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Questionforeach Problem? Pin
Paul Riley8-Sep-02 11:48
Paul Riley8-Sep-02 11:48 
AnswerRe: foreach Problem? Pin
Christian Graus8-Sep-02 12:01
protectorChristian Graus8-Sep-02 12:01 
GeneralRe: foreach Problem? Pin
Paul Riley9-Sep-02 4:45
Paul Riley9-Sep-02 4:45 
AnswerRe: foreach Problem? Pin
Bloody16-Sep-02 23:50
Bloody16-Sep-02 23:50 
GeneralShould I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Vipermmx8-Sep-02 11:28
sussVipermmx8-Sep-02 11:28 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Christian Graus8-Sep-02 11:55
protectorChristian Graus8-Sep-02 11:55 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Paul Riley8-Sep-02 12:05
Paul Riley8-Sep-02 12:05 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Alastair Stell8-Sep-02 15:09
Alastair Stell8-Sep-02 15:09 
The short answer is yes, get C# standard and learn C# in preference to C++. Arm yourself with a good book on object orientation, then a second dedicated to UML. Then you can decide where you want to go next.

If you want to write true AI (neural nets etc) then you want to use a dedicated language. Look around, do your research, you may even find a language that has a version which can run on .NET framework. Who knows, it might even run in the IDE!

I'm writing an exceptionally ambitious AI designed to analyze human actions, pinpointing weaknesses in their skill levels, coordination etc.. I'll have to leave you to guess exactly what it is! The current state of AI development for games is exceptionally weak so you are entering a market where, if you have the maths, you could do well.

For low level AI I have to recommend C# because it has less overhead than C++, is more object oriented than C++, and is much easier to learn. An additional problem with C++ is that it does not, in any way, force you to write object oriented programs. So if you are starting out you can pick up far too many bad habits with C++. C# is much better suited as a starter language for object oriented thinking.

People argue about the best object oriented language, but for my money the best of breed is either Smalltalk or Eiffel. Search on the web and you can find free downloads for both. Even IBM is giving away a download version of Smalltalk. For prototyping the most productive tool I've ever seen or used in Smalltalk for VisualAge.

I was brought up on C then C++. After Pascal I thought that C was great, and C++ was even better. But now I program in C# I get far more enjoyment out of writing creative code, and I am orders of magnitude more efficient.

C# is not perfect, but it offers a viable compromise between the speed of C++ and the power and purity of Smalltalk or Eiffel. I imagine that like Cobol, C++ is going to linger for a long time, principally in applications where real-time is critical (eg. games) however the writing is very clearly on the wall.

For telecommunications I write in C++ but never use dynamic memory allocation, because we cannot afford any memory leakage whatsoever. We also have several dedicated languages, especially for database manipulation where realtime is critical.

For banking, financials, and models which change on a daily basis (stocks and shares for instance) I prefer to use Smalltalk for VisualAge or similar.

For many business applications I use a work flow package with a nice visual designer, and something like Oracle for database.

But the one I try to avoid is C++ because like assembler it is labor intensive. The mechanisms it provides are also very weak, especially in regard to object orientation, so I find myself relying on infrastructure (code), patterns and templates. None of which are especially friendly to the newcomer like yourself.



Only change is constant
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Christian Graus8-Sep-02 17:47
protectorChristian Graus8-Sep-02 17:47 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Alastair Stell8-Sep-02 19:47
Alastair Stell8-Sep-02 19:47 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Joaquín M López Muñoz9-Sep-02 0:01
Joaquín M López Muñoz9-Sep-02 0:01 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Stephane Rodriguez.8-Sep-02 19:13
Stephane Rodriguez.8-Sep-02 19:13 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Ryan Cromwell10-Sep-02 18:56
Ryan Cromwell10-Sep-02 18:56 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Alastair Stell8-Sep-02 20:04
Alastair Stell8-Sep-02 20:04 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
leppie9-Sep-02 1:38
leppie9-Sep-02 1:38 
GeneralRe: Should I start out on C# (no past experiance)...Few questions! Pin
Vipermmx9-Sep-02 4:37
sussVipermmx9-Sep-02 4:37 
GeneralSingle instance problem Pin
Tomji8-Sep-02 10:52
Tomji8-Sep-02 10:52 
GeneralRe: Single instance problem Pin
yonjuro8-Sep-02 19:28
yonjuro8-Sep-02 19:28 
GeneralRe: Single instance problem Pin
Tomji9-Sep-02 11:11
Tomji9-Sep-02 11:11 
GeneralAvailable Controls Pin
Nnamdi Onyeyiri8-Sep-02 7:27
Nnamdi Onyeyiri8-Sep-02 7:27 
GeneralRe: Available Controls Pin
Stephane Rodriguez.8-Sep-02 7:57
Stephane Rodriguez.8-Sep-02 7:57 
GeneralRe: Available Controls Pin
leppie8-Sep-02 7:58
leppie8-Sep-02 7:58 
GeneralRe: Available Controls Pin
Mazdak8-Sep-02 10:34
Mazdak8-Sep-02 10:34 
QuestionThrowing exception when a property must not be null? Pin
Martin Haesemeyer7-Sep-02 23:56
Martin Haesemeyer7-Sep-02 23:56 
AnswerRe: Throwing exception when a property must not be null? Pin
Paul Riley8-Sep-02 0:33
Paul Riley8-Sep-02 0:33 

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