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References Needed for Implementing an Interpreter in C/C++
How to create a language these days?
Learning to write a compiler
I know some c++, VERY good at php, pro at css html, okay at javascript. So I was thinking of how was c++ created I mean how can computer understand what codes mean? How can it read... so is it possible I can create my own language and how?
If you're interested in compiler design ("how can computer understand what codes mean"), I highly recommend Dragon Book. I used it while in college and went as far as to create programming language myself.
"Every now and then I feel a temptation to design a programming
language but then I just lie down until it goes away." — L. Peter
Deutsch
EDIT (for those who crave context):
"[L. Peter Deutsch] also wrote the PDP-1 Lisp 1.5 implementation, Basic PDP-1 LISP, 'while still in short pants' between the age of 12-15 years old."
If you want to understand how the computer understands the code, you might want to learn some assembly language. It's a much lower-level language and will give you a better feel for the kinds of simple instructions that really get executed. You should also be able to get a feel for how one implements higher level constructs like loops with only conditional jumps.
For an even lower-level understanding, you'll need to study up on electronics. Digital logic shows you how you can take electronic "gates" and implement a generic CPU that can understand the machine code generated from the assembly language code.
For really-low level stuff, you can study material science which can teach you how to actually make the gates work at an atomic level.
You sound like a resourceful person. You'll want to hunt down books and/or websites on these topics tailored to your level of understanding and that focus on what you're interested in the most. A fairly complete understanding of all of this comes with a BS degree in computer science or computer engineering, but many things are quite understandable to a motivated person in your position.
Yes it's possible to create your own language. Take a look at compiler compilers. Or the source code to some scripting languages if you dare. Some useful tools are yacc and bison and lexx.
Others have mentioned the dragon book. We used a book that I think was called "compiler theory and practice" back in my university days.
It's not necessary to learn assembler to write a language. For example, Javascript runs in something called an interpreter which is an application that executes javascript files. In thise case, the interpreter is usually built into the browser.
The easiest starting program language might be to write a simple text based calculator. i.e. taking a text file, run through it and perform the calculations. You could write that in C++ very easily.
My first language for a college project was a language defined in BNF given to us. We then had to write a parser which parsed it into a tree structure in memory and then into something called 3 address code (which is assembler like). You could quite easily turn 3 address code into either real assembler or write an interpreter for that.
Yup! It's definitely possible. Others have mentioned the Dragon Book, but there is also plenty of information online. llvm, for example, has a tutorial on implementing a programming language: http://llvm.org/docs/tutorial/
I really recommend Programming Language Pragmatics. It's a great book that takes you all the way from what a language is through how compilers work and creating your own. It's a bit more accessible than the Dragon Book and explains how things work before jumping in headfirst.
It is possible. You should learn about compilers and/or interpreters: what they are for and how they are made.
Start learning ASM and reading up on how byte code works and you might have a chance :)
If you know C -- it sounds like you do -- grab a used copy of this ancient book:
http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Take-Charge-Programming-Book-Disk/dp/0078818826
In it there's a chapter where the author creates a "C" interpreter, in C. It's not academically serious like the Dragon book would be, but I remember it being pretty simple, very practical and easy to follow, and since you're just getting started, it would be an awesome introduction to the ideas of a "grammar" for languages, and "tokenizing" a program.
It would be a perfect place for you to start. Also, at $0.01 for a used copy, cheaper than the Dragon Book. ;)
Start with creating a parser. Read up on EBNF grammars. This will answer your question about how the computer can read code. This is a very advanced topic, so don't expect too much of yourself, but have fun. Some resources I've used for this are bison, flex, and PLY.
Yes! Getting interested in compilers was my hook into professional CS (previously I'd been on a route to EE, and only formally switched sides in college), it's a great way to learn a TON about a wide range of computer science topics. You're a bit younger (I was in high school when I started fooling around with parsers and interpreters), but there's a whole lot more information at your fingertips these days.
Start small: Design the tiniest language you can possibly think of -- start with nothing more than a simple math calculator that allows variable assignment and substitution. When you get adventurous, try adding "if" or loops. Forget arcane tools like lex and yacc, try writing a simple recursive descent parser by hand, maybe convert to simple bytecodes and write an interpreter for it (avoid all the hard parts of understanding assembly for a particular machine, register allocation, etc.). You'll learn a tremendous amount just with this project.
Like others, I recommend the Dragon book (1986 edition, I don't like the new one, frankly).
I'll add that for your other projects, I recommending using C or C++, ditch PHP, not because I'm a language bigot, but just because I think that working through the difficulties in C/C++ will teach you a lot more about underlying machine architecture and compiler issues.
(Note: if you were a professional, the advice would be NOT to create a new language. That's almost never the right solution. But as a project for learning and exploration, it's fantastic.)
If you want a really general (but very well written) introduction to this topic -- computing fundamentals -- I highly recommend a book titled Code by Charles Petzold. He explains a number of topics you are interest and from there you can decide what you want to create yourself.
Check out this book,
The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles it takes you step by step through several aspects of designing a computer language, a compiler, a vm, the assembler, and the computer. I think this could help you answer some of your questions.
I am totally new to programming as though I have my PhD as a molecular biologist for the last 10 years. Can someone please tell me: Would it be too hard to handle if I enrolled simultaneously in C++ and python? I am a full time employee too. Both courses start and finish on the same dates and is for 3 months. For a variety of complicated reasons, this fall is the only time I can learn both languages. Please advise.
