Newbie programmer needs advice

Hi,

I have been programming PCs as a hobby for a few years - nothing more adventurous than BASIC and VB. I have recently purchased a Mac. I would like to learn a language like C or C++ (I don't know the difference) and would like to know how to go about this. I have installed the Xcode development suite that I found on my HDD (I have OS X10.3) but I do not know if this can be used to write C/C++ programs. Can anybody offer me advice as to the difference between C/C++ and how I can go about coding in them.

Many thanks,

make a C++ project... and start with this:

#include <iostream.h>

int main (void)
{

//code goes here

return 0;
}




probably want to pick up a book on basic commands in c++ or c (i dont know c but i dont think its much different)

start with stuff like cout << "Hello World";
you can initialize variables using: int / float / double / long / char.. they are pretty self explanitory

looking at code helps learn too...

cin / cout are the common ways to accept data, and display data

int ageVariable = 0;

cout << "Enter your age: " << endl;
cin >> ageVariable;

cout << "You are " << ageVariable << "years old" << endl;

endl = return after text

not sure what you're looking to learn.. those are some very basic commands... try getting a book...or maybe reading tutorials online


goodluck

A book would be the best way in my opinion. C++ for dummies worked well for me I have heard a lot of good things about Sams C++ in 21 days.

If you already know a language like BASIC I would venture towards C++. It explains the aspects of Object oriented programming which is very important.

Good Luck, and welcome to the Mac. I made the switch about 6 months ago and my programming hobby turned into an addiction with unix and project builder.

C is sort of the original, and I hear it's good to learn C first. C++ is the newer, turbo I guess, with more bells and toys.

This is a good place to start…
http://www.cprogramming.com/

Well, C++ is C, only with more object oriented bells and whistles. If you want to learn to program on the mac, you could start off as DualG5Lova recommended, learning ANSI C++, which is entirely terminal based. But you seem to want to learn how to program on the mac, and so I recommend learning Cocoa or Carbon. Since you don't know C++ at all, I recommend learning Cocoa. Developing on a mac with Cocoa is very straightforward, especially if you're learning from a book like O'Reilly's Learning Cocoa (http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learncocoa/). There's also a newer edition http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/learncocoa2/. These books will give you a quick and dirty introduction to practical coding on the mac, and tons of examples for a beginner, without all the added baggage that a learning C++ book will teach you, and you will never ever use in your lifetime.