Computer Programmer - help - i need help getting started. please see...?

I need help deciding where to start on learning the computer language.





My goal is learning C++ and becoming a programmer


and i know it's hard.





Background


-age 16


-softmore (forgot spelling)





i want to learn how to program in C++


%26amp; my teacher suggested that i learn visual basic so i downloaded the program from Microsoft.





Three question is:


1) Is there anything that i have to learn before learning Visual Basic such as XML or anything else?


2) What is the differents between Visal Basic and Visal Basic .Net?


3) Do i just jump right into C++ after i learned Visual Basic or have to know anything else





P.S. if you have any tips or website that would help me, please post or Email

Computer Programmer - help - i need help getting started. please see...?
My only suggestion is to not learn VB. C++ is way more powerful and VB will just force you to learn bad programming habits. Once you learn C++ you'll be able to program VB easily and realize why it isn't as good. Just grab a C++ for dummies book and work through the tutorials, then search online for free stuff, its really easy to learn.





To answer your other questions, .net is a framework that allows you to combine programming languages... there are probably few differences between VB and VB.net, just the way they are compiled and put together. You dont need to learn XML unless you are trying to make some sort of flat file database or are maybe scripts for a website that uses XML. XML takes like 30 minutes to learn so you might as well learn it anyway.
Reply:1) You shouldn't learn VB in my opinion VB is garbage, learn BASICS, QBASICS, or SML(there the same thing), or non at all(to prevent bad habits).


2)Different frame works


3)After learning BASICS(if you did), you should learn C++ right away, just so you don't for get any of the things you learned.





Note: your age doesn't matter im 15 and i program Games, tcp servers/udp servers, databases(sql), and i know several script languages. To be a programmer you have to live and breath programing, i would say after learning c++ i became much more of a nerd, and i am always thinking of programming and i always think of new ways to use polymorphism.
Reply:Get some books, man. You're gonna have to work your way through some practical examples.





Try half.com, or visit a large library (maybe a college library) if you can't spend much money.
Reply:The first step is to decide the language, visual Basic is a good choice.


The second step is to learn the interface for development, you can start with the series Sam's teach you in 21 days and follow the book from the beginning.


The final step is to make exercises, as many as you can.





Then when you are comfortable with basic, change to C++ or Visual C. The main difference is the environment. when you use C++ you are in a text environment, when you use Visual C you are in an Visual environment.





Remember the key is to make several exercises (the more you made, the best).
Reply:Hi!


I don't think you have to learn Visual Basic before C++, as the syntax of each is much different from each other. (But if your teacher says maybe there is some reason.).





Well, you can learn C++ language right away without knowing any other programming language. http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/ is the first link given by google. (You should have googled before posting.)





No, you don't have to learn anything before any programming language and XML is not a programming language. XML is a way of storing data.





.Net is MS technology which makes programming much easier. It creates executables which can only run on .Net installed computers. Current version of .Net framework is 3.0.

gardenia