GillingsT
Update:
A little more detail about myself: as I said I did a PhD in Molecular Genetic. I now wish to be able to obtain programming skills so that I can apply it to do bioinformatics- like sequence manipulation and pathway analysis. I was told that Python is great for that but our course does not cover basics for beginners. I approached a Comp Sci Prof. who suggested that I learn C++ first before learning Python. So I got into this dilemma (added to other logistics).
You'll get holes in the head.
Python's data structures and memory management are radically different from C++.
Whichever language you "get" first, you'll love. The other you'll hate. Indeed, you'll be confused at the weird things one language lacks that the other has. One language will be reasonable, logical, unsurprising. The other will be a mess of ad-hoc decisions and quirks.
If you learn one all the way through -- by itself -- you'll probably be happier.
I find that most folks can more easily add a language to a base of expertise.
[Not all, however. Some folks are so mired in the first language they ever learned that they challenge every feature of a new language as being nonsensical. I had a guy in a Java class who only wanted to complain about the numerous ways that Java wasn't Fortran. All the type-specific stuff in Java gave him fits. A lot of discussions had to be curtailed with "That's the way it is. If you don't like it, take it up with Gosling. My job isn't to justify Java; my job is to get you to be able to work with java. Can we move on, now?"]
If you are new to programming, I would say start with the C++ class. If you get the hang of it and enjoy programming, you can always learn Python later. There are a wealth of good books and Internet resources on pretty much any programming language out there that you should be able to teach yourself any language in your spare time. I would recommend learning that first language in a formal classroom, however, to help make it easier to learn the general concepts behind programming.
Edit: To clarify the point I was trying to make, my recommendation is to take whichever course is geared more towards beginning programmers. The important things to learn first are the basic fundamentals of programming. These apply towards almost any language. Thanks to the wealth of resources available online or in your bookstore/library, you can teach yourself practically any programming language that you want to learn. First, however, you must grasp the basics, and intro C/C++ classes typically (in my experiences, at least) do a good job of teaching programming fundamentals as well as the language itself.
Since you are a beginning programmer, I would not recommend trying to learn two languages at once (especially if you are trying to learn fundamentals at the same time). That's a lot of very similar (yet very different) information to keep track of in your head, almost like trying to learn two brand new spoken languages at the same time. You may be able to handle it perfectly fine but at least for most programmers that I know, it is much easier to get a good grasp on one language first and then start learning the second.
I think that given the circumstances (fulltime employee, etc) studying one language will be hard enough. Pick one, then study another. You'll learn basics from either language.
As for "which language to pick"... I specialize in C++, and know a bit of python. C++ is much more difficult, more flexible, and more suitable for making "traditional" executables.
I'd recommend to start with C++. You'll learn more concepts (some of them doesn't exist in python), and learning python after C++ won't be a problem.
edit:
From your comment on this question, it appears the Python course is not geared towards beginner programmers. They'll probably be covering some of the more advanced topics of programming without touching on the basics of program flow which are really essential. So if the C++ course is geared towards beginners, then I would recommend that you take the C++ course and teach yourself Python on the side.
There is a wealth of Python tutorials out there. The official one is also really good. You don't have to wait to learn Python, of course, you can do it right now by going to any of those tutorials. The first tutorial I linked, by Alan Gauld, is geared towards non-programmers and is really high quality. He's also a regular contributor/moderator of the python tutor list. If you want to really learn Python, subscribe to that list and ask questions when you have them and do your best to answer questions that are posed - that's how I learned Python and I credit that process with much of my knowledge and understanding. As a PhD you've probably seen countless times that teaching someone else helps you retain your knowledge better and forces you to really understand the concepts.
When you do start learning, there's a great package of Python tools called Python (X,Y) that is designed for doing scientific type computing. It has all sorts of great tools packaged with it.
If you've had any experience programming, then you should easily be able to handle both course loads. What I mean is that if you can understand the following two programs, you should be able to easily perform the course loads.
Python:
elements = ['Sn', 'Pb', 'Au', 'Fr', 'F', 'Xe', 'H']
for element in elements:
if element == 'Sn':
print 'Tin'
elif element == 'Pb':
print 'Lead'
elif element == 'Au':
print 'Gold'
else:
print 'Other'
C++
#include <stdio>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main(){
string name;
int age = 0;
cout << "Please enter your name: ";
cin >> name;
cout << "Please enter your age: ";
cin >> age;
cout << "Hello " << name << "! You are " << age << " years old!" << endl;
return 0;
}
Even if you don't know exactly what's going on, in the programs, if you kind of have an idea, you should do just fine. These are typical programs that you'd expect to see in the first few weeks of class, and if you can look at them and figure out what's going on you're probably at least better off than the average student.
If you look at both of these programs and think, "What in the...??? I'm so confused!", then you should only take the Python course. Python makes it a lot easier to grasp the concepts (and write programs) than C++. The knowledge you gain in either language easily translates to the other, but you have to be exposed to a lot more in C++ than Python. For example, that C++ program looks like this in python:
name = raw_input("Please enter your name: ")
age = raw_input("Please enter your age: ")
print "Hello", name, "! You are", age, "years old!"
You can usually focus on one concept at a time without having to worry about possible bugs being introduced by other language features.
But if you can guess what's going on in both programs within 5 minutes, I'd go ahead and take both classes - as a molecular biologist you've had to do plenty of logical thinking which is essential to programming (not so essential to being a high-schooler).
