Spoiler Alert: Answer is YES, and even in 2020 you should! You're welcome :D

Video starts and finishes at 2:22

Saving your time, C and C++ are both very valid languages to write in, and something everyone should learn. It shows you a deeper level of what is going on with memory management. It’s similar to learning how to draw a fully realistic human being before learning how to draw simpler or more stylistic artistic pieces. It’s important to learn and know how to use. After learning C++ I learned how to program in Java in less than a week. It was so easy by comparison. Just my opinion, but please do learn c++ and see what it will show you, and how much control it gives you.

I must be getting old. When I was starting out, C was the main language for most development, along with Pascal. C++ was the new hotness. Java didn't exist yet. So when I encounter people talking about learning C or C++ my first thought is "How come you don't know these already?" Of course these are people who get taught Java in school instead. But as Stefan says, the languages you should master depend on what kind of development you want to do. System level stuff requires C for example. Web development doesn't benefit from C since no one is using CGI anymore. Of course the conceptual overlap across most languages is pretty high. A loop is a loop is a loop. Anyone who truly masters one language will go into the study of any other language knowing 80% of what they need to know already.

I decided to learn C++ 4 or 5 years ago, but unfortunately I didn't start yet, I need to reorganize my time

I'm a hard-core C++ dev, and let me say that the thing I liked most in your video is the statement, said raughly "everything is good at something". Tons of beginners come to me and ask me the naive question "what's the best programming language", and I tell them "what do you want to do with it?" and they're surprised that I don't have a single universal answer. No, C++ is not the best for everything. You definitely can do everything with it, but only if you have an infinite amount of money.

Q: Should you Learn C++ in 2018? A: No, you shouldn't learn Ruby in 2018

Here for "is it worth learning C++ in 2020" video

Stefan, I haven't watched your videos in years, and just got this recommended to me, and it hit me in the feels a little bit. I remember watching your HTML and CSS videos like 7/8 years ago when i was 14ish, teaching myself how to make basic websites, and now i'm in my third year of uni studying computer science. I may not be doing much web development anymore, but you helped push me in this direction, so I just wanted to thank you.

#include int main(void){ std::cout

i clicked on your video because you look like my uncle

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, and my two cents is this; Two points that are important... 1) If you know C++, then you'll often have gained the prerequisite knowledge to tackle other languages, which is something that doesn't always go the other way... 2) Portability. Write something in C++ and you can compile it on Windows, iOS, Android, etc.

C++ gives you low level and high level. Basically it combines benefits of C and assembly with benefits of supposedly higher level languages like C# and Java. With C++ you can program in the same manner as in those languages, but not to a virtual machine, to an actual machine.

Beautiful analogy with the sprinter (Python) vs. long-distance runner (C++)

pfft I program using binary in Chinese

Wonderful description! Each language has its pros and cons. The goal of programming is to solve a problem, and no language is good at solving every problem. When deciding which language to learn, pick the language that is best suited for a problem that you are passionate about.

C++ is the Rocket Scientist of programming languages Java is the IKEA of programming languages Python is the Amazon of programming languages: Just order the library and it works out of the box. :D

I think C++ is good to learn because it teaches you more about how the computer works. You work more closely to the hardware and understand better what is going on. I also think it is worthwhile to learn Assembly because you are working *directly* with the CPU and memory. Most college curriculums will have at least one course in each. However, I don't think you have to be an expert at all in them unless your job demands it. But it wouldn't hurt to be somewhat familiar with them and get a glimpse on whats happening under the hood.

Dude, you are keeping me working at learning to code; SERIOUSLY Thanks!

In addition to the technical information you delivered in all your videos, which are very good for me as developer by the way. Your videos are weirdly soothing and satisfying to watch after a long day of work. It's like listening to veterans telling stories about what happened on the battlefield.

I’ve been learning c++ like for the past two days And let me tell you my brain and the computer are one.

Interesting thought, indeed! I completely agree with you on the choice of language. Always, use the language which suits your needs! :)

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the different programming languages, very helpful for guys like me walking the first steps in programming. Greetings from Costa Rica.

