Sender: weiqi AT a DOT crl DOT com
Message-ID: <37F78E76.B1841FB6@a.crl.com>
Date: Sun, 03 Oct 1999 12:12:22 -0500
From: Weiqi Gao <weiqigao AT a DOT crl DOT com>
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To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: I am lost on something
References: <37F777ED DOT 2B048DB8 AT gamewood DOT net>
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Reply-To: djgpp AT delorie DOT com

bo AT gamewood DOT net wrote:
> 
> I am extremely new to C/C++ and DJGPP because I just now started
> learning. I have a question:  how do I write C++ source files? How
> do I save a file with the .cpp extention? If I knew this, then I
> could just type
> 
> gxx -o prog.exe prog.cc

You are exactly right.

> But I do not understand how to write the source codes..could you
> help in any way? If you could I'd appreciate it.

We could help to some extend.

First of all, you need to learn to use an editor, one does allow you to
save a file with the .cpp extension.  Emacs (available from where you've
gotten your DJGPP zip files) is an excellent editor.  RHIDE (from the
same place) is also an option.  Vim (from www.vim.org) is another one
that a lot of people use.  There are other less popular editors like Jed
(a simplified Emacs), PICO (a quote-and-quote easy editor which cost you
productivity in the long run), Boxer (a shareware editor that's pretty
functional but makes you feel guilty unless you register, which hurts
your mental health in the long run), and many more.  If you are the
curious kind, you could download all of these editors and try them out
one by one.  That's what I did when I was a newbie.  Now that I'm older
and wiser, I wish someone would have told me when I was just starting
out, "learn Emacs and vi, and you'll be set for life, editorwise."

Secondly, you need to learn what goes into a C++ source file.  For that,
you really need to read a book or take a course.  Stan Lippman's C++
Primer is the most often recommanded book, and you can learn a lot from
his book.  He was on the original AT&T team that implemented the C++
language.  C++ is such a rich and practical language that it takes a
long time to learn all the features and the right ways of using them. 
So expect to spend at least six months on it, maybe longer.

Next, you have to find something interesting that you want to do with
your newly acquired C++ skills.  Start contributing to an Free Software
project should be on everyone's TODO list.  Maybe not today, maybe not
tomorrow, but eventually, you would want to contribute back to the
community that has offered so much to everybody.

-- 
Weiqi Gao
weiqigao AT a DOT crl DOT com