I''m new to programming, and I have a few questions. 1. Is Visual Basic a good starting language to use for game development? I''ve already looked at that "What Language Should I Use?" thing, but I want opinions from other people too. 2. What is an algorithm? I have no idea. Can someone help? 3. Is Visual C++ like Visual Basic in the way that it''s drag and drop? I''m in the 7th grade, so I really only have time to learn one language at a time. I''ve already planned to learn C, C++, and Visual C++ in the future, and ultimately start a game development company. Thank you for any help. -Bob

Yea VB is a good language.. with the added support for directx, it''s a good choice.. Although admitedly it''s not as fast as C++ but it''s good none the less..

C++ is hard.. and no it''s nothing like VB...

One thing I''m going to have to warn you about.. VB makes you lazy.. and once u get stuck with VB, VC++ wil look like the HARDEST LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD..

so you could be better off with VC++ but the learning curve is much more wider than for VB...

1. Well, in MY opinion it is. Starting out with C or C++ is a tad too much I think. Also, I can''t imagine it being much fun, as it takes ages until you get anything that looks like a game onto the screen. And with DirectX being supported it''s become even more powerful.

2. hm, I''m no good at definitions, but IMO, an algorithmy is the way, you do (calculate) something, basically how you do it. Don''t quote me on that though, it might be somewhat off.

3. MFC is, as far as I know. But what comes after the drag and drop stands in no relation to what VB is like (programming the interface)
My personal way is to write DX apps in C++ and standard Windows apps in VB, but I''m not saying that''s the way to do it.

Visual C++ is not a language but a compiler... And you don''t need to learn C. I went straight from VB to C++, I think it''s better that way, as VB is highly OOP, and C is not. C++ is, again, OOP. You''d miss objects in C.

- JQ
Infiltration: Losing Ground
"You just don''t understand. Guys have to be immature and stupid. It''s some biological thing. It helps us hunt and gather and stuff." -Nazrix

quote:

---

Original post by Anonymous Poster

One thing I''m going to have to warn you about.. VB makes you lazy.. and once u get stuck with VB, VC++ wil look like the HARDEST LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD..

---

Hm, I came from VB to C++. I had no problems whatsoever, as they''re both OOP, and many things are in fact the same.

quote:

---

so you could be better off with VC++ but the learning curve is much more wider than for VB...

---

Hm, I think C++ as a first language is overdoing it... You need some sort of success to keep you motivated, and I can''t see that happening with C++ when you''re a complete newbie.


- JQ
Infiltration: Losing Ground
"You just don''t understand. Guys have to be immature and stupid. It''s some biological thing. It helps us hunt and gather and stuff." -Nazrix

If you''re looking to go right to games use QuickBASIC. The graphics functions are easy to learn and you can do alot. It''s just not entirely fast. Once you get the concepts down go to C++ and translate what you wrote in QB. The easiest way to learn a language is by porting something you wrote. I learned 2d and 3d using QuickBASIC. As well as physics algorithms.

C++ will seem hard comming out of BASIC but at least you know what you need to learn. I took one class in C++ for the Mac in school and had little trouble making it do what I wanted even though I had never used it before. I did try C and Pascal for a month or so each a few years prior but went back to BASIC.

An algorith is a set of programming commands used to tell the computer how to do a single task. I wrote a program that could divide two integers to an infinite number of places. That''s an algorithm. Games are made up of many of them.

VB is designed for making apps. It''s possible to make games but it''s more work than you need right now. The only game I ever did in that language was a Full Motion Video adventure.

Even the TI calculators would be good to learn programming with. I did my first RPG on an 85. And I actually began learning 2d with my calculator. I figured out rotation and movement during classes. I made a 3d function grapher as well but it was too slow to be practical.

Ben
http://therabbithole.redback.inficad.com

I think it all depends on the ability of the learner. If the learner is an avid and easy learner then they should just go straight to C++. Thats what I did. I had no programming experience before I took one of my brothers book on C++ and about two weeks later I could program really simple programs. And about a month later I could program really simple games. So it really depends on how much the person can learn.

I think you should start with C/C++. That''s how I''ve started out and it didn''t seem all that hard. It''s the most widely used language and it''s very powerful. You may have a hard time trying to find help with any other languages. Give it a try.

I'm with KalvinB. My programming ventures began with QuickBASIC. The language is slow, yes, but it will teach you a helluva lot very quickly, and you'll miss those easy-to-use graphics functions when you move onto Windows programming.

I'm a VB user myself, and I find C++ somewhat frightening. Granted, I learned enough of the language to translate code, but I'll be the first to tell you that it wasn't enough. One of these days, I'd really like to take some courses on C++, but in the meantime I'll remain satisfied with VB. VB6 has many very nice features that C++ doesn't even graze.

Then, there's always Delphi and Java. Never used them myself, but I hear they're pretty nice, and I have seen quite a few impressive programs created with them. It's worth checking out, I think.

Edit: Oops, forgot to mention. Delphi is a compiler, not a language. Unless I'm mistaken, it uses Pascal. If you don't want to mess with the ugly guts of MFC, you can always check out Borland C++Builder. I learned what I know about C++ on that compiler, and I can tell you it resembles Visual Basic very much.

Edited by - Tom on February 17, 2001 12:29:53 PM

Just a suggestion... if you want a RAD tool (ie: drag and drop) that has a VB feel, is fairly forgiving for new users (because it''s strictly typed), is close in speed to C++ and has a Basic-like syntax, try Delphi 5.0 (OO Pascal). Going from there to any other OO language (Java, C++, etc...) would be a snap once you cut your teeth on it.

I first started with Visual Basic 3.0, then spent about 3 years on it until I began working with VB6.0, then I moved on to HTML/Java, then C, then C++. I think that order made it really easy for me, because VB was an easy way for me to get introduced into programming and how computers work. Java is very similar to C++, so since I knew it, C++ wasn''t very difficult to learn. I''ve spent about 4 years with C++ now..


So my advice to you is to use Visual Basic enough until you get a good knowledge of how programming really works and how computers work, etc. Once you''re comfortable just go onto C++, don''t bother learning C, because they''re the same language, only C++ is object-orientated.

Visual Basic is a very high end language, meaning it takes longer for the computer to understand it, resulting in slower performance than that of C++. Basically, you can use VB for anything that doesn''t include complex functions (3D, etc), because you''ll find it sluggish and pretty handicapped. C++ gives you much more control and options, at great speeds.

An algorithm is basically a procedure to do something, or calculate something. You''ll sometimes hear kids ask questions about "I need a good algorithm for simulating gravity", etc. Basically they''re asking for formula function that will do it.