[Help] Starting

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Hey RZ,

I'd like to get started on other stuff then maple-related.
I know JavaScript quite well, but only for MapleStory functions and Java just a little. I'd like to get started making some stuff runnable by Windows OS. But the choice of what to learn is so huge so I don't really know where to start.

I'd like to know these things:

- What language do you recommend me to start with? And why that one? what does it have others don't have?
- What compilers do you recommend? I have NetBeans, but will it work with the language you recommended above?
- What other programs do I need?
- What do you recommend to start with?
- Do you recommend me to buy a book? Visit a site? (I'm dutch, so if there are any dutch people reading this, please tell me a good dutch book I could use as resource).
- Are there any good guides where I can actually learn to make something useful for people with on this forum/anywhere on the i-net.
- Any other suggestions or something else?
- *I'm still at middle-school so i don't have ICT lessons. I'm totally doing this on my own and have no-one near who could help me learning.

Thanks for reading this, I hope one day I'll be the one answering such questions for new guys =].
 
What language do you recommend me to start with? And why that one? what does it have others don't have?
Depends what you wanna do with your programming abilities.
Since your in the MS scene, I would suggest Java.

- What compilers do you recommend? I have NetBeans, but will it work with the language you recommended above?
Netbeans is beginner friendly and have alot of useful tools, so yeah.



- What other programs do I need?

Java (Which you should already have installed on your PC).

- What do you recommend to start with?
Google


- Do you recommend me to buy a book? Visit a site? (I'm dutch, so if there are any dutch people reading this, please tell me a good dutch book I could use as resource).
Google.. I think Internet tutorials will do fine for now.


- Are there any good guides where I can actually learn to make something useful for people with on this forum/anywhere on the i-net.

Same as above.
 
Well you're going to get a dozen different basic answers. I'll offer you something else for a change.

Learn C++ with Qt. Qt is a cross-platform application framework, and it comes with a good development environment. Some pros and cons in comparison to typical answers like "go for c++, go for visual basic" etc:

Cons:
* Qt is a big framework to learn. But learning to program is a huge task, anyway, so it's not like you're wasting your time there.
* C++ isn't known as a beginner-friendly language.

Pros:
* You're not limited to boring console applications. GUIs from the first lesson!
* It's easy to get started. You can literally get an application up and running with visual elements with zero code. Adding basic functionality comes easily.
* Qt is relevant. You can develop onto Nokia's smartphones such as N900 with it. (In addition to any major platforms like Windows, OSX...)
* You'll pick up C++ programming while doing something meaningful and fun.

There are books for Qt. There's even an official, free, eBook for it. Obviously the net is full of all kinds of tutorials and other material, too. If you want to give it a try, you'll want to download Qt Creator (by Nokia), which is the IDE. Compiler, manuals and everything is included.
 
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I think i'll start with C++ with Qt as mentioned above. You'll probably see me often around here lol.
I'm sure you won't regret the choice. Just remember, it will be a painful beginning going into a world of an unknown language and framework, but the reward can be great in the end. I know you want to get into the code immediately, but after the very first Hello World -app try and read some general info on it, it will pay off soon.

Oh, and do read up on C++ alone, too, while you progress. It's still C++ even if the framework does a lot for you.
 
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C++ is not a friendly learning language but all though you will need to dedicate alot of your time into praticing this LANGUAGE. I love C++ And most other languages.
- Goodluck on learning
 
Well, I got English Tuts so It takes longer to fully understand what's being said. But I did make some (pretty useless =P) apps while following these tuts. I now i can't learn this in 1 day, so I guess I have to be patient and follow every step.

Other then that, I feel like C++ is the right choice as I keep reading positive stuff about it.

----------

I stopped reading the dumb 'for dummies' guide that kept on explaining every single thing and started doing some tuts on the i-net.
------------

This is what I made for now:

PHP:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main () {
     
     cout << "Hello there! What's your name?" << endl;
     
     string name;//saves memory for input
     
     cin >> name; // reads input
     
     cout << "Ok! Well nice to meet you "+name+"!" << endl;//returns input + some extra text
     system("pause"); //pauses bat file
     return 0;
}

I'm also working on something else as I find a tut with some challenging (for me =P) exercises
 
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it says void main must return an integer. I searched the whole tut, but it didn't explain why/where i should return that.
Can someone tell me what's wrong and explain to me why.
Your function's return type is void (claiming it won't return any value), but you have a return statement, where you want to return the value 0. So those don't match. You have to set the return type of main to int, or remove the return statement.
 
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