Hello
I'm starting to learn c++
and I'm wondering if I should wait until c++0x standard is published (since I'm not in a hurry, currently learning Perl and Java) or should I start learning c++ with an old book I have
If i do learn c++ w/ the 2003 standards will it be hard to learn c++0x
Definitely no need to wait. 0x will just make some things easier for you, but probably not until you've got at least a couple of years of experience with the "old" c++.
Definitely continue with your book for the concepts, but there are some good examples of how to do specific things here:
http://programmingexamples.net/index.php?title=CPP
Good luck,
David
Just learn it and don't worry about it. Most of the stuff in C++0x is features added to the language.
Besides, if you wait for C++0x to come out before you learn it, why not wait until the next version after that comes out? Standards are constantly evolving. They have to adapt the their new environment or they die. if you wait for a standard to stop changing before you learn it, you'll never learn it because it will never stop changing.
Just learn it, then adapt. It's what we all do every day.
so if I learn c++ (the basics),
once c++0x comes out ¿will I be able to adapt to the new standards just reading about the changes? or will the update be so big I will have to lean most of c++ basics all over again
You will just be able to adapt. You certainly will not have to start over. The things that will change you will probably not even learn about until several years after starting with c++ :)
>>¿will I be able to adapt to the new standards just reading about the changes?
Yes.
While there are some how-to type things contained in language standards, such as the official syntax of the language, they mostly dictate what features must be available to the users of the language and how those features should behave.
You will just be able to adapt. You certainly will not have to start over. The things that will change you will probably not even learn about until several years after starting with c++ :)
LOL
learning c++ sounds like a real challenge
thanks so much you encouraged me to continue reading my book :p
Everything which you learn from a book written in the past 10 years will be equally relevant long after C++0x becomes the accepted standard.
Equally, however, there's nothing at all which stops you using a compiler which supports some C++0x features; its never a bad idea to learn using the latest-greatest (stable) compiler for the language, and if you accidentally become exposed to some C++0x features along the way then that's not a bad thing really either.
Once you reach a certain stage, some of the new libraries are certainly worth learning - I wouldn't be too surprised if tools like regex and shared_ptr eventually became core to every C++ programmer's repertoire over the next few years - it would certianly make sense in new beginner books to introduce those as part of a C++ programmer's basic arsenal since they are useful on a very general level, much in the same way that STL iterators/algorithms have gained acceptance since the 1998 standard.
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