Good luck!
I think it all depends on the level or difficulty of the of the class and that the languages in and of themselves really don't make that much of a difference.
To me, programming is 95% logical and about 5% dealing with syntax and the actual language. I started programming in high school and up through college (a senior a Computer Eng Currently) the focus was all about understanding the mindset of things and learning how to logically think through a problem and then develop a solution. Very few of our classes were a C++ or Java or Python based class. Of course there were some that focused on the more obscure languages such as x86 Assembly, but even then the idea was more of learning how to attack a problem. As a MCB person you should be fine with that.
For the other 5%, which is the actual language, taking two classes in two different languages will lead to crossovers. Of course a lot of what you learn in both can be applied to the others such as loops, conditionals, classes etc. However syntax is what is going to mess you up. You'll find yourself writing the syntax for the other language when you don't mean to. Simple things such as an if statement
Python:
if x > y
C++:
if (x > y)
But other than syntax issues, I really think all languages are pretty much the same. Sure people are going to disagree and that yes different languages are better at things than others but if you're not taking a graduate level class and these are both pretty basic intro classes what you learn could actually complement the other class you're taking.
But of course the biggest question for you to consider is time. Even being a full time student taking multiple heavy programming classes is not smart. Often times assignments are longer than expected or more difficult than first realized. So if you're going to have multiple long involved projects dealing with coding you may want to pick just one class. Especially seeing as a lot of what you learn in one can easily be translated to the other and vice-versa.
I think you pretty much answered this question yourself:
I was told that Python is great for that but our course does not cover basics for beginners.
In other words, the Python course is not an introductory course -- it assumes you already know how the basics of programming. That's probably why the professor suggested you take the C++ course first.
I come from a computational maths background, and have written sizeable (commercial and accademic) programs in both C++ and python. They are very different languages and I would probably learn one first (or only one).
Which one would depend on what you want to be able to do with the language.
If you want to build something useful with your language that is not (overly) compute or data heavy, go with python, you'll get something useful quicker.
If you need to do something useful that is either compute heavy or data heavy, then you'll probably need to go with C++. But it will take you longer to get to something to do what you need --- It will take a while to learn C++, then additional time to code data-heavy or compute-heavy code effectively.
Now some will say that python can handle data/compute heavy jobs well enough.. but in molecular biology "heavy" can mean very heavy.
Having said this, my suggestion is go with python if you can.
You've got to find out what people in your field are programming with so you can leverage existing libraries/APIs/projects. It won't do you any good re-inventing the wheel in C++ or Python if there's some wicked-cool FORTRAN library out there that is standard in your field. (And, if that is the case, God help you, I'm sorry.) Anyway, the CS prof you talked to might not have any idea what computational molecular geneticists use.
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I have worked for the last 10 years in Networking & Web Development and always had an interest in programming. When I was in School I started in Basic, (To date myself) the other languages at that time were Cobol & Fortran, Where should I start in 2009? is C+ or C++ a good place? Is it better to Start Java or .net? I'm in need of some direction from Coders, Programmers, developers who can point me in the right direction. The technology changes in the blink of an eye, I'd like a good starting point to begin learning & understanding relevant code.
I think your best bet is to learn Python because
It is simple and easy language to learn
Python is capable of doing what any other main stream language can do
Python is also a very good choice for web development, with good frameworks like Django, Pylons, Turbogears etc
Google uses Python and using google appengine you could be able to quickly write web applications.
Python is also great for cross-platform desktop applications using wxPython, PyQT, Tkinter,gtk etc
Python has very rich set of libraries and frameworks e.g. PIL for imaging, numpy for computing, twisted for networking etc etc etc
Python has implementation in Java and .NET so you can program for those platforms in Python
I agree with most of the posts on here but I would like to add my own slant on this. Learning a programming language should change the way you think about programming and allow you to make useful programs. The list below is a mix of easy to learn (the basics) and helps you think about programming problems
Python it makes programming fun and easy. You will learn a lot about programming and make some cool programs in a relatively small amount of code. Will help you think about programs at a higher level than C which is a good thing.
C it's the basis of a massive number of languages and will teach you a good deal of stuff that is now considered low level. Stuff that will be useful for any programmer to know.
Haskell its a functional language which will have you thinking about programming from a different perspective. It is very useful to know this stuff - can help reduce many bugs.
I would start by gaining a basic knowledge. i.e. be able to make a text based Connect 4 game in each of these three languages (in order). Which books help you do that is largely personal preference.
Programming is not only about the code and the language. It's about everything you do at the computer read The Pragmatic Programmer and Code Complete 2. Extra points for SICP and Hacker's Delight
From there if you want to know more about how programming languages work by writing a interpreter for Scheme (by reading SICP again) And/or look at FORTH. Or learn more about how to program by writing more and more programs. Once you get basic knowledge write, then re-write as many different computer programs as you can.
It all depends on your focus.
If you're looking at getting into straight development, I would recommend C#, Java or C++. (C++ is a learning curve though, and would be great to "learn", whereas C# and Java will get you started a lot quicker in doing "cool" things)
If you're looking at Web Development, look into PHP (as it's free to setup and run with) or ASP.NET (which will link to platform at a point, as you use C# or VB.NET syntax).
If you're looking at something different, have a look at ERLANG or Prolog, or those types, however I don't recommend it for a start, as it's not AS quick to get results that you might be looking for.
