Moving on from VB to C++

[mikeym]

I've been programming in VB for almost 2 years, am somewhat familiar with it, been coding in lua for a while now.

I want to move onto C++, Who has some good tips? I'm planning on making half decent simple scripts(et. Server Starter from Website, Garry's Mod DLLs, etc)

I'll also be coding just regular programs such as a game.

[robmaister12]

Start simple, become familiar with the syntax. Start with some completely useless program that will teach you the syntax and slight changes in the languages, like a calculator or a text-based adventure game with an inventory or something like that.

[Jookia]

Forget everything you know about programming before you learn C++. This is only necessary due to VB.

[efeX]

[QUOTE=Jookia;24537741]Forget everything you know about programming before you learn C++. This is only necessary due to VB.[/QUOTE]

Everything? That would be a bit stupid. Programming isn't just syntax.

[Jookia]

[QUOTE=efeX;24537926]Everything? That would be a bit stupid. Programming isn't just syntax.[/QUOTE] Yeah, but VB has a way different workflow than C++ or C.

[eXeC64]

I'd have to agree with Jookia.

Switching from VB to C(++) can be hard but it is definitely worth it.
If you still want to create GUI's easily I recommend using Qt. [url]http://qt.nokia.com/products/[/url] It's cross platform, very easy to use and has a built in IDE, etc. It's great for someone who is used to VB.

If you use Qt make sure to download Qt Creator, not just the SDK.

[gparent]

[QUOTE=efeX;24537926]Everything? That would be a bit stupid. Programming isn't just syntax.[/QUOTE]
True, I guess you could change his sentence to "forget the majority of what you know about programming within the context of VB".

[Xeon06]

Was that VB.Net? If so, I'd switch to C# first, same framework, different syntax, then from C# to C++. It won't be as rough.

[robmaister12]

[QUOTE=Xeon06;24580374]Was that VB.Net? If so, I'd switch to C# first, same framework, different syntax, then from C# to C++. It won't be as rough.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much what I did (granted, my mom helped me learn VB.NET when I was 11 as she was a programming teacher for some time, and I didn't touch programming until about 6 months ago)

C#.NET is a nice middle ground between VB.NET and C++. You get used to semicolons and {} brackets, but almost everything else is the same/similar.

[ROBO_DONUT]

VB, or any form of BASIC for that matter, is a terrible way to start programming. It really isn't like any of the other modern languages. I had to use VB once to re-organize a massive Excel spreadsheet that had gotten out of hand, and I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

[VeryNiceGuy]

VB.NET to C# .NET isn't much of a difficult move, I'd totally recommend it.

[Randdalf]

I've been looking for similar advice. I've been forced to do VB.NET for my A-Levels for past 2 years, and although it is pretty easy to use, there wasn't much room for doing cool stuff (I managed to hack my own version of a "graphics engine" using a PictureBox and a Timer, is probably the... coolest thing).

So C# is the best place to start to go onto C++?

[ZeekyHBomb]

C++ is the best place to start to go onto C++.

[shodan]

slow down. learn C first then it's easy to learn C++

[mmavipc]

[QUOTE=Mega1mpact;24621902]slow down. learn C first then it's easy to learn C++[/QUOTE]

while learning C++ you learn C, so there's no point in learning it first

[c-unit]

Also, keep in mind mikeym is a 10 year old kid (no sarcasm, he really is). So he has a shorter attention span and will be more pron to quit. Move to C# first, buddy.

[ROBO_DONUT]

[QUOTE=mmavipc;24623909]while learning C++ you learn C, so there's no point in learning it first[/QUOTE]

No.

[boombon]

Buy some books on C++, like the one by Ivor Horton, and start out slowly. Build your way up, and try and forget about VB.