C++: A New Hope
Welcome to my blog. Although I am not truly a Star Wars fan, I cannot help but utilize the clever title. Before I start coding and explaining all things C++, here's a bit of back story:
Back in the late 90's I enrolled in a C++ computer class in school, specifically Oxon Hill High School. At that time, it was 486 and Pentium II's that were all the rage. DVD players were extremely costly and no one I knew actually owned one, yet. Anyway, when I took the class, I didn't take it too seriously. I was not exactly sure what I was going to do as a career. In essence, I learned enough to get a passing grade and moved on with my scholastic endeavors.
Fast forward about 7 years later and I found myself lost in the category of "what am I doing with my life?" I then sought out guidance from my fellow peers and eventually followed my sister's advice.
She said, "...you know Sherwin, I went to school for IT and yet you know way more than I do. You are naturally good at computers and networking so you might as well try it."
At that time, she was working at MySpace (at its prime, pre-Facebook era) so who was I to not listen to her sage like advice. After a few weeks of researching, I ended up taking an MCSE bootcamp at ASM Educational Center. From there, a lot changed. I got my first certification, MCP for XP and scored a job at DCI Group. Not too long afterwards, I acquired Network+ certification. Eventually, I began working as a Help Desk Analyst for the Department of Energy.
Sadly, a downturn occurred and I found myself extremely miserable. A lot of things changed, before I knew it, I got a Bachelors of Science degree in Web Design and Interactive Media. I thought this would be my ticket, but it wasn't. Now, I have come full circle and decided it was time to make a new career path in Software and Game Development.
Which brings us to the present. I made the decision to start from scratch and learn C++. Originally, I wanted to utilize my Lynda.com subscription, but it seems that their offerings weren't up to the task. After researching the web, reading numerous articles and watching tons of Youtube videos, I believe I have figured out the best way to learn. My plan is to utilize cppforschool.com and document all of the assignments and projects. From there, I will move towards creating games and software. For now, I hope my learning process will help those in similar predicaments. Granted, I don't have much of an audience. Based on what I have learned so far, documentation is key in demonstrating a developers skill set and potential.
Below is a list of software and websites I will be using at this time.
IDE: Codeblocks, DEV C++, Visual Studio 2017
Websites: cppforschool.com, SoloLearn, LearnCPP
Back in the late 90's I enrolled in a C++ computer class in school, specifically Oxon Hill High School. At that time, it was 486 and Pentium II's that were all the rage. DVD players were extremely costly and no one I knew actually owned one, yet. Anyway, when I took the class, I didn't take it too seriously. I was not exactly sure what I was going to do as a career. In essence, I learned enough to get a passing grade and moved on with my scholastic endeavors.
Fast forward about 7 years later and I found myself lost in the category of "what am I doing with my life?" I then sought out guidance from my fellow peers and eventually followed my sister's advice.
She said, "...you know Sherwin, I went to school for IT and yet you know way more than I do. You are naturally good at computers and networking so you might as well try it."
At that time, she was working at MySpace (at its prime, pre-Facebook era) so who was I to not listen to her sage like advice. After a few weeks of researching, I ended up taking an MCSE bootcamp at ASM Educational Center. From there, a lot changed. I got my first certification, MCP for XP and scored a job at DCI Group. Not too long afterwards, I acquired Network+ certification. Eventually, I began working as a Help Desk Analyst for the Department of Energy.
Sadly, a downturn occurred and I found myself extremely miserable. A lot of things changed, before I knew it, I got a Bachelors of Science degree in Web Design and Interactive Media. I thought this would be my ticket, but it wasn't. Now, I have come full circle and decided it was time to make a new career path in Software and Game Development.
Which brings us to the present. I made the decision to start from scratch and learn C++. Originally, I wanted to utilize my Lynda.com subscription, but it seems that their offerings weren't up to the task. After researching the web, reading numerous articles and watching tons of Youtube videos, I believe I have figured out the best way to learn. My plan is to utilize cppforschool.com and document all of the assignments and projects. From there, I will move towards creating games and software. For now, I hope my learning process will help those in similar predicaments. Granted, I don't have much of an audience. Based on what I have learned so far, documentation is key in demonstrating a developers skill set and potential.
Below is a list of software and websites I will be using at this time.
IDE: Codeblocks, DEV C++, Visual Studio 2017
Websites: cppforschool.com, SoloLearn, LearnCPP
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