You'll get a dozen different people all pushing you to learn their favourite language.
When it comes down to it though it doesn't make a lot of difference. As long as you pick something that is modern and object oriented you should be fine.
Assuming you are talking about programming and not web development, any of the following would be a perfectly acceptable first language:
C#
Java
Python
C++
Ruby
VB.net (not VB6)
There are advantages and disadvantages to each; there probably aren't as many jobs in Python and Ruby, C++ is harder for a beginner, but it's stuff you need to know eventually, C#/Java hide you from that hard stuff to begin with, but like I said you'll need to learn it eventually. VB.net is derived from BASIC syntax so you might feel at home to begin with, but a lot of programmers prefer C style syntax.
If you have a specific focus in mind, then that might dictate some choices over others, but if you are just out to learn programming, then any will do. If you are ever planning on being a good programmer you will naturally learn several.
Well, technically, technology doesn't change in the blink of an eye. For instance:
Lisp: Came out in 1958. It's always had a cult following in various fields, but it's becoming more hip now with the clojure variant.
C: Came out in 1972. Obviously influences C++, Java, JavaScript (as does lisp), and still has a strong following.
Smalltalk: Came out in the 70's. Now it's hip via the ruby language.
I'm not suggesting you learn these, just that if you had learned them in the past, you'd still have relevant skills. Many of the modern languages actually take aspects from past languages. JavaScript, for instance, is a scripting language with object oriented aspects (Smalltalk, C++), functional aspects (lisp), and the syntax of C.
Learn what you're interested in, and find out what will help you accomplish your goals . But learn one and you can learn many.
The question is what you want to achieve in learning a programming language.
Do you want to get used to the basics? Then you might want to try a scripting language like Ruby or PHP. I would recommend Ruby as it's really easy to learn and advance (e.g. with IRB).
Want to write "fat" (desktop) applications? Then you should stick to C++, Java or C#.
For web applications you should use Ruby on Rails, Django (Python) or a similar web framework for the language of your choice. So you should already know a bit of the language.
C
Because it's not difficult to learn. TO LEARN, not to do "cool things".
Because is the languague that any good programmer SHOULD KNOW at least if he wants to know what's happening in the machine.
When you've learned C, then you should go to OOP: I would recommend C++ or Java, but there are a lot of OPP languages (C#, .Net), so you can choose.
Java, C++ may change a lot, but not C. So, first learn C.
Furthermore, if you want to do some Web Development, the step C -> PHP is trivial, really.
PD: C is not my favourite language, but I know that if you learn C, you will be able to learn any language you want in very few time.
Nobody can really tell you which language you should learn. Just try a few of them and then decide for yourself. Just take the one that you like the most.
Of course I wouldn't start learning a language that's already "dead", but every modern language is good for something. What you should actually do is to decide in which area of programming you want to code - so, for example, would you like to develop desktop or web applications, should the program run on any platform or are you fine with just windows or just linux or whatever. When you have decided on that, take a look at the languages that are commonly used for the area you choose and try all/many of them. Then take the language you like the most.
Read and do the assignments in The C Programming Language before anything else. It will really help you get a solid grip on fundamentals and some of the trickier issues like memory management. Then go on to OOP whether it be Java, .NET, C++ or Python.
If you start in C you'll have a tougher time starting out but will learn a lot more by the time you understand the language as compared to starting with another language. C won't teach you Object-Oriented Programming though, so after C it would be easy to move to C++ and learn the differences and then about Objects. A good book to learn C from is The C Programming Language.
Or you could go a route where you start off easier so things aren't so frustrating to start, learn a bit less, and then slowly pick up more and more about programming. You could start with Python and understand the basics of programming very quickly, and then start expanding what you know by learning other languages.
I personally started with C++, which then made a lot of other higher level languages, like Python, super easy to learn. If you want to start out learning more of the basics of programming I would probably recommend C++ first as it is a bit easier than C, and then you can learn C afterwards and it will be a bit easier, and then it'll be super easy to pick up something like Python, Java, Ruby, etc.
I think choosing a language or technology is overrated, especially when you have to learn fundamental things like object orientation or algorithms. Try to focus on the basics first and especially try to use more than one language.
In order to understand the concepts you should at least learn a dynamic language (Ruby, Python, PHP) and a "traditional" one (I would recommend either Java or C#). Functional languages are all at rage now and provide a different view onto programming than the latter two approaches.
New technologies are always nice to know, but in the end a good set of fundamental knowledge will empower you to learn them faster than they disappear.
I would say there is a massive difference between a Programming language & a Programming Language + Framework(s), usually when people say Learn Language X they are probably thinking about the Framework(s).
So if you want to actually Learn to program, try to learn the language with as little framework 'baggage' as possible, perhaps C?
Once you have gained enough working knowledge of a programming language (eg variables, loops, conditions) then move onto more broader subjects like OOP, then start looking at functional style etc.
From personnel experience I would say try and learn as many programming languages as possible (it actually gets easier the more you learn) but you will never master them all, just have enough to get by.
You will then realise that the language is the easy part, the framework and related methodology is what your actually learning when going from one language to another.
Much as I love Delphi, I think I would suggest either Java or Python. Why? Assuming you are learning on your own, I think these languages have the clearest texts and web sites for learning on your own (esp. Java).
