Looking for advice

#21

I believe the latest edition is for py3k, the previous one is probably going to be for 2.6 (it should say in the top right corner of the cover). Go for 2.x.
Even a couple editions ago (2.4) it would still be good, as most of the changes between 2.4 and on are probably not something that would crop up or appreciated when you’re starting anyway.

#22

Thanks again for all the help. It is much appreciated!

#23

I hope your doing well with your Python book. There is another helpful thing that could be useful to you. Video tutorials. Now they are different between sites but I found this one quite helpful:

http://www.thenewboston.com/?cat=40&pOpen=tutorial

Each video is short and teaches one thing at a time, brilliant for beginners. You can take a look at it and maybe it’ll be a helpful perspective on what you are picking up from the book.

#24

In addition to Raffaele’s excellent points above…

For what it’s worth, the key, in my opinion, to learning C++ is understanding WHY you want to learn C++. If you try to use C++ to write a program you could just as well write in Python - it’s going to seem clunky. If however, you have chosen to learn C++ is because you need to - for example because you want to be able to handle memory more efficiently, or if you could do with providing more low level optimisation than is offered by the language you’re currently using - it will straight away give you a motivation and a route to understanding what it’s all about.

For example, say you’ve decided to learn C++ because you need to make better use of memory. The reason you might take a C++ approach to this is because unlike “managed” languages allows the programmer to control where memory is allocated and deallocated. However, as a programmer if you do allocate memory “manually” rather than relying on your runtime to handle it, you need to keep track of it - this is where pointers come into the picture.

Pointers are inherently a simple concept - a pointer is nothing more than a very basic variable that simply holds (or “points to”) a memory location. The major problem I find with my students (I teach C++ for Games Programming) is that they try to use pointer syntax without actually considering what’s the reason for using pointers is in the first place. If you have a C++ book, I’d recommend looking at the chapters on pointers and dynamic memory allocation and make sure you READ the rationale rather than simply doing the exercises. Most of my students seem to find once they understand the reasoning for using pointers all of a sudden it all starts clicking into place.

#25

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