Hey all u Jenius's out there that mod Xbox's, code apps, and do confusing shit. I'm only 14, and i wanna grow up to do that hard funky shit too. i wuz lookin at a "schedule of classes booklet for RCC"(Riverside Community College) and i'm probly gonna take one of there computer classes over the summer. So I was thinking about taking a class called "Program Logic Using C++", is this a good class to take?

Sup Skipknot... nice to see you getting started early. I graduated from UCR (right next door to you) last year.

If you really want to get started with programming, it may be a decent class to take, but I'm not sure exactly what it covers. I assume it's an entry-level C++ class... teaching you control structures (if/else,for loops,etc) and other C/C++ language specifics. If so, then yeah, it may be a good place to start. Also, never underestimate the power of books. If you're looking for a good beginning C++ book, the Deitel and Deitel book basically walks you through everything from C-style coding to pure object oriented development -- check it out... but keep in mind that programming is very complex, thus no book can teach you everything. The book i mentioned above will get you familiar with the C++ language and the core basics that you REALLY need to know.

Once you get that out of the way...

If you want to get into windows programming, you'd need to get some Win32/MFC books. If you want to get into game programming, there's a whole slew... some books on Direct3D/opengl for API-specific programming, other books on computer graphics as a whole, etc. They all teach you something, and you need to learn things as you go and as they interest you. Start simple with learning C/C++ and developing programming skills. Then, go for data structures and algorithms. Those three major components will give you a strong background to learn a heck of a lot of types of programming -- but games are a whole other can of worms, so dont worry about it just yet.


How to Program - Deitel & Deitel - On Amazon

Best of luck to you...

C++ the complete reference by Herb Schildts or however his last name is spelt is quite nicely layed out, he also happened to be on the committe that standardized C++, so he has some pretty nice programing style/habbits.

if theres any high schools around you that have programming classes you might wanna wait till then for C++...
i actually started with basic when i was like 8, then java at 15(9th grade) made learning C++ easier.

I'd say take the course, if they are gonna start from the start and not throw u straight into classes, pointers etc then it can only be a good thing. If you're gonna take the book path make sure u have a good grasp of functional programming before u jump into object orientated stuff. I made the mistake of just learning what I was supposed to learn and it made for a lot of catchup when I finally got around to doing stuff like Java.