Seeing that you're coming from two different fields (networking and web development) you can either work your way top down or bottom up in terms of high- or low level languages. If you think you want to make use of your networking knowledge (which I assume is pretty close to hardware), you might want to start with something like C, maybe Unix network programming. If you want to build on your web developer skills, you might want to try something more high level. I think Python is a good suggestion, but also Java - maybe in combination with JSP. C# would be a good choice too in my eyes.
Don't forget about platform. Are you most interested in web, mobile, or desktop development? As for languages, there are a ton out there and you'll never be able to learn them all. So I think you should determine what your goal is and whether you plan to program for fun, profit, or both. But most important of all, be sure the journey is fun for you and that you're building stuff you love.
A good reason to learn Java - besides the fact it's currently the most popular language - is that the Java Trails tutorials are really good, and really far-reaching.
C# is very, very similar to Java in most regards; also interesting to learn, and it's gaining marketshare while Java slows down.
Other than those two, I'd also strongly consider Python, for being easy to learn and very, very useful personally and professionally.
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I visited a university CS department open day today and in the labs tour we sat down to play with a couple of final-year projects from undergraduate students. One was particularly good - a sort of FPS asteroids game. I decided to take a peek in the src directory to find it was done in C++ (most of the other projects were Java 3D apps).
I haven't done any C before but I have looked through some C code before. From what I saw in the .cpp code in this game it didn't look very different.
I'm interested in learning either C or C++ but will probably learn the other later on. Is there any advantage to me learning one before the other and if so, which one?
There is no need to learn C before learning C++.
They are different languages. It is a common misconception that C++ is in some way dependent on C and not a fully specified language on its own.
Just because C++ shares a lot of the same syntax and a lot of the same semantics, does not mean you need to learn C first.
If you learn C++ you will eventually learn most of C with some differences between the languages that you will learn over time. In fact its a very hard thing to write proper C++ because intermediate C++ programmers tend to write C/C++.That is true whether or not you started with C or started with C++.
If you know C first, then that is good plus to learning C++. You will start with knowing a chunk of the language. If you do not know C first then there is no point focusing on a different language. There are plenty of good books and tutorials available that start you from knowing nothing and will cover anything you would learn from C which applies to C++ as well.
Please see further reasoning in this answer.
I love this question - it's like asking "what should I learn first, snowboarding or skiing"?
I think it depends if you want to snowboard or to ski. If you want to do both, you have to learn both.
In both sports, you slide down a hill on snow using devices that are sufficiently similar to provoke this question. However, they are also sufficiently different so that learning one does not help you much with the other. Same thing with C and C++. While they appear to be languages sufficiently similar in syntax, the mind set that you need for writing OO code vs procedural code is sufficiently different so that you pretty much have to start from the beginning, whatever language you learn second.
I learned C first, and I took a course in data structures which used C, before I learned C++. This has worked well for me. A data structures course in C gave me a solid understanding of pointers and memory management. It also made obvious the benefits of the object oriented paradigm, once I had learned what it was.
On the flip side, by learning C first, I have developed some habits that initially caused me to write bad C++ code, such as excessive use of pointers (when C++ references would do) and the preprocessor.
C++ is really a very complex language with lots of features. It is not really a superset of C, though. Rather there is a subset of C++ consisting of the basic procedural programming constructs (loops, ifs, and functions), which is very similar to C. In your case, I would start with that, and then work my way up to more advanced concepts like classes and templates.
The most important thing, IMHO, is to be exposed to different programming paradigms, like procedural, object-oriented, functional, and logical, early on, before your brain freezes into one way of looking at the world. Incidentally, I would also strongly recommend that you learn a functional programming language, like Scheme. It would really expand your horizons.
If you decide to learn both (and as other people have mentioned, there's no explicit need to learn both), learn C first. Going from C to C++ feels like a natural progression; going the other way feels like deliberately tying one hand behind your back. :-)
I think you should learn C first, because I learned C first. C gave me a good grasp of the syntax and gotchas with things like pointers, all of which flow into C++.
I think C++ makes it easy to wrap up all those gotchas (need an array that won't overflow when you use the [] operator and a dodgy index? Sure, make an array class that does bounds checking) but you need to know what they are and get bitten by them before you understand why things are done in certain ways.
When all is said and done, the way C++ is usually taught is "C++ is C with objects, here's the C stuff and here's how all this OO stuff works", so you're likely to learn basic C before any real C++ if you follow most texts anyway.
I'm going to disagree with the majority here. I think you should learn C before learning C++. It's definitely not necessary, but I think it makes learning C++ a lot easier. C is at the heart of C++. Anything you learn about C is applicable to C++, but C is a lot smaller and easier to learn.
Pick up K&R and read through that. It is short and will give you a sufficient sense of the language. Once you have the basics of pointers and function calls down, you can move on to C++ a little easier.
In the process of learning C++ you will learn most of C as well. But keep in mind a lot of C++ code is not valid C. C++ was designed to be compatible with C code, so i'd say learn C++ first. Brian wrote a great answer regarding this.
Learning C forces you to think harder about some issues such as explicit and implicit memory management or storage sizes of basic data types at the time you write your code.
Once you have reached a point where you feel comfortable around C's features and misfeatures, you will probably have less trouble learning and writing in C++.
It is entirely possible that the C++ code you have seen did not look much different from standard C, but that may well be because it was not object oriented and did not use exceptions, object-orientation, templates or other advanced features.
