to make 2D games. This will teach you a lot of stuff you need to learn about making games without some of the complexities DirectX introduces.Quote:all these times i only used consoled based program, not windows32 application.This is a good idea. Make sure you do all the exercises in any books you are using. They will give you lots of practical experience in problem solving: a vital skill in programming.   ;  Umm all links that you give are broken.   ;  XML is a language used to describe and structure data. It looks like this:<Animals>  <Animal>    <Type>Dog</Type>    <Name>Peter</Name>  </Animal>  <Animal>    <Type>Cat</Type>    <Name>Helen</Name>  </Animal></Animals>Programs then read this data and extract information from it, and it is widely used. Web pages are described in HTML, which is an XML-based language. You don't need to know it to program games, but like most technologies it's a useful addition to your knowledge base.Mastering C++ is not easy. It will take you years to become good, and when you're good there's still plenty you won't know. It is not easy to give you a certain time figure on when you've learned C++ thoroughly, since it depends on the amount of energy you invest into learning it. I have no books to recommend about graphics or Windows programming, but I still want to stress that it's important that you know the basics before starting with the more advanced stuff. Write some simple console games, gain some experience, then pursue graphics. You're being too hasty.   ;  Not hasty, it's just that all this time i could have learn C++, but no.... i need to learn poetry, culture, history. All these thing i learn from school aren't very useful. The only thing that i find useful and fun is math and how to read and write.(true story).But let's not talk about me. Last question. I'm in trouble learning operator overloading, i think it's from absolute C++. Can you guys give me an eagle eye of this topic . And if you would be kind please give me an eagle eye and hints to learn pointers. (very confusing this one, hard to remember this point to what. You know what i mean right?)Thanks.   