Heya, If you have some experience in programming in DarkBasic and in basic programming principles... ie, types, basic logic, loops and how they work, that kind of basic thing... then there is not alot stopping you from starting to learn C++...
That said however, the actual learning of the language is something that there is no easy way to achieve.. it is a time consuming process, simply because the language itself is so complex, and the correct use of it is something that takes time to learn properly( any old joe can write a program and crash a pc
takes time to learn to write a program that wont), there are a number of "Teach yourself c++" type books around, and they are usually fairly good at showing you the bare basics of the language, but are by no means something you should use as a reference guide, they are more of a quick intro to basic terms and techniques...
If you are truly interested in learning the C++ language properly, then I suggest doing a couple of things to help, first is to get yourself some current literature on the language, 2nd is to invest in some proper education on the subject(schooling), there is a fairly good book available for download from microsoft for free, available at the same place that you download visual c++ express from, C++ A Beginner’s Guide by Herbert Schildt is the title.. There is also another great book detailing Visual Studio C++ 2008 that you can obtain through amazon or its publishers(not free however) and that is :
Ivor Horton’s Beginning Visual C++ 2008
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2008 by Ivor Horton
ISBN: 978-0-470-22590-5
To me personally this book has been invaluable, it sits on my desk as a reference all the time, and although detailing specifically the Professional Editions of VC++ 2008, almost all of what is presented is relevant to the Express Edition aswell(just things like MFC programming, resource editing inside VS, that kind of thing cant be done in Express is all - the language is the same though, you just dont get ALL(tools/utils/libs etc) of VC++ 2008 in the Express Editions, however the book presents everything from basic CRT programming techniques to in-depth MFC application development, WEB app development, CLR managed c++, Data sources, creating DLL's, OOP basic/advanced techniques, template creation etc.. aswell as serving as a very good "language reference")
The above is just my personal opinion, there are a number of great sites around the web dedicated to helping people learn the C++ language, you will be able to find information for everybody from complete beginners/never touched a programming language before through to expert professional programmers needing a refresher on some advanced topic or other. The great thing about it is that a great deal of the information available on the web is free... and what better place to start with C++ .. do some learning over the web, see if its something you like/are likely to want to keep doing, then, if it is, look at investing in some proper training courses or literature etc..
Good Luck
If it ain't broke.... DONT FIX IT !!!
