C++ Course in Dublin Area

the_judge

Hi Guys,

I am a junior software developer in a small company and work mainly with C++ and MFC. Although a lot of it I'm learning on job, I am being asked to look into doing an advanced training course in C++ (hopefully with MFC incorporated as all of the applications I am working with and developing are based on it).

I have a good working knowledge of the basics in C++ and object orientated programming, and have a bachelor degree in Electronic Engineerings with Computers.

Does anybody know of any decent, fairly priced courses in the Dublin area?

After a bit of googling I have found one on the IACT website. Anybody know if this is a good course, or an approximate price range for it? (Although after searching this forum I found a post saying they don't actually offer this course anymore? http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=1005862)

Any suggestions would be very helpful!

EDIT:
And I'd just like to say, I know that taking courses won't make me a better programmer. Only by actually experimenting and practising can I become any good. I just want a course that will give me some good groundwork and background and structure on stuff that I can then go on to practise with myself.

Anima

I'd rather go on the dole than use MFC.

Generally an advanced C++ course would involve learning the STL and more higher level features. If you want to learn MFC just get a book I'd say.

the_judge

Well I wouldn't want to be on the dole for any reason.

And I said in my post, I'm looking for a course that "hopefully" has MFC incorporated, not specifically MFC. Do you have any real suggestions or input?

srsly78

You can only learn c++ by doing stuff with it. Years of courses and education doesn't really help much. So pick a problem and go try to solve it. Best way to learn is to be part of a team of experienced developers, kinda hard to get foot in the door ofc.

None of those courses teach "advanced" c++ btw. Stuff like using STL is not advanced. Many people think they have been writing c++ for years, but have only really written C (I was like this).

MFC = complete waste of time. You should be learning modern stuff, like boost, c++01 (previously known as tr1). Maybe even cli/c++ to write managed wrappers. Also learn stuff like continuous integration, unit testing frameworks etc. For GUI on windows I use c# for frontend, then I put c++ code into dll. Can use primitive oldschool binding for this, or fancy modern stuff like managed wrappers.

Colonel Panic

The guy's working in a job where they use MFC so how is learning more about it a complete waste of time?

I'm not defending MFC, it's pretty lousy, but a lot of my job involves managing legacy MFC stuff and I would be willing to bet this applied to many C++ based jobs where companies target Windows.

Only our new development is done with C#/WPF with wrappers to access legacy native functionality but we're hardly going to throw out 10 years of working, stable code because MFC is crap, are we?

Good advice re: looking at C++11 and general skills like CI and unit testing though. Things like that will help the OP much more than hearing the "MFC IS TERRIBLE" dogma that people seem to spew as soon as it's mentioned without reading the actual post.

the_judge

srsly78 wrote: »

You can only learn c++ by doing stuff with it. Years of courses and education doesn't really help much. So pick a problem and go try to solve it. Best way to learn is to be part of a team of experienced developers, kinda hard to get foot in the door ofc.

None of those courses teach "advanced" c++ btw. Stuff like using STL is not advanced. Many people think they have been writing c++ for years, but have only really written C (I was like this).

MFC = complete waste of time. You should be learning modern stuff, like boost, c++01 (previously known as tr1). Maybe even cli/c++ to write managed wrappers. Also learn stuff like continuous integration, unit testing frameworks etc. For GUI on windows I use c# for frontend, then I put c++ code into dll. Can use primitive oldschool binding for this, or fancy modern stuff like managed wrappers.

Thing is, I don't have really a choice about using MFC or not. I know from reading and personal experience so far that it's outdated but unless I plan on completely rewriting numerous huge applications, some of which were written (really badly, might I add) about 15+ years ago I have to at least gain some grasp of MFC. I definitely don't have the skills yet to take on such a massive task.

I have been doing it so far by playing around with these old applications and experimenting. I'd like some way with a bit more structure - a book would probably be best in that regard, I suppose.

But my supervisor is at me to find a course I can take. They're going to pay for it, so why not? Do you know of any that will give me some decent groundwork on the more modern stuff?

EDIT: Forgot to say, cheers for some actual constructive advice!

the_judge

Colonel Panic wrote: »

The guy's working in a job where they use MFC so how is learning more about it a complete waste of time?

I'm not defending MFC, it's pretty lousy, but a lot of my job involves managing legacy MFC stuff and I would be willing to bet this applied to many C++ based jobs where companies target Windows.

Only our new development is done with C#/WPF with wrappers to access legacy native functionality but we're hardly going to throw out 10 years of working, stable code because MFC is crap, are we?

Good advice re: looking at C++11 and general skills like CI and unit testing though. Things like that will help the OP much more than hearing the "MFC IS TERRIBLE" dogma that people seem to spew as soon as it's mentioned without reading the actual post.

Exactly I don't really have a whole lot of choice on the matter!

Do you know any good courses or anything that could help me start learning this stuff?

Colonel Panic

I don't really know any courses that would help. I learned MFC on the job with a mix of some old books, looking at our own code base, nagging my colleagues and trawling through sites like CodeProject. I knew the basics of the Win32 API beforehand which helped.

If I'm honest, I don't know what a short course in C++ would do to help you compared to just slogging it out but it couldn't hurt. Hopefully someone else can suggest one.

There's a load of videos on Channel9, an MS site with info about C++11 and the Boost documentation. There's also the C++ FAQ and the C++ FQA for general do and don't info, although take all of that with a pinch of salt. Even if you don't use C++11 or Boost in work, it'll still give you an idea of what the language is about and a taste for how to get things done.

the_judge

Colonel Panic wrote: »

I don't really know any courses that would help. I learned MFC on the job with a mix of some old books, looking at our own code base, nagging my colleagues and trawling through sites like CodeProject. I knew the basics of the Win32 API beforehand which helped.

If I'm honest, I don't know what a short course in C++ would do to help you compared to just slogging it out but it couldn't hurt. Hopefully someone else can suggest one.

There's a load of videos on Channel9, an MS site with info about C++11 and the Boost documentation. There's also the C++ FAQ and the C++ FQA for general do and don't info, although take all of that with a pinch of salt. Even if you don't use C++11 or Boost in work, it'll still give you an idea of what the language is about and a taste for how to get things done.

That's exactly how I've been doing it so far!

Thanks a million. I'll definitely check that out!

the_judge

Hi Guys, I'm still looking for suggestions on this! My company is at me to find ANY course that may help with C++ or OO design and programming!

Any advice?