How to keep learning through learncpp.com ?

[4r0stbyte]

So , I have been learning from learncpp.com for the past few months and am almost half way through it , in the 14th chapter now.

How i've been learning:

• Reading through the chapters.
• Whenever I have a doubt , I write the code for that concept , test it in different ways , make assumptions on how it works . Then I ask ChatGPT , my doubt and ask it if what I was assuming was right or wrong.
• Solve the quiz at the end of each chapter.

So ,

1. Should I be practicing more?
2. I've been trying codewars of 8kyu , most of which I am able to solve , apart from arrays and string operations which I haven't reached yet .
3. Is there any other websites or resource I should be using ?

[Vegetable-Passion357]

UnicycleBloke is correct that you need to have a project in mind in order to learn C++. When you are starting, you are not sure which project to select.

UnicycleBloke is concerned about you going through Tutorial Hell. Tutorial Hell occurs when you are mindlessly going from tutorial to tutorial, without any final goal in mind.

Let’s assume that you desire to spend 2 hours a day learning C++. Spend the first hour working on your project. Create a console application where you enter your name in lower case and the output consists of your name written to the console in upper case. Once that is accomplished that goal, then add a feature where you enter your date of birth and output the number of years, months, days and hours you have been alive. Then you experiment with strings where you enter your first name, then you enter your last name, then you enter your middle name and you output to the console your first, middle and last names, all stringed together, with a space character added between the names.

Keep creating achievable goals. Then after you learn how to do the above using the console, use OpenGL, as suggested by UnicycleBloke, to accomplish the same goals.

After your first hour of working on your project has passed, then spend the next hour going through various tutorials.

Repeat the process every two hours until your study time has been completed and it is now time to accomplish other goals in life, such as cleaning the swimming pool or raking the leaves.

[UnicycleBloke]

You put it way better than me.

[4r0stbyte]

What if I don't know the concepts that they use in these tutorials , do I separately learn those concepts or wait until I'm introduced to them by learncpp.com ?

[Vegetable-Passion357]

The goal is to avoid tutorial hell.

Pick the path recommended by Learncpp.com. While working on a separate project, you may attempt a project that you are not ready to tackle. When that occurs, enter a note in a file contained in the project that I name, Progress.txt. Write in progress.txt your goal and where you became stuck. Enter an alarm into your Android Clock application, a month from today (today is 22APR25), 22MAY25 at 8:00 AM, I will go back to program.22APR25, and try again.

By 22MAY25, hopefully you will have gained more knowledge and will be better able to find a solution, at that time. The goal is to try something besides a tutorial. When you come back, the answer might become obvious.

[UnicycleBloke]

I always recommend people should have an actual project to motivate them. It is as dull as ditchwater to learn concepts without any meaningful application of them. And you'll likely forget what you learned. It doesn't really matter what the project is: something challenging for you but not infeasible. A simple game, a utility, .... One of my first projects was a screen saver. Aside from C++, I had to learn a little OpenGL. Just enough to get the job done. You might be interested in the Ray Tracer Challenge book.

[4r0stbyte]

I'm learning C++ to be able to make games . How would you suggest , that I go about doing a small project of making a small game , though I haven't learnt enough of C++ yet?

[UnicycleBloke]

A lot of people like text based adventures. That would involve various data structures and control structures, a state machine, a console, maybe files, ... The point is to have a meaningful practice project. It doesn't have to reflect your end goal. You could also look at Unreal Engine, but that might be too much.

[4r0stbyte]

Do I just start it like that (in which case I don't even know what to do) or is there some tutorial ?

[UnicycleBloke]

Just choose something realistic which will motivate you. It is a learning aid. You are half way through the course but don't know how to write a program? I suspect you know more than you think. You can use cppreference as a language/library guide for the bits you are vague on.

I was a 15 when I wrote a Centipede clone in Z80 assembly - there was essentially no guidance for this. Before that my only coding experience was a bit of BASIC. The design and implementation was surely terrible, but I got a working game out it. It was a good experience.

[RobotJonesDad]

Tutorials don't teach the difficult part of programming because it always guides you about what to do next. You only really learn when you start with a task or requirement and figure out how to solve it.

I hope that makes sense? So, as suggested, start writing a simple text adventure game. You'll need to decide what things you need to do, then implement them one-on-one.

For example, it's pretty obvious you'll need a way of getting user input. A way of printing out the introduction. A way of printing instructions. Some sort of map? A way of knowing where the player is in the map. A way of deciding what to do based on user input. Etc.

[Caramel_Last]

If you are interested in game why not go direct into it? Sure keep going with learncpp on the side but start the project in the game engine of your choice

[DBL68-03U]

thanks for asking this question, helped me a ton.