Off Topic > Off Topic
should i enroll in a $800 online c++ learning course
McJob:
Learn languages as you need them, not as you desire them.
If you simply desire something, you lead no personal attachment and so you can drop it at any point where it gets too hard. If you make yourself care on a do-or-die basis, you'll push yourself through any frustrations you come across, of which there are many when picking up programming for the first time.
Back in High School, I tried to learn C as my first language for a hobby. Couldn't do it. I got to pointers, necessary for File I/O, and it just hurt my brain too much. Consider that C++ is an extension off of C and well...it's not to say that you're not good enough, but just that it's a very complex environment, even for somebody with years of experience, and if you're only doing it for fun or a "I might want to do this", you'll drop it without a care so damn quickly.
The only language I would say I'm "good" at is C# (required at first for programming in Unity at college, and now I use it daily at work), and I learned that by having a task I needed to do (homework or an assessment), and researching the techniques and language features that were relevant, while also forwarding my code to friends/teachers who could vet my work and offer suggestions.
Also, in terms of practicality, C++ is only a good language if you're trying to do low-level system work or need to squeeze performance out of a system but don't want to go deeper (into stuff like assembly, which C++ can actually take advantage of). If you're just coding simple tools, doing web dev or making games, it's waaaaay too overkill for what you need.
Figure out what you want to do first, and then figure out what you need to get there.
Aide33:
--- Quote from: phflack on November 28, 2017, 10:14:16 PM ---I kind of wish college was that cheap around here
Drexel is currently like $60k a year for 5 years
--- End quote ---
jesus
Gytyyhgfffff:
if you're going to go along with this its a good idea to set long term goals. one of my goals when i started out was to make a bomberman game in blockland and after learning how to do stuff i was able to do it in a weekend. next my goal was to make a dungeon generator and after learning more i did it. goals like that help you plan learning and get enthusiastic about your next project
Pecon:
--- Quote from: Gytyyhgfffff on November 28, 2017, 10:14:58 PM ---holy stuff this is 500% correct c++ is difficult to learn as your first language because there's so many things that you can do wrong
--- End quote ---
The only reason I'd consider recommending C++ as a first language is so that person can learn how to solve more complex problems in the long run. As an example, manipulating strings by looping through them one character at a time really makes you appreciate the string functions that most higher level languages give you, and basically teaches you that there is a 'do it yourself' option for everything if a library doesn't provide it.
I think Java is better for teaching that though, since it's a bit more forgiving.
Maxwell.:
--- Quote from: phflack on November 28, 2017, 10:11:36 PM ---currently, for the day
--- End quote ---
what the forget
you were born on the 28th of november? brother we share a bday