New quarantine skill? Will Briggs’ C++ for Lazy Programmers

Would you recommend C++ as a programming language for someone new to programming? Why did you choose to write a guide to that language?

Many people do start with C++. Ordinarily I recommend first Python, then C++, for those who feel uncertain. But I think the hands-on, graphics-and-games approach in C++ for Lazy Programmers makes C++ easy enough for anyone who’s learning programming.

And C++ is definitely a good choice: it’s popular with industry, fast, and facilitates good programming practices and makes picking up other popular languages relatively easy.

How is your guide different from other programming guides?

The reason I wrote this book is that I wasn’t happy with the C++ intro texts I could find. They weren’t enough fun. I wanted something with examples and exercises that were fun and a little silly, to keep beginners entertained while they got the concepts.

It’s also up-to-date with C++17, which was the big update in a recent sequence of updates, C++11, C++14, and C++17. (C++20 is officially out but isn’t well supported by compilers yet, and its new features are less important for beginning programmers.)

Is coding something that most people can pick up, or does it take a lot of time and concentration?

I think most of us won’t become programmers — it does take some effort. My goal is to minimize that effort and maximize the fun.

What would you say to someone who wants to learn coding but is afraid that they won’t be good at it or feels intimidated?

Try it out! We all feel like that when we start! It’s like learning a foreign language: you look at the end of the textbook at all that Japanese (say) and it looks intimidating. But if you take things in order, in a year you’ll be speaking C++. (I don’t know about the foreign language.)

What sort of experience do you have teaching coding?

I’ve been teaching programmers since 1991, and using this book (in various previous drafts) for about 14 years.

Is coding something people should learn for the sake of their careers, or as a hobby interest? Is the way you should go about learning coding different if you’re preparing for a professional position?

It’s a lot of fun, but I think most of us learn it because it can make us a good living, which it certainly can. Some like to learn it to make games. I use the SDL (Simple DirectMedia Layer) library, adapted for ease of use with SSDL (Simple SDL), to get the reader started. Whatever your goal, I think hedonism is the way: do what you enjoy, so that when you get the job, it’s one that you’ll love going to.

What other features make your book good for new programmers?

• “Antibugging” sections that show the common problems that new programmers face, and how to identify and prevent them
• A short intro to both Visual Studio and Unix (ddd and gdb) debuggers
• An example-based approach: each new concept is introduced with an easy and practical example of its use
• Chapter 12 is the reader’s first big project: an arcade game, built to the reader’s own specs, from the ground up, using graphics, sound, and realtime interaction, but made simple enough a beginner can do it himself/herself.

William Briggs’ C++ for Lazy Programmers can be ordered here from the publisher.