don't use VS Hi, I'm about to start my final year at uni doing computer science. I have done my c/c++ module. Don't use visual studio as you will start to be come dependent upon it, the auto complete and all that crap. I recommend a very good book (the best for c) and a good text editor with syntax high lighting. If you use windows try notepad++ or vi, if you use linux then its vi. Set yourself up an environment with a linker, debugger and a compiler and learn the basics up (there are tonnes of tutorials on the net). The book I recommend is K&R:the c programming language. Its the nutts. isbn:0-13-110362-8. I have friends who started in VS and have real difficulty using anything else, it daunts them to read API documentation, its just made them lazy. You don't wanna go down that route. Its also m$ way of sucking in young devs, getting them used to their "standard" libs, etc, so that you skill set stays within the windows environment, don't buy into it! Best Regards, Matthew Round
firstly the IDe has nothing to do with the language, and why shouldn't he make use of the nice features like auto complete, and proper error reports that list example code that caused the error, and how to correct it. It'll save him a lot of time pulling his hair out. (also I cant imagine you have spent too much time coding if you think that auto-complete is crap - never mind the fact that you're suggestion he learn to program with the use of a proper debugger) Also that book is on C not c++ and also it is responsible for one of the most atrocious indenting styles ever created. Honestly anyone that indents their code like that should be shot! You still have to read the API specs except with VS its a little simpler as they provide you with a MSDN library of the c++ language specs that you can quickly search through, as well as example code. as for the standard lib argument, thats just completely false. C++ is standardised, the standard libraries are the same cross platform, there is no dependance on windows in any form. You are thinking about stuff like the windows API which is not part of c++... That statement of yours is complete misinformation.