Thanks for the video! Very helpful!

Best, outro, period.

You should know C++ because of its knowledge gain. You will be an Expert programmer if you know C++ and a C++ programmer is ready to migrate into many language.

As a conceptual learner, I really appreciate how you never fail to place your lessons in the larger context. I'm in a bootcamp, but bought your videos anyway because your approach really helps me understand the big picture, that I feel I don't have because I wasn't a CS major in college.

Great video! Also your camera is amazing. Great positioning and lens selection.

i really enjoy c++, its the first language i learnt when i was 16. It to this day (i'm 19 now) helps me in learning everything, basically i can learn any new language i want now because c++ taught me all the concepts. All i had to do to learn javascript was learn the syntax (which isn't as different as i thought it would be from c++) and some other things that javascript offers, same with any other language i learnt. I definitely recommend c++ in 2019

1:44 A wild coffee cup appears.

You are right about choosing what you want to do and choosing tools which help you achieve that.

Good video. Thanks for the info.

Nicolas Cage?

completely agree with you

KZfaq recommendation brought me here and just listening tells me, you're damn competent. Deserved like. Do a "nerdy" podcast, dude I'd be listening 24/7 pros discussing code.

Your analogies and comparisons are great !

I once had a nightmare where I found out I would need to use C for the rest of my life because C++ no longer existed.

The actual question is whether one should learn programming or just a programming language, not "should you learn X programming language" though. It's good to be able to work with any language thrown at you, that is, be able to adapt when needed, most differences between languages are just semantics anyway.

Many thanks for your video!

Thank you for putting my worries to rest, I am thrilled to get my fingers wet with programming, been doing it for about 10 years now, no commercial/production code for me, yet.

I have a problem with people calling C++ a low-level language. You can call Assembly or C low-level, but C++ is not C and it is not low-level. The C++ standard contains many high-level abstractions of things ranging from data structures to atomic variables to threads and asynchrony. You're given much more control in C++ than in other languages (especially with later standards like C++14 and 17) so you can maximize speed and efficiency. What sets C++ apart from high-level interpreted languages is its ability to stay fast, and what sets it apart from other high-level compiled languages is the fact that its abstractions can be efficiently deconstructed by compiler writers such that compilers can produce fast machine code. This is why nearly all performant code is written in C++ (disregarding embedded systems); this is why companies like Google and Facebook use C++ every day; this is why machine learning libraries that Python bindings are developed for are written in C++. C++ is fucking everywhere because it is a high-level language that, with practice, can be used to produce code that runs with unparalleled efficiency.

I'm a 3rd year computer engineering student dealing with threading in C++. It's about as fun as eating glass.

Thank you, man! I love good advices.

The best explanation. Thanks!!! It totally depends on the target!!!

math is important for game development folks

YES, I save you 7 minutes of your time, go learn something about pointers better

Bringing Maserati as a first example of a race (sic) car and then following that analogy, perfectly predicted the outcome of your attempt to judge about C++.

I Respect you sir Awesome info gonna go with c++ huge beast

Great insights and I loved the ending. "I even forgot the point of this video" :D

I started to learn programming through C-Sharp (C#) on Unity (Game engine) a couple of years back. My curiosity in game engine pushed my brain to learn more about. (I tried reading lot of books and nothing was really working from that side). Unity's C# isn't like the usual C# stuff as there are special library that only works in Unity (unless you build them back outside of it). Still, it was a good entry-level experience. Then I started to get curious about Javascript can be used and, in Unity, I learned to translate C# into Javascript from the game engine point of view. Then, as I was, back then, a graphic designer for like 6-years and worked on web design (visual side of it) with web programmers, I did have a few idea of the web's structure when it comes to the basics (HTML & CSS) and I trans-positioned my knowledge from Unity's Javascripts to the Web's Javascript. Different things sure, but the structure remains constant. Recently, I started to learn a variant of the HLSL language (shader language) and started to make my own 3D and 2D shaders. In the end, as it's so well explained in this video, the language you should learn is the language that's actually used in what you want to work with. I'm more of a Math-type of guy with a clean structure. Always have been. This is why I prefer C# and C++ to Java and Javascript. While they requires a bit more works and controls, their sets of rules are clearer and easier to follow (for me). It's all about their programmatic logic.

