Basic Getting Started Tools with C++

[towcar]

So I'm struggling with learning languages, when I have time I will buy a book lol

Anyway from what I know to develop a simple game with C++ this is all I need

• Windows NotePad
  To write down all the code for my game
  
  C++ Complier
  Have this put together my game so I can play it. (looking into Borland C++)
  
  Paint
  To Draw Sprites, Gui and Menus

Correct me if I'm wrong, since after looking through a bunch of program choices and reading certain things, I got this assumption. Since I'm tired of using anything by microsoft or free trials. And I'm not going to spend money till I have at least a simple pathetic game completed

[Jackolantern]

You are correct. That is the bare minimum you need. However, in practice, developing anything but the most simple of applications is very difficult this way due to a lack of debugging tools. You don't have to buy anything to develop C++ applications in a world-class IDE. Here are what I believe to be the 3 most used C++ IDEs:

Microsoft Visual C++ Express
Eclipse for C++ Developers
Bloodshed Dev C++

This is ordered by their popularity (I think). And yes, #1 is a Microsoft product. Don't worry about it. It is an amazing IDE, even the free version.

EDIT: Also, I have been suggesting lately to new developers that instead of buying a book, get a subscription to Safari Books Online if you can. I love this service now, because for the cost of buying 1 tech book a month, you get access to thousands of up-to-date ebooks legally. This is O'Reilly and many other publisher's attempt to curb piracy, by offering access to almost all of their tech books online for a subscription cost. You can "check out" 10 books a month for about $20 a month, or have full, unlimited access to every book for about $40 a month. It is great for people beginning a new language, because you will need many books, and you may also decide you don't like the first book you choose.

[Raven67854]

I am not into the whole paying monthly first off once you stop paying you cant use the books anymore. And a C++ primer book shouldn't be that much. But then again I don't really use C++ books . The internet can provide you with all you need. There are some fairly decent C++ tutorials on the internet to help you get started assuming you don't want to purchase anything.
http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/

Far as other tools go on Linux I like using CodeBlocks. Also yea Microsoft makes some very snazzy IDE's but CodeBlocks works very nice.
http://forums.codeblocks.org/

[Jackolantern]

Oh, yeah, Codeblocks is nice, too. I actually like Codeblocks more than I like Dev C++. I have not used the C++ extensions of Eclipse enough to know how I like them, although I really like Eclipse for Java. They are probably about the same thing, although I don't know if they offer something like JUnit for C++, or how well they support TDD.

As far as books and tutorials go, I personally prefer to learn from books. While long, book-like tutorials like the one you linked are nice, once you get past the basics, it can be hard to piece together all the different tutorials for intermediate-to-advanced subjects. Each author is going to make their own assumptions about what you already know, and it can lead a reader all over the place trying to learn "this so I can use that tutorial, but then that tutorial needs me to know this, so I have to read...". If you go by a book, the author knows exactly what you know, and many publishers have series that guide you from the basics, to the intermediate and then to the advanced and specialized topics so each author, even book-to-book knows what foundation they are working from. That is just my general experience with it.

[Raven67854]

I only use books for advanced techniques or I check nvidia's website for articles/papers/free books. But anything rudimentary like starting out you can find very easily on the web. Another thing is for something like say GPU cloth you can find some pretty decent papers on the internet. Since if you buy the book they just copy and paste .

[Jackolantern]

I only use books for advanced techniques or I check nvidia's website for articles/papers/free books. But anything rudimentary like starting out you can find very easily on the web. Another thing is for something like say GPU cloth you can find some pretty decent papers on the internet. Since if you buy the book they just copy and paste .

That's true. The basics are pretty easy to find on the web.

[Raven67854]

Haha yeah well I wouldn't call GPU Cloth basic . But I know what you meant. I to be honest don't buy books anymore. I seriously just google for what I want. I know somewhere the technique was developed by somebody and they have released a paper and that's where I get all of my information if I want to learn something like GPU Cloth. Also I hate book prices. Even online books monthly subscriptions out of my budget.

[Jackolantern]

Ohh, I just meant the basics like when you said the "rudimentary starting out" stuff. GPU effects are definitely not basic. I know what you mean about book prices. With each paper book costing about $25 - $60, a solid collection with enough info to get anything done is going to cost you an arm and a leg. Another plus, however, of the subscription service is that every page of every book is cross-references with every other of the 8,000 books you have access to. So if you don't understand something a book is going over or it is not written well, you probably have at least 15 other books you can flip directly to the same topic in.

[Raven67854]

Hehe yeah subscription services are nice like that. I just hate it how people pay for some books. Like take GPU Gems 3 AWESOME book by the way. But its just a collection of articles people have written. Reason I like nvidia is besides all of the great information on there website is they have GPU Gems 3 for free. Most of the book is up on the site with a new chapter each week .
http://developer.nvidia.com/object/gpu-gems-3.html

I mean I can see where a book can be useful but once you reach a certain point. Books are no longer useful either.

[Jackolantern]

Honestly, I rarely do any game programming these days. I spend most of my time learning new APIs, platforms and techniques, so books never get old