Like the answers to many other questions in life, it depends. It depends on what your programming interests and goals are. If you want to program desktop applications, perhaps with a GUI, then C++ (and OOP) is probably a better way to go. If you're interested in hardware programming on something other than an x86 chipset, then C is often a better choice, usually for its speed. If you want to create a new media player or write a business app, I'd choose C++. If you want to do scientific simulations of galaxy collisions or fluid dynamics, behold the power of C.
I think learning C first is a good idea.
There's a reason comp sci courses still use C.
In my opinion its to avoid all the "crowding" of the subject matter the obligation to require OOP carries.
I think that procedural programming is the most natural way to first learn programming. I think that's true because at the end of the day its what you have: lines of code executing one after the other.
Many texts today are pushing an "objects first" approach and start talking about cars and gearshifts before they introduce arrays.
No.
It's generally more useful to learn C++ because it's closer to the most modern OO-based languages, like Eiffel or C#.
If your goal is to learn C++, learn modern, standard C++ in the first place. Leave the mallocs aside.
But Steve Rowe has a point...
Having observed people, who have learned Java first, struggle with the concepts of pointers and memory management in C++, I'd say that learning C first is a good idea, in order to grasp these two concepts, isolated from the complexities of other C++ features.
My two cents:
I suggest to learn C first, because :
it is a fundamental language - a lot of languages descended from C
more platforms supports C compiler than C++,- be it embedded systems, GPU chips, etc.
according to TIOBE index C is still about 2 times more popular than C++.
i think c is a really nice programming language, it's compact and somewhat easy to learn.
but if you only want to learn c++ start with c++. but i suggest you to learn both. and if you want to do that; i think it's better to start with c. as said before: it's small and somewhat easy to learn. might be a nice step-up to a more complex programming language as c++. (since c provides you with some basics)
good luck.
I'm a programmer with 2 years experience, I worked in 4 places and I really think of myself as a confident, and fluent developer.
Most of my colleagues have CS degrees, and I don't really feel any difference! However, to keep up my mind on the same stream with these guys, I studied C (read beginning C from novice to professional), DataStructures with C, and also OOP with C++.
I have a reasonable understanding of pointers, memory management, and I also attended a scholarship which C, DataStructures, and C++ were a part of it.
I want to note that my familiarity with C and C++ does not exceed reading some pages, and executing some demos; I haven't worked on any project using C or C++.
Lately a friend of mine advised me to learn C, and C++ extensively, and then move to OpenGL and learn about graphics programming. He said that the insights I may gain by learning these topics will really help me throughout my entire life as a programmer.
PS: I work as a full-time developer mostly working on ASP.NET applications using C#.
Recommendations?
For practical advancement:
From a practical sense, pick a language that suites the domain you want to work in.
There is no need to learn C nor C++ for most programming spaces. You can be a perfectly competent programmer without writing a line of code in those languages.
If however you are not happy working in the exact field you are in now, you can learn C or C++ so that you may find a lower level programming job.
Helping you be a better programmer:
You can learn a lot from learning multiple languages though. So it is always good to broaden your horizons that way.
If you want more experience in another language, and have not tried it yet, I would recommend to learn a functional programming language such as Scheme, Lisp, or Haskell.
First, having a degree has nothing to do with knowing C++. I know several people who graduated from CS without ever writing more than 50 lines of C/C++. CS is not about programming (in the same sense that surgery is not about knives), and it certainly isn't about individual languages. A CS degree requires you to poke your nose into several different languages, on your way to somewhere else. CS teaches the underlying concepts, an understanding of compilers, operating systems, the hardware your code is running on, algorithms and data structures and many other fascinating subjects. But it doesn't teach programming. Whatever programming experience a CS graduate has is almost incidental. It's something he picked up on the fly, or because of a personal interest in programming.
Second, let's be clear that it's very possible to have a successful programming career without knowing C++. In fact, I'd expect that most programmers fall into this category. So you certainly don't need to learn C++.
That leaves two possible reasons to learn C++:
Self-improvement
Changing career track
#2 is simple. If you want to transition to a field where C++ is the dominant language, learning it would obviously be a good idea. You mentioned graphics programming as an example, and if you want to do that for a living, learning C++ will probably be a good idea. (however, I don't think it's a particularly good suggestion for "insights that will help throughout your live as a programmer". There are other fields that are much more generally applicable. Learning graphics programming will teach you graphics programming, and not much else.)
That leaves #1, which is a bit more interesting. Will you become a better programmer simply by knowing C++? Perhaps, but not as much as some may think. There are several useful things that C++ may teach you, but there also seems to be a fair bit of superstition about it: it's low-level and has pointers, so by learning C++, you will achieve enlightenment.
If you want to understand what goes on under the hood, C or C++ will be helpful, sure, but you could cut out the middle man and just go directly into learning about compilers. That'd give you an even better idea. Supplement that with some basic information on how CPU's work, and a bit about operating systems as well, and you've learned all the underlying stuff much better than you would from C++.
However, some things I believe are worth picking up from C++, in no particular order:
(several of them are likely to make you despair at C#, which, despite adopting a lot of brilliant features, is still missing out some that to a C++ programmer seems blindingly obvious)
Paranoia: Becoming good at C++ implies becoming a bit of a language lawyer. The language leaves a lot of things undefined or unspecified, so a good C++ programmer is paranoid. "The code I just wrote looks ok, and it seems to be have ok when I run it - but is it well-defined by the standard? Will it break tomorrow, on his computer, or when I compile with an updated compiler? I have to check the standard". That's less necessary in other languages, but it may still be a healthy experience to carry with you. Sometimes, the compiler doesn't have the final word.
