C++ is Difficult..........

Learning C ++ is easy. Yes, easy. It's huge but easy. The problem is that there are several people who lie saying that it is difficult because it is extensive. Do not believe them. Those people want a language that has nothing to study but very powerful, that is absurd. If you are lazy, believe me, everything where there is something to learn, will be “difficult”. If you really want something relatively “difficult”, learn quantum mechanics, for example.

First, C++ is an easy language because to code in C++ you do not need to learn everything about this language. For example, C is a subset of C++, therefore, if you know how to code in C, you know how to code in C++.

Second, you can learn about OOP. If you include this topic, you will have more power. However, it is optional. Anyway, it's relatively simple. If you know Java, then you'll find OOP in C++ straightforward. If you do not know OOP before, it will require more time, but nothing more complicated than any other OO programming language.

Third, you can learn about the standard library. It is also relatively easy but extensive. Again, it is optional and you do not need to study all its innumerable details. Just knowing a few details of the standard library will give you a lot of power.

Fourth, you can learn about generic programming. This could be more difficult because you must learn to think in a different way. Anyway, the vast majority of C++ programmers do not know the details of the generic programming (templates). So it's totally optional. You can leave it for later without problems. Anyway, when you learn it you will have superpowers. Well worth the effort.

Fifth, you can learn about concurrent programming. Again, this is very powerful but it is not necessary to code in C++. The point here is that only a small part of the C++ coders know these techniques. If you do not know about concurrent programming, you will be within 95% of good C++ programmers, so do not worry. Anyway, one day you will learn about concurrent programming and you will get even more power.

Finally, there are many other details to learn that I will not mention here. Yes, C++ is a very big language and it is very demanding if you want to learn everything. The important point is that you do not need to learn everything that is allowed in the language. If you want to learn everything, you will need time and dedication, but this does not mean that C++ is difficult. As I said C++ is huge but easy.

Think of C++ as a language with a lot of future. You can learn a little and start coding in the most powerful and efficient language in the world. But, the point is that there is almost always more to learn, giving you more power at every step.

In conclusion and answering your question, C++ is easy.

-Prof Mario Galindo (Phd in CS)