Learning to Program

[Iminicus]

I have decided I'd like to learn how to program and write code. I've done numerous web searches and ended up at Google Code University, Code Academy and some other online tutorials.

 

I'd like to know what are some decent compilers for C and C++ on Windows. I also would like someone to help guide me through learning as I am not understanding some ideas presented, especially those related to functions and variables on Code Academy. Mainly, I have questions on what they are asking but can't find any answers. It is hard to explain, which is why I need someone I can just email with the problem set or what have you and you break it down and explain it to me. I know that requires much work on your behalf but I can't seem to find any courses within New Zealand.

 

All suggestions and hints are extremely welcome.

[na89340qv0n34b09q340]

Try MinGW, I don't think I could help you with learning though. Good luck anyway.

[Transk53]

I have decided I'd like to learn how to program and write code. I've done numerous web searches and ended up at Google Code University, Code Academy and some other online tutorials.

 

I'd like to know what are some decent compilers for C and C++ on Windows. I also would like someone to help guide me through learning as I am not understanding some ideas presented, especially those related to functions and variables on Code Academy. Mainly, I have questions on what they are asking but can't find any answers. It is hard to explain, which is why I need someone I can just email with the problem set or what have you and you break it down and explain it to me. I know that requires much work on your behalf but I can't seem to find any courses within New Zealand.

 

All suggestions and hints are extremely welcome.

This is one place that was suggested to me a while back. Quite comprehensive, but probably like code academy, but with more content.

[K^2]

Try MinGW

That's one of the two compilers you should be familiar with on Windows. Partly, because C and C++ compilers under MinGW are almost identical to the GNU compilers under Linux. So if you ever have to go cross-platform, or whatever, these are useful to know. They also require you to understand a bit about the way code is linked, which is a good thing.

 

If I remember correctly, MinGW has no editor with it. You can write all your code in notepad. In fact, I would recommend at least trying that for some simple code, and making sure you can compile and link your code from command line. There are, however, some IDEs that can work with MinGW compilers. There are Dev-C++, Code Blocks, and many others. These don't affect how the code is compiled, but might make it easier for you to organize and debug code. So just look for something that works for you.

 

The other compiler you should know under Windows is VIsual C++ compiler. With some work, you can actually squeeze better Win32 performance out of this one. It's also a lot less of a pain to work with DirectX or pretty much any Microsoft API via VC++. You can get Visual C++ Express for free, so you absolutely should do that.

 

Still, it's probably best if you learn how to use MinGW first.