   Round and Round I go
  I really have a problem.You see I''ve been studying c++ for awhile now but I keep having the same problem.I will get a book or follow along on a website tutorial and I will be doing fine until I get to around functions and arrays.I just can''t get pass that part.I can follow along with the program examples just fine but when I''m asked to do one of my own I get so many errors that I just get frustrated and turn off the computer.I don''t know if anyone has an answer for this or not.Whether it can have a answer in fact.It''s not that I''m generally a stupid person.Usually I get the hang of things quite quickly but in this I am having trouble.Anyone else has had this problem.Am I normal in this regard or should I quit while I''m behind?   I try to quit but they -aww who am I kidding I''''m addicted- 
  Sounds like you''re not understanding what you''re meant to be doing. In other words, it''s easy with code but you''re not grasping the concept of what you''re attempting.Have you had any experience in Basic? You may find that a ''simple'' language like that may be able to explain things better. ;  btw, if your handle didn''t have an s in it, it sure would sound like gaymaster...With respect to functions, if you are comfortable with lower level math like algebra where a function takes a single variable and outputs one, functions in programming are generally similar. Except that well functions can take more than one variable, but they all output one result. Think of a function as a "machine" that takes stuff and crunches it and spits out a result. I guess if you''re thinking to yourself right now that thats great and all but I already figured that out, then the only thing you can do is code and experiment with the book knowledge. If that continues to fail, well... ;  Geez, I''ve written materials on C++ programming for years; sure with I had it here and could e-mail it to you! (I''m biased; I think my materials would do the trick!)I have a few suggestions:1) Read as many sources of information as you can! Search for things like: [C++ function tutorial] on Google and read everything that''s close. SOMEBODY out there has explained the topic just the way you need to hear it. After teaching for years, I can promise that.2) Be patient; those dents in your forehead (or whatever learning-scars you bear) mark a long, but rewarding journey. At times things won''t make sense, but believe me the rush you''ll get when you suddenly ''get it'' is well worth the pain!Post back here with specific questions and code examples. The more you talk about what your code does (and doesn''t do), the more you''ll evidence your understanding to us--we''ll be able to see what''s missing in your view and then we can help you fill it in.Best of luck...and ENJOY!hScott ;  Thanks alot for the quick replies!Since I''m up at 2:45 in the morning here I really didn''t expect a answer until tommorow sometime but I got an answer right away.I guess programmer types are nightowls just like me!Anyway I really do appreciate it.Hscott - I really do appreciate the offer and the advise.I think I will take you up on the offer for those materials maybe your explanation will do the trick.I think downgraded probally came close to my problem.Because I do understand the code and if there is code pretty close to what I need I can modify it to suitmy purposes.But starting off from scratch is a problem for me.I will think what I typed is totally correct.It seems like it should work but it dosen''t.So I must be missing something.Nervo- hehehe I know alot of people have said that about my name.I use it everywhere I go online.Given the time and money that I''ve already invested in this I don''t want to quit.I think it will be alot of fun once I get the hang of it.The funny thing is I tried windows programming at one point in time and it seemed alot easier.I guess because there are particular codes for a particular taska.The pieces come more assembled in Windows Programming.Anyway thanks guys for the info.I will look up more tutorials and see if I can find some that will help me out. 