RAII: C++ has pioneered a pretty clever way to deal with resource management (including the dreaded memory management). Create an object on the stack, which in its constructor acquires the resource in question (database connection, chunk of memory, a file, a network socket or whatever else), and in its destructor ensures that this resource is released. This simple mechanism means that you virtually never write new/delete in your top level code, it is always hidden inside constructors or destructors. And because destructors are guaranteed to execute when the object goes out of scope, even if an exception is thrown, your resource is guaranteed to be released. No memory leaks, no unclosed database connections. C# doesn't directly support this, but being familiar with the technique sometimes lets you see a way to emulate it in C#, in the cases where it's useful. (Obviously memory management isn't a concern, but ensuring that database connections are released quickly might still be)
Generic programming, templates, the STL and metaprogramming: The C++ standard library (or the part of it commonly known as the STL) is a pretty interesting example of library design. In some ways, it is lightyears ahead of .NET or Java's class libraries, although LINQ has patched up some of the worst shortcomings of .NET. Learning about it might give you some useful insights into clever ways to work with sequences or sets of data. It also has a strong flavor of functional programming, which is always nice to poke around with. It's implemented in terms of templates, which are another remarkable feature of C++, and template metaprogramming may be beneficial to learn about as well. Not because it is directly applicable to many other languages, but because it might give you some ideas for writing more generic code in other languages as well.
Straightforward mapping to hardware: C++ isn't necessarily a low level language. But most of its abstractions have been modelled so that they can be implemented to map directly to common hardware features. That means it might help provide a good understanding of the "magic" that occurs between your managed .net code and the CPU at the other end. How is the CLR implemented, what do the heap and stack actually mean, and so on.
p/invoke: Let's face it, sometimes, .NET doesn't offer the functionality you need. You have to call some unmanaged code. And then it's useful to actually know the language you might be using. (if you can get around it with just a single pinvoke call, you only need to be able to read C function signatures on MSDN so you know which arguments to pass, but sometimes, it may be preferable to write your own C++ wrapper, and call into that instead.
I don't know if you should learn C++. There are valid reasons why doing so may make you a better programmer, but then again, there are plenty of other things you could spend your time on that would also make you a better programmer. The choice is yours. :)
Experience is the best teacher.
While you can read about things like memory management, data structures (and their implementations), algorithms, etc., you won't really get it until you've had a chance to put it in to practice. While I don't know if it's truly necessary to use C or C++ to learn these things I would put some effort into actually writing some code that manages its own memory and implements some common data structures. I think you'll learn things that will help you to understand your code better; to know what's really going on under the hood, so to speak. I would also recommend reading up on computer organization and operating systems, computer security, and boolean logic. On the other hand, I've never really found a need to do any OpenGL programming, though I did do some X Windows stuff once upon a time.
Having degree has got nothing to do with C/C++ actually. Now, stuff like big O() estimation, data structures or even mathematical background. For example linear algebra results very useful, even in context that seemingly have nothing to do (eg. search engines).
For example typical error that a good coder, but without any theoretical knowledge, might commit is to try to solve NP-complete problems by exact algorithm, rather than approximation.
Now, why in universities they teach you C/C++? Because it let's you see how it's all working "under the hood". You get opportunity to see how call stack works, how memory management works, how pointers work. Of course you don't need that knowledge to use most modern languages. But you need that to understand how their "magic" works. Eg. you can't understand how GC works, if you got no idea about pointers and memory allocation.
I've often asked this question (to myself). I think the more general version is, "how can I call myself a programmer if I don't know how to kick around a language that doesn't have automatic garbage collection, with pointers and all that 'complex' stuff'?" I've never learned C++ except to do a few HelloWorlds, so my answer is limited by that lack:
I think that the feeling that you need to learn C++ (or assembler, really) comes from the feeling that you're always working on someone else's abstractions: the "rocket scientists" who write the JVM, CLR, whatever. So if you can get to a lower level language, you'll really know what you're talking about. I think this is quite wrong. One is always building on a set of abstractions: even Assembler is translated into binary, which can be learned as well. And beyond that, you still couldn't make a computer out of firewood, even if you had a pair of pliers and a bit of titanium.
In my experience as a corporate trainer in software dev (in Java, mostly), the best people were not those who knew C++, but rather those that took the language that they are working in as an independent space for "play." Although memory management comes up all the time in C# and Java, you never have to think about anything beyond freeing your object from references (and a few other cliche places, like using streams instead of throwing around huge objects in memory). Pointers and all that stuff do not help you there, except as a right of passage (and a good one, I'm sure).
So in summary, work in the language you're in and branch out into as many relevant things as possible. These days I find myself dipping into Javascript though the APIs are supposed to make this unecessary, and doing some stuff in Fireworks while I mess with CSS by hand. And this is all in addition to the development I'm really doing in RoR, PHP and Actionscript. So my point is: focus on abstractions that you need, because they're more likely to be relevant than the lower-level stuff that underlies your platform.
Edit: I made some slight changes in response to jalf's comments, thanks.
I have a 1st class Software Engineering degree and work for a large console manufacturer developing a game engine in a team of programmers all of whom program across a wide range of languages from Asm to C++ to C# to LUA and know the hardware inside out.
I would say that 5% of my degree was useful and that by far and away the most important trait to furthering my career has been enthusiam and self development.
