I need an understanding of what C++ is good for -Thanks

[red floyd]

IM(extremely)HO, hiring a COBOL programmer to do C++ is more likely to
result in COBOL-style C++ (perish the thought!) than anything else.

You mean they'd write in the language: ADD ONE TO C GIVING C

Perish the thought!

 

[Phlip]

C++ is actually dominating the games market, isn't it?

I suppose.

If so, it follows this model:

C++ -> lite language -> game script

So one writes a game calling the lite language (often Lua), then it calls a
C++ layer to do all the hard stuff - rendering, AI, etc.

So this fits the other systems models. For a database, the lite language is
SQL. For a renderer, the lite language is POV. Etc.

 

[jeffc]

Well, that's where I disagree with you. I'd rather have a truly good
programmer with little or no C++ experience than a mediocre C++

programmer.

There was no such choice given. I'd rather have that too. The point is
there's no substitute for experience. I'd rather have a truly good
programmer with plenty of C++ experience than a truly good programmer with
no C++ experience. THAT is the point.

 

[jeffc]

And I'd bet any good manager would much rather have a truly
good programmer with little or no C+ experience than an average programer
with a few years C++ experience. Now, if an applicant meets BOTH
requirements, then you've struck gold!

Who said anything to the contrary? If you're looking for a good C++
programmer, it would be ridiculous not to ask any question about their C++
expertise.

 

[jeffc]

I see no reason to talk to me like this. You make some good points, but
they are drowned out by this kind of comment. This is hardly the way to
conduct a reasoned discussion, is it? And my opinion, regardless of what
your opinion is, is perfectly valid, not "unadulterated BULL". Either
discuss things civilly, or don't discuss them.

What can we say? Your assertion was outrageous.

 

[David Harmon]

On Tue, 20 Apr 2004 10:37:25 -0700 in comp.lang.c++, "E. Robert Tisdale"
<snip>

YHBT. HAND.

 

[Julie]

It's not so ridiculous! I actually tend to agree with Mr. Tisdale on this.
A truly good programmer should be able to pick up a new language rather
easily.

[snip]

Knowledge of a language is probably 1/8 of the total equation. In today's
environment, the real burden is understanding the available libraries and
applicable hardware/software interface.

So, you could be a great 'programmer', know all the languages, but if you don't
know libraries and interfaces, you are going to have a very *tough* time making
it happen.

 

[Julie]

What is C++ used for

Typically low-level and large-scale application development. However, there
are really no hard and fast rules as most(?) development is determined by what
resources are available, not necessarily what is best.

why would a company benefit from someone who could use it?

Unless the company writes C++ compilers, there is virtually no benefit to a
company of using a particular language. What benefits the company is using the
correct _tools_ (language, libraries, design, etc.). Just look back a few
years when Java hit the scene. It was the first time (that I'm aware of) that
a language was actually marketed to management-level and up -- managers that
had absolutely no idea what a programming language was, but felt that it was
the cake and they could eat it too, regardless of the actual implementation and
development requirements.

 

[Thomas Matthews]

Hi ,

my boss has asked I sit in on an interview this afternoon and that I create
some interview questions on the person's experience.

What is C++ used for and why would a company benefit from someone who could
use it?

I would like you guys/and gals to give me some good questions & the correct
answers so I can give this person a good review for my boss.

Thank you very much!
-J

I would like to see C++ used more in the embedded systems.
C++ has excellent features for modeling hardware devices. The classes
and members with added typechecking helps develop better quality
programs and faster for embedded systems.

The templates feature is also very useful in the embedded systems
world. One could write a generic algorithm for a family of devices
then just plug in the hardware types (or classes representing the
hardware types).

Another place is in message passing. Many embedded systems pass
messages from one platform to another. Often times, there is a
common header format followed by different parameters based on
a message identifier. This is where inheritance would prove
very valuable. We would only have to write the common message
methods once, instead of duplicating them everywhere.

Sorry about the rant, but I'm facing code reviews right now...


--
Thomas Matthews

C++ newsgroup welcome message:
http://www.slack.net/~shiva/welcome.txt
C++ Faq: http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite
C Faq: http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/c-faq/top.html
alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++ faq:
http://www.raos.demon.uk/acllc-c++/faq.html
Other sites:
http://www.josuttis.com -- C++ STL Library book

 

[Crypticant]

Learning how to program requires a firm grasp of logic and
mathematics. These are learned over a lifetime. There are some people
who, regardless of how hard hey try, will never understand computer
logic. There are others who are born with it.

Languages -can- be "picked up", certainly, provided a basis of
knowledge has already been learned. It is very easy for someone who
has coded in UNIX C for five years to learn Visual C++ API. MFC can be
a different story.

It is very easy for someone with a background in Java to learn to
write VB Scripts, and thereby learn Visual Basic. Come to think ot it,
it would be very easy to teach a simian how to learn Visual Basic.

Because of MS's introduction of the .NET framework, interviewing a
potential programmer can cover a lot of different bases:

1) Are you familiar with C#?
Good answer: I've coded C and C++. C# won't be much of a stretch.
Bad answer: Isn't that a piano key?

2) Are you familiar with database structuring or queries, especially
those pertaining to the .NET framework?
Good answer: I've used MySQL (or DB5, or Oracle, or...)
Bad answer: Queries? Aren't they all from San Francisco?

3) Are you familiar with web interfaces and/or security?
Good answer: I've learned to program in ASP, or can use PHP
scripting, or CGI, or...
Bad answer: I use AOL.

Programming is a lifestyle, not an occupation. Serious programmers
come home from their job writing GUIs or DLLs or COMs and sit down and
work on their own personal projects (usually in a UNIX environment, am
I wrong?)

So, I will STRONGLY disagree that a language can be "picked up".
Languages can be learned over time, and mastered over an even greater
amount of time, but a successful candidate will have several years of
experience in logic based and/or object oriented programming, and you
can only hope their will apply good programming practices to whatever
it is you'd like them to learn. If not, you're sinking your own ship
there.

More toward the earlier question of "What is C++ good for?"

I'll just say, C++ is the answer.
You need to find out the question.

-Crypticant

"The great thing about Object Oriented code is that it can make
small, simple problems look like large, complex ones."