Computer Science Canada What software? |
| Author: | Hugetanks [ Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | What software? |
Hello, I wanted to learn C++ for a while, however, a book I had a while ago tells me to use command prompt and notepad. I think this is pretty outdated, so can you recommend to me a compiler? Thanks |
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| Author: | Srlancelot39 [ Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:19 am ] |
| Post subject: | RE:What software? |
I have always liked Visual Studio. |
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| Author: | Insectoid [ Mon Jun 11, 2018 1:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | RE:What software? |
A lot of people still code with notepad and a command prompt, and for a beginner this can be the best way to start. Complex IDEs do a lot of magic behind the scenes that can be really confusing if you don't know what's going on. Notepad (or a similar small-featured text editor) forces you to learn everything from the bottom up. |
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| Author: | Srlancelot39 [ Wed Jun 13, 2018 7:20 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: RE:What software? |
Insectoid @ Mon Jun 11, 2018 1:02 pm wrote: A lot of people still code with notepad and a command prompt, and for a beginner this can be the best way to start. Complex IDEs do a lot of magic behind the scenes that can be really confusing if you don't know what's going on. Notepad (or a similar small-featured text editor) forces you to learn everything from the bottom up.
Additionally, these editors do not encourage laziness/sloppiness in formatting etc. since those responsibilities are left entirely to the programmer and are good for beginners for that reason as well. It's also just a good skill in general to be able to code effectively without an advanced compiler...similar to having good survival skills! |
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| Author: | ecookman [ Thu Jun 14, 2018 2:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | RE:What software? |
^^ Very true. I'm just starting to learn C++ and getting back into programming after long hiatus... When I was first taught how to program a decade ago it was done without any sort of IDE and my first prof made us hand-write assignments. Although not as sexy, I will strongly vouch for starting with a basic text editor due to the same reasons mentioned above. I got lazy when learning Java and occasionally the IDE I was using wouldn't format the code properly... which was a massive headache because I spent forever trying to find where the formatting error was and why my code wasn't working properly - without totally understanding what was going on. |
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| Author: | Hugetanks [ Sun Jun 17, 2018 8:34 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What software? |
The thing was that when I first tried C++, I was told to use notepad and command prompt by my book, however, it wouldn't compile, so I kinda stopped trying. I wanted to come back to learning C++, so I decided to use a compiler. |
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| Author: | Hugetanks [ Sun Jun 17, 2018 9:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What software? |
Also, is C++ a good first computer language to learn? I am not sure what C++ is useful for, in comparison to other languages like Java and Python. |
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| Author: | Insectoid [ Sun Jun 17, 2018 11:50 am ] |
| Post subject: | RE:What software? |
C++ can do anything. It is fully modern and supported worldwide. I think you've got some things confused. Even if you run off the command line, you still need a compiler. The compiler is what converts human-readable code to computer-readable code. You probably don't have one installed already, so you'll need to find one online like minGW and carefully follow the installation instructions. |
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| Author: | Hugetanks [ Mon Jun 18, 2018 4:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What software? |
Does cygwin also work? I installed that one recently for C++. |
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| Author: | Hugetanks [ Mon Jun 18, 2018 4:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What software? |
Also, I think i mixed up compiler and IDE. I think when I was starting C++, I tried to use command line to execute my program, however it did not work. Could it be that I did not have a compiler? The pathway thingy that I have to do in the beginning was confusing for me. |
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| Author: | Insectoid [ Tue Jun 19, 2018 11:20 am ] |
| Post subject: | RE:What software? |
Cygwin is a bunch of Linux programs ported to Windows. It does not include a compiler by default. I wouldn't bother with it, really. Visual Studio includes a command-line compiler. Before you can execute a program, it must be compiled. When it is compiled, a new exe file will be created. That file is your program and can be executed. |
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| Author: | Hugetanks [ Tue Jun 19, 2018 2:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: What software? |
So I should uninstall cygwin and get mingw? |
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