I would love to be a part of this as a student! I'll keep checking up here :)

Quote: Original post by superpigAlso, I vote against using any of the For Dummies books (like, ever). I read C++ For Dummies back in the day when I was trying to transition from C to C++, and aside from maybe one chapter (about inheritance, demonstrated with kitchen appliances, which made the concept click for me), it was trash.

I just have to say that I agree completely. I had that exact same 'click' moment during the inheritance chapter, but the rest wasn't so great. It never even touches upon any Standard Library features.

But there is one reason to use a For Dummies book; Iguanas for Dummies is the worlds leading iguana book.

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This class sounds like a great idea. I'm another of those people that are half way between teacher and student, so I'll probably stay out of it myself(that is, unless more advanced classess are offererd). I wish you the best of luck with this project.

Quote: Original post by jwalsh
All,

I'll continue my research of good books tomorrow. At this point, I'm trying to stick with books in the range of about $25 USD. I know most people can't afford to spend much on programming books. Which is unfortunate. If I had my choice we'd use Deitel & Deitel's "C++ How To Program." It's an amazing book in my opinion....but it rings up at $99 USD. (ouch)

Cheers!

I vote against Deitel and Deitel (in all it's mischievous forms).

How about Beginning C++ Game Programming by Michael Dawson. Despite its name it's a very good book for c++ beginner

I am also very interested in this, i am not so newbie, nor am i not a newbie.
but as it progresses it will hit areas where i could do with some backup indeed.

but i am currently re-reading "Sams teach your self C++ in 21 days Fourth edition" and like i said i am not amazing nor fully skilled, but so far the information is well presented. showing ways to do it, ways not to do it, how to create memory leaks and avoid them, loads of examples. a break down of all the code afterwards. he goes into depth of how and why it works.

he tells you what to do and not to do.
shows you different ways to do the same task.
also at the end of the section there is several types of exercises.

first an Q/A with answers.

then he asks you questions, you answer obviously (answers in the back).
then he gets you to either code from scratch somthing, or editing an example to do more. and provides his idea of how it should be done in the back.

then after that, he gives you "Bug Busters" where he shows snippets of code. and YOU have to find out/fix the problem.

i feel its an excellent book. a great learning tool. its not a just sit there and read it through, do the code, he forces (well kinda) you to get involved. and it helps.

1 thing i have noticed, is not only should you have a standardized book. (c++ 21 days ; o) )
but also an standardize IDE/Compilier/Linker (VC++ 2005 express? DEV-C++ ? etc etc)

as that way, if a Student gets an error message at least that way you/others can answer it with ease, 3-4 years ago i worked on an emu (pol) for UO, and it was so simple to help people as there was one compiler. god knows what kind of problems we would have had if there was several esp for people lacking in english. although some adapted to broken english.

anyway, food for thought, like i said i am interested as a student. if i can help out which i doubt (i suck too much currently) i am around almost 24/7, as i just had a daughter, so i am at home with her. well me + partner are. hence the spare time.

let me know. pm me. or if you would prefer to email me, pm me for my email addy.

but C++ 21 days! its in text form, and free online, and is a good book.
VC++ 2005 express - Don't use it i use VS-pro but they both rock.

sorry if any of this is spam/off topic

Damnation

Quote: Original post by Chad Smith
I love this idea. Only one problem for me though is that I might feel like I know a little to much to be a student, but then again I don't know close to enough to be a tutor. So, could I still join maybe? I have been programming in C++ for just a little less then one year now. But, can I make a suggestion on the book. I too also suggest a free online book. Not thinking in C++, but maybe...Teach Yourself C++ in 21 days? This is the link

Well, that is my 2 cents.

Chad.

Yes, that is really[cool]. The book is nice. I also know little bit of C++ but would like to know more. I want to be able to make small games atleast. Then I will see if I can program and create what I always imagine[rolleyes].

Hey, nice idea...

For the book, I would recommend "Accelerated C++" from Andrew Koenig. I suggest it because it doesn't teach the basic but the useful. Although some things are a little bit hard to understand, the tutors could answer those questions. But anyway it's only my thoughts.

As for the tutor I'd gladly join for teaching, although I'm not an expert I could help in the early stages of the course...

So keep up the good work jwalsh!! =D

Quote: Original post by superpig

Quote: And also, will instructors get some new kind of teacher rank or whatever like staff?

Could be done - though a person can only have one title, so I'm not sure how it would be handled for people who are already GDNet+ (or for me [smile]). That said, is it really necessary? A sticky thread with short bios for each tutor would probably be a good idea in any case - would illustrate that the people running the show actually know what they're talking about - and that may be enough to identify them.

Could you just put "GDNet Teacher+" for us GDNet+ people, "GDNet Teacher" for regular users, "GDNet Teaching Administrator" for Staff, and "GDNet Professor" for Mods (lol, that's the best one)

I'm all for giving tutors a special rank; the only problem is deciding how the rank would be obtained. Is it on a volunteer basis? Do you have to pass one of Washu's C++ quizes (in which case no one would ever become a tutor [grin])? It's difficult to judge if someone "knows" C++, as the language is constantly expanding, and even experienced programers have to ask questions about some of the stickier features every once in a while.

Also I think it should be mandatory that everyone use VC EE OR Dev-C++. One standard compiler should be used because every beginner has a million and one problems with their first "hello world" program and there's no need to have one of the problems be figuring out what compiler is being used.