In fact many of the colleagues I've worked with haven't had a degree and on average have probably been the better ones.
I'd say this is because they've had to replace that piece of paper from a university degree with actual working code that they've developed in thier own spare time learning the skills off thier own back rather than being spoon fed it.
My driving instructor use to tell me that I would only start learning how to drive after I pass my test ie you only really learn from the practical application of the basics. A CS degree gives you the basics which if you've had a job programming any of the major languages for 6 months you will already have. A degree just opens up doors that you may not have otherwise - it doesn't help that much once inside the door.
Knowing how the software interacts with the hardware by the sounds of it is the most important area for you at the moment only then does the 'mystery' or 'magic' really disappear and you can be confident of what your talking about else where. Learning C and C++ will undoubtedbly help in this respect as will knowing an API like OpenGL.
But I'd say the most important thing is to find something you have interest in and code that. If you have real enthusiam for it you will naturally learn more low level information and become a better programmer, if indeed that is what your definition of being a better programmer is!
I've been working as a developer with no degree for almost 15 years now. I started with Ada and moved quickly into C/C++, but it's been my experience that there will always be some language that you "have to learn." If it's not C++, it will be C# or C or Java or Lisp. My advice is make sure you're solid on the basics that apply to any language(my best friend as a dev with no degree was the CLR book), and you should be able to move relatively easily between languages and frameworks.
You don't absolutely have to learn C/C++, but both languages will teach you to think about how your software interacts with the underlying OS and hardware, which is a essential skill. You say that you already know about pointers, memory management and so on, which is great. Many programmers without a CS degree lack this important knowledge.
Another good reason to learn C/C++ is that there's a lot of code written in these languages and a good way to learn more about programming is to read other people's code. If you're interested in writing low level code like drivers, OS, file systems and the like C/C++ is pretty much the only way to go.
Do you have to learn it extensively? I expect not.
However it's best to always be learning things that help you look at programming from a different perspective. Learning C or C++ are worth it for the insight into how things work at a lower level. For C and C++ programmers the same thing might be accomplished by learning assembly. Most people won't use assembly in a project, but knowing how it works can be very helpful from time to time.
My recommendation is always to learn as much as you can. If you're not working on a C++ project in the near future I wouldn't be too worried about learning the ins and outs, but it's always good to be able to look at problems from another angle and learning new languages is one way to do that.
Today for the majority of applications, C and C++ can be viewed as an academic exercise: "How can we write programs without garbage collection?"
The answer is: you can, but it's a mostly painful experience. Most of the details of best practices in C++ are related to the lack of garbage collection.
Given the brilliant performance of modern GCs, and the general increase in computing power, even cell phones have GCs these days. And in a platform with a GC, you can always code in such a way as to limit the pressure you put on the GC.
Listen or read SO podcast 44, where Joel plays his favorite song Write in C
Spolsky: Yeah, it's not paying the proper royalties to the Beatles anyway. We'll link to that from the shownotes. Awesome song, Write in C.
Atwood: That's right, Joel's favourite song. Write everything in C, because Joel does in fact write everything in C, don't you, Joel?
Spolsky: I started using a little bit of C99, the latest version of C, which let you declare variables after you written some statements.
...
Without a professional reason (other than the good practice of self-improvement) to learn C or C++, then you should have a passionate side project planned out that you could write in C or C++. Once the going gets tough on the side project, you'll need your enthusiasm and curiosity to take you over the hump (since on a side project, you naturally don't have the motivation of pay or de-motivation of a superior looming over you).
Also, most CS degrees are using Java as their language of choice now. This just proves the point that experience gained in the language of choice and exposure to some of the theory involved in the other classes in the degree is the main benefit for people with CS degrees, and not so much the specific language (though I think the higher they go up the abstraction scale, the worse it is for the students in the long run).
Without a practical reason for learning a programming language it is pretty hard going.
If you can think of particular problems or a specific task which the language is suit for - Then the learning experience is driven by needs, rather than simple academics.
I only just recently switched from VB to C# (1 month ago) while not as significantly different as a switch from C# to C, because I switch for a particular reason I found it much easier to learn. I had dabbled previous without a specific problem to solve, needless to say I switched back
If you have a different style of learning as in self-taught then my recommendation to be a better programmer is to research topics regarding your domain. From bottom to top, slowly climb up the ladder.There is a fairly amount of different programmers, no one will excel in all, so don't start off with that context in mind.
Best of luck to you.
C++ is just a programming language. What you don't have that other students (if they paid attention in class) have is the deeper understanding that comes through studying concepts.
Being a programmer is not and should not be the end goal of any CS graduate. However it is as far as most people get without such a degree.
Here is an analogy: An engineer and an architect both at some point learn to draft buildings using CAD. Also, someone completely untrained can come in and start work using CAD and be very effective. This is a good career and it pays well, but for both the engineer and the architect it is not where you want to be when you are 30.
One value of knowing C is that many other languages including C#, Java, C++, JavaScript, Python, and PHP have their roots in C syntax.
Another value, and arguably more important, is that it will build your confidence. Programmers are a confident group and very optimistic (you have to be confident to think that you can write the equivalent of a 1000 page book without a single spelling or grammatical error). And confidence in your ability to learn and effectively use any language will grow considerably with a pure C application or two under your belt.
So write a non trivial program in C; something that at least reads and writes files, allocates and deallocates memory, and manages a data structure like a queue or binary tree.
Your confidence will thank you.