I'm 16 and broke but I want to learn how to code in C/C++ does anyone know any websites that might help me with this.
I currently use Dev-C++ as my compiler. I know some basics but i cant find any in-depth information on it. I dont have alot of experiance but i know how to make a "hello World"
and a countdown.
1. Get Visual Studio Express, it's free, has tons of useful features and you'll have to get used to similar types of IDEs eventually if you ever go into it professionally. It's normally the standard compiler for most uses, any decent C/C++ programmer should be familiar with it.
2. Start with just plan vanilla C and move to C++ after you're done with that. For sources, I'd recommend "C Programming - A modern Approach, K.N.King", "C++ Primer Plus, Stephen Prata" and once you're comfortable with the language "Effective C++, Scott Meyers". Take it one step at a time, make sure you understand all the fundamental concepts and tools (conditionals, iteration, pointers, classes, memory allocation, the standard library) before moving into more complex stuff.
3. Forget about "easier languages". I'd recommend going with C then C++ instead of whatever else (C#, Java, etc). You can pickup those in a weekend once you properly understand C++ - it's better to struggle with the low level details
now, while you're still learning, than not learning it at all and later on having to correct a swath of misconceptions and bad programming practices/habits you may have built up because all the little details were taken care of for you behind the scenes.
Once you understand what's actually going on at the low level in your code, then you can move on to using code that makes it easier for you (i.e. write your own list once before you start using the STL one). Otherwise down the road, you'll start getting seemingly weird problems which arise from the compiler or the language guessing you mean one thing when you actually mean another and you won't understand why it's happening (i.e. like when C# uses references and when it doesn't, for example).
4. As far as internet references, most of the time you'll be ok with http://www.cplusplus.com/ , http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/index.html and http://www.msdn.com/. Those failing, there's always forums you can ask around at - if the documentation isn't enough help (and the documentation should always be the first place you go to when in doubt), going straight to people is your next best bet. If it's a more complicated question that isn't necessarily covered by your average books or sites, you can always ask at http://stackoverflow.com/.
