Yeah, I just read on Wikipedia that Mac OS uses an older file format for object files, just as you have pointed out.

I also found out that the Core Duo processor does not have EM64T, the Core 2 Duo will have this technology.

So what I really have in front of me is a 32 bit machine. So that would mean that the core of 10.4 is not 64. This will all occur in Leopard I suppose.

Them are available now. Even in Argentina I can buy them.

And they're sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet - I'd love to have an E6600, seems like VERY good bang for the buck.

i was once able to create a 10k Visual C++ executable. but it used somewhere around 100mb of DLL's just to run.

friend did 8-9 KB Delphi console executable

I've done 4kb fully working C++ program using classes - http://f0dder.reteam.org/dl/bin2o_04.zip

oh, of course, and 4KB doing-nothing ARM DLL...

I can get a C programme down to 1.5kb with PellesC .

It's easy enough to get a hello,world down to that, and probably even smaller as well - my program actually does something

Well the question is how big are these exe files when compiled to use no runtime?

Personally I'm not too worried about size but the ability to produce a faster program that I have full control over is what drives me to assembler and FASM.

I think everybody should learn C++. It helps get a few basics. I started with basic (basica, Applesoft Basic) then went to C++ because of the power vs basic. Learning C++ has allowed me to pick up just about any language and be able to understand and use it. I wouldn't trade my C++ skills for the world but I don't use it on a regular basis. I find the language that will accomplish what I need and I use that.

I would recommend learning C++ starting out.

Hey Barf !

Do not get misguided by what others say.

JUST GO FOR C++

and you will have best of the three worlds ( viz: Earth, Heaven and Hell ).

Here's the <sarcasm> wonderful </sarcasm> advice I always hear whenever I (insanely) decide to drop onto IRC ##c or #c++ (FreeNode):

• use ... library
  
• don't do this or that, it's bad style
  
• get a real compiler/OS/etc.
  
• RTFM
  
• Google it
  
• buy ... book
  

Sounds great, no?

but most of time it might be best advice (maybe except third and last one)

Bad style.. i get points taken off for my "bad style."

Style will never be agreed upon. Better to learn what works/doesn't than to learn to make broken code look pretty/be "easier" to read, etc.



I'm not sure why such-minded people even bother to be on an IRC network in the first place. Seriously, why do they??



(GOOD) See http://www.pkware.com/business_and_developers/developer/popups/appnote.txt , section F under General Format of .ZIP file. Or view http://www.7-zip.org 's source (specifically ZipHeader.cc or whatever).



(GOOD) See http://www.maximumcompression.com under Compression Programs (e.g., PAQ8?, PPMd).



No one book is going to have everything, and I personally think it's a waste of money to buy too many (unhelpful) books. Better to say:


P.S. I normally get all irritated when people expect everybody to follow a billion rules or get flamed to death (e.g., bug reporting). This is a bit of a hassle, and takes WAY more effort to accomplish anything. So, I must disclaim that strict attitude. I'm only saying that "Sometimes, people can be more helpful than they are."

I have come across a book for C++ that taught me everything i know about C++. I got it with my (ashamed to say) pirated version of visual studio 6.0 Aside from not covering the standard library, it has everything that i can think of about C++ covered.

Makes sense if there's a decent free implementation around, especially if what you're trying to duplicate is complex and you'd end up writing inferior code. Of course there can be a valuable learning experience in reinventing the wheel, but you should at least know you're doing that, then.


Often, that's justified. If you're writing code that's compiler/platform specific when it doesn't need ot be, etc. There's times when language nazis get all pedantic, dogmatic and silly, but imho a comment like this is often justified, from the code I see people post.


This depends on the situation.

If you're trying to learn modern C++, you simply don't use old Borland, MS, Watcom, as they don't have full language support, can generate bad code, etc. VC6, for instance, is notoriously known for very broken template support.

On the other hand, you might be stuck with an old platform for various purposes, and need to learn workarounds for issues rather than being told to upgrade. Hopefully this is very rarely the case, though.


Bad by itself, but if some hint as to which manual it is, and where in the manual to look, decent enough. Some people are just too lazy and expect to be spoon-fed answers that are explained somewhere already. When that is said, though, it must be added that not all topics are equally easy to find, so "look at The Standard, section 3.4.5" could be a nice answer.


Bad in itself, unless a really obvious query would return good results in the first page (that is often the case though, some people are friggin' lazy). A better alternative to this answer is to help people improve their google skills by providing a decent query. "Give a man a fish" et cetera.


If you want to get serious with a language, you often need to at least read a few books, and it's often a good idea to own at least a copy of the language standard so you can look things up (electronic version helps, searching is so much easier).

But you're right that there's a tendency, especially for C++, for some people to say "buy this and that and these and those books", which is way overkill. Still, every aspiring C++ programmer ought to read K&R: The C programming language, Stroustrup: The C++ Programming Language, Meyers: Effective C++. If you're going to actually do C++/STL programming, Josuttis: The C++ Standard Library is a good reference as well.

That's already a bunch of books , but it does have a point - rather than relying on (possible unreliable) people on IRC, flawed code found through google etc., having some well-written material from people that use & know the language well can be really beneficial.

Oh, and stay away from all "Learn X in Y timeunits" - they mostly all suck, and some are even flat-out wrong and might damage your mind. A bad programming book is worse than no programming book

http://norvig.com/21-days.html

Especially one that you have checked a few links to.