Re: need general help about "real-life programming"

arnuld wrote
(in article
<1166893540.143338.6350@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>):

hai all,

i hope most of you have recognised me.

I'd like to say that I have, but why should I have recognized
you again? I've searched for clues to your identity from your
post, but the closest I can come is what appears to be an
intentionally mispelled name to get a short gmail address.

1st of all this post is not about C++,

Since this is not a newsgroup specific to C++, we probably don't
need the warning label. :-)

it is about general programming. i know about functions,
variables, compilers, interpreters etc etc

The rest of your post hints that this might not be quite as true
(yet) as you would like.

but i have never done any real-life coding. i am trying to learn
C++ as most of the jobs in my area are for the graduates/PGs

What is a "PG"?

carrying these skills:
1.) C++
2.) OOA & D
3.) Design-Patterns (programmers who can comprehend at least 50% of
"Design Patterns" by GoF)
4.) experience in real-life C++ projects.

now there is only one good book available in my area:

Amazon and other online booksellers allow you to not be limited
by your "area". Check them out.

"Stroustrup" (by good book i mean an author who thinks C is not
prerequisite for C++). i am trying to learn C++ from it but from last 2
months my progress is not so good. i only know just a handful of C++
constructs. i am not even able to understand the "Desk Calculator"
programme in chapter 6 which forms the basis of chapter 8 & then 9.

Some people take longer for the initial "lightbulb" to come on.
Not everyone responds equivalently to different writing styles,
so a "great book" for one person might be a "bad book" for
someone else. Also, if you stick around in this business long
enough, you'll find that the more languages you know, the easier
the next one will be to pick up in general. The first one is by
far the hardest hurdle.

i am not even able to think of the problems that i should post.

There is a newsgroup specifically for people trying to learn
C++, I don't subscribe to it, but I'm fairly sure the name of
the newsgroup has "learn" and "c++" in it.

one day i tried to read "K&R2" i came into immediate programming mode &
satarted to write small useful programmes given in exercises

Sounds very promising. Could be the writing style issue I
mentioned previously, or it just might be that as many people
agree, K&R/K&R2 represents some of the most clearly presented
and concise information on a programming language ever put on
paper.

but i am avoiding C as it is not useful to my situation & even i if put
time to learn C it will only increase the gap between me & C++

I'm not sure that is the case. Again, understanding more
languages helps to better comprehend programming in a broader
context. Much (most?) of programming is about problem solving,
not knowing specifics about the language itself in isolation. C
!= C++, and C is not a subset of C++, as you apparently have
recognized for yourself. That said, there are a lot of
similarities, and learning C shouldn't /harm/ you for C++,
especially from something as straightforward as K&R. I can't
say that all (or even most) C books are good. Some are
downright horrific.

i think the problem has more to do with "immamturity & newbiness" to
programming than with C or C++. i am confused & worried about my future
& my younghood.

what do you suggest?

If the sample problems from K&R2 seemed to make sense to you,
you might consider looking at some of them and attempting to use
the problem descriptions as fodder for C++ practice. By that, I
mean to try and take some of them and solve them using C++
instead of pure C. It may not make sense in all cases, but will
in some. Perhaps that will be helpful. Also, using a single
book on C++ that you are admittedly not getting along well with
probably isn't such a good idea. Despite the author's
relationship to C++, you may find the writing style doesn't fit
your own "reading style". Pick up some other books and see if
things improve. Finally, take a peek into the newsgroup
dedicated to learning c++ and see what they might offer up.

--
Randy Howard (2reply remove FOOBAR)
"The power of accurate observation is called cynicism by those
who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw





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