[Monty Burns]

Hey Guys

i'm going to get into C++ so I can program WinMob and having ordered Programing Windows by Petzold, I quickly realised this is not a "learn c++" book.

Can anyone recommend a book to take me from knowing nothing to genious please? I have assembler experience so not a total newbie but haven't done any for over 15 years!

[coluigi]

Most beginners C++ books are fairly good at teaching you the basics but the basics probably won't get you very far (will teach you how to handle simple input/output, program flow, classes, and might touch on data structures and pointers).

So I'd pick up any that you feel is easy to understand, just take a wander into Waterstones and have a flick through a few. From then you'll probably want to learn the specifics on programming for WinMob which I have no experience of - I guess there's some online documentation to learn the platform specific APIs.

[magicdave]

I'm not too familiar with WinMob, but I'd definitely recommend Straustrup regardless - he was the bloke that created the launguage after all

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t...um=1&ct=result

Or, how about "Thinking in C++" by Bruce Eckel? I think you can get it free online too!

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=d...r:Eckel&pgis=1

After learning the basics, you might want to learn how to apply your new-found knowledge of C++ to a variety of problems. I.e. think about books that discuss design patterns, using the stl etc.

[GasDad]

I'd go and get a book on 'C' first - if you can remember any assembly language, then 'C' is trivial.

Then get a book on C++.

Books on programming, I think, tend to be quite personal things, you either 'get' the way the book is handling a topic or you don't. So sit yourself down on the floor in waterstones and find a couple that suit you

Unlike most other languages C and to a certain extent C++ don't hide the hardware that well, so knowing assembly language (even if its not for a modern pc) lets you understand the process (why pointers are 32 bits etc) all that better.

Good luck!

James

[Paul_HDLover]

You have assembler skills? We need you

[Monty Burns]

Thanks for all the tips guys!

Did indeed find a book at the weekend and ordered it on Amazon (can't remember which one now). Should be delivered in time for me to take away to my summer sun holiday tomorrow Gona be a bit geeky and sit in the bar reading and learning it on my laptop.

I've also booked myself on an evening course at my local college to teach c++ for beginners which starts a week after i get home ... perfect timing!

Paul, I doubt my, not used in 15 years assembler skills, are much use to you i'm afraid! Besides which, does anyone still use the motorola 680x0 range? Besides which, this isn't a career move, its a hobby and I know of at least one app I want to write that does not exist, specialy on WinMob.

[Toasty]

I assume you have Visual Studio 200x?

Here's a good developer resource and you'll find further links from there.

If you haven't got Visual Studio, have a look here, I believe the express version is free to download.

And some general advice, if you get stuck or have questions, google your API's or a general algorithm description and you'll find answers or even solutions that people have already provided. There is a lot of C++, C#, basically all language support out there to be found with good use of the search engine.

And finally, take a look at C#, you may find it easier to do what you want and quicker. (It'll be discussed under .net framework on the first link I sent you)

[Monty Burns]

thanks for the links Toasty, will no doubt be very usefull

I've been told C# would be a lot quicker and easier to learn but sadly, according to the guys over on xda-developers forum, its limited on what can be done on WinMob and C++ is by far quicker and more versatile (on WinMob)

[Toasty]

Originally Posted by Monty Burns

I've been told C# would be a lot quicker and easier to learn but sadly, according to the guys over on xda-developers forum, its limited on what can be done on WinMob and C++ is by far quicker and more versatile (on WinMob)

There is a lot of truth in that, I'd recommend C++ over anything running on a mobile device simply due to performance and compatibility issues, however, for a newbie, C# has a far easier learning curve, but now you've got some summertime reading, you'll be sorted

Once you've scanned the C++ book, I'd recommend getting your hands dirty ASAP and start getting used to the GUI, this, unfortunately, is where C# has major advantages as C++ has an almost do it from scratch feel. But there's always MFC

[GasDad]

And for the MFC support, (and .Net for that matter), head over http://www.codeproject.com/.

If you knew 68000 assembly, apart from being a BigEndian (shudder ) - you wouldn't actually find anything to surprise you about how C (and therefore c++) works.

Learning how to create a real Windows app is more problematic - getting to the Hello World stage can take a while.