Thanks for a very simple and unbiased review on "Should you learn C++ in 2018" in 7 mins. Landed up accidentally and now will follow subscribe like your channel and share it with my friends

Thank you for this explanation. It really helped.

This video clearly explains the concept that the developer needs to choose their own path. It was my experience while learning in college that struggling with C++ made learning most other programming languages a breeze. If I had to give someone a cookie cutter answer, it would be that you should have a high, medium and low level language under your belt. As of the time of writing I would say that Python, Java and C++ are the most worthwhile of those categories. Python will increase your speed to write code dramatically. You will be able to solve algorithmic challenges and attack a problem with sooner success. C++ will give you the ultimate power to write very efficient and powerful code, but can be much more time consuming and frustrating. Java falls somewhere between the two as a high level language with many characteristics of a low level architecture. Java is fantastic for building GUI applications and doing network programming. If you want to write a small program that has a limited lifespan that only solves a task today.. Write it in Python. If you want to write code that will be used for years later, do it in C++. Good luck.

I wouldn't question the credibility of your experience having purchases your book on web design..great book!

Thank you very much! I agree, absolutely! ;-)

This a super awesome video outlining how you should approach programming as a beginner

Being a hobbyist game developer and graphics programmer C++ is the way to go because I have all most total control of how memory is used (both sys and with the introduction of Vulkan, Metal, and D3D12 vram). If your writing a business app use something like Python, Java, Ruby, C#, etc. If you want to create a high speed real time simulation that requires a ton of optimizations to pretty much any aspect of the project, c++ is the winner. I could use Rust or good old C for this but. C++ has so many libraries for this purpose plus has several ways to code up a solution (procedural, Object Orient, Generic). My issue is C is simple, I can do C programming in C++. As for Rust, its to new and doesn't have a big ecosystem just yet.

Well I'm a c++ programmer and my take on it is - "I didn't back up then, I can't back up now"

Thank you for this info!! Very nice of you to share!! Also, totally random, but I think burgundy or royal blue would look lovely on you. :)

Up until a few months ago, the last time I had used C++ was around 2004... so when I decided to pick it back up and had to learn C++11, C++14, and C++17, there was a lot to study. I have to say that the additions really make C++ much more bearable and even fun to program in... and template metaprogramming (which was discovered by accident in C++ and has been shown to be Turing complete) is a serious challenge that bends the mind. I'm loving it to the point where I wouldn't mind leaving my current job (functional Scala) and pursuing a position in C++.

I hear what you are saying - I also spent 20 years in software development and once you have worked in more than few languages you can use any language. After a switch in language it always takes a few hours to get adjusted to the syntax and peculiarities of the development environment. It's called transferable skills.

If you are a good programmer, you can write code in any language. That does not mean you know all languages, it just means you have the talent to quickly adapt to the new language. They are all basically the same, it is the application in the particular language that is different. IF THEN ELSE logic is the same, no matter the language. Use the language that best fits the project.

Stefan we need this kind of video for C/C++ for 2023

I totally agree. The language is a tool to get the job done. If there are better tools for your task then by all means you should be using them. You wouldn't use a sledgehammer to paint a picture.

people wanting to start coding c++ are procrastinating by watching this video.

I wish I had someone like this guy teaching me in my early college years ...I probably would've stuck with computer science.

I've been trying to write c++ extensions for python. Kind of a mix between speed and ease of use. Going good so far!

As a web developer primarily, the more I work with Javascript, the more I love it. For some applications, it has some limitations, but for the web, it is so powerful. In fact, I'd say the most powerful features it has are not well understood, and can't be used to their fullest without years of study/practice because there's nothing quite like them in most other languages. In that sense, the experience of learning Javascript never gets old, because you're constantly finding ways of doing things, and even architecting your code that completely expand the world of what Javascript can do.

I'm an embedded systems student so I'm going even more ancient.. ANSI C :)

なるほど。。。 わかりました！

Definitely a good tip, thanks a lot!

I really really thought that you were one of those clickbaity youtubers and always avoided to watch your videos, but you have actually gave a very good and objective advice here! (This is the first time i watch a video of yours by the way).

i hear from someone that in AI python is use to make the prototype and c++ is use to execute it because of it speed.

For the embedded community C++ is the advanced langage! we are only used to C and assembler :)

Been working mostly with C#.NET the last few years, still yet to write anything commercial myself, mostly do some in house stuff at my current job...but i really wanna branch out someone. Not sure why i just typed 'c++' into YT just now, but I did, saw this vid, and it was quite helpful as general advice. Thanks for this, great vid :D.

This is very informative, thanks a lot :)

The video starts at 1:20 you're welcome.

I'm learning C++ now and taking an ML class. It is so much math. I like UI too so I may go the Qt, OpenGL route. I saw a cool job working for Boston Dynamics doing UI. That would be my dream job. Maybe in 3 years or so.

My first language I ever learned was C++, I’m excited to learn new ones soon!

I like cpp because of how much access it gives me in windows, with the header, i can read write and edit memory, while taking snapshots of all modules in a program get the process id and all that fun stuff. cpp is great because you can do so much with it.

Been writing software for over 25 years, most of that time using C++. I've also produced commercial software in various other languages too. You are spot on. I stopped using C++ 2 years ago. I hope to never touch C++ again. Dealing with lib and header file management. There are much more productive languages out there today for various different tasks. A lot of new productive languages such as Golang allows you to focus on the design and architecture instead of code janitoring. I love C++ but these new languages are so much more productive. I will never go back.

Php only used for web development

Amazing Video!

Thanks for you videos.

After he said Maserati... At 0:55 his voice sounded like an Exhaust of a sports car..🤣

Yeah, I really wanna get into AI but I'm horrible at math, I average B- right now (3rd year of highschool) and I am probably going to drop to C by the end of the year. I have been doing web development for over 4 years, I only got good at it this time last year - around the time I picked up PHP, but now I'm looking to learn Django and pair it with Vue or react, I'm not even going to try for angular...

You just burned🔥🔥 from starting sir..thanks for the info too.

I'm mainly interested in learning C++ to code modules for the Synthedit platform, and eventually make my own VSTs.

You are missing a huge chunk of knowledge as a programmer if you have not fully immersed yourself into a programming paradigm that is close to the hardware and one that is close to the OS. You can probably earn money all your life by only staying on levels of abstraction above that, but I would feel like I am seriously lacking an area of insight that is essential to programming computers. I am not sure if it has to be C++ in order to sharpen those skills, but it is simply such an established and complex language that I would definitely recommend people learn it. It's not just about whether you need it, but also if it benefits your skill set. If you really had nothing much to learn from C++, you probably won't be spending much time on learning it. And if it provides more of an obstacle than you had assumed, maybe that is a valid indication of what it is teaching you. There are certainly things that are complex just for complexity's sake, and many more recent programming languages have done away with complexities such as multiple inheritance, but I just cannot imagine my development as a software engineer without having had C++ on my road map. If I imagined my view on the programming world without it, it would feel as if it would leave a huge hole in my understanding of compilers, programming, and computers. To build on your analogy with race cars, sure you don't need to test the 10th race car if you have driven 9 others. But C++ is such a genre defining language, it would be more akin to being a gamer into FPS and never having played such genre defining games like Doom - even if you have played countless other FPS games. C++ seems like such an important language to me, it would leave a huge gap in my knowledge. There are so many old source code bases that I have learned a tremendous amount from that I would not have been able to comprehend without my C++ experience. Do you absolutely need in 2018? No ... but there are a lot of things that you can do without in life that are hugely beneficial. I don't know your particular situation, I trust that you are not just talking out of your rear, but anyone reading this, if you learn C++ well, I can promise you that you won't regret it. If you do, feel free to shame me in the comment section, but I would find that hard to believe. What did strike a nerve, though, is C++ struggling to keep up with some more recent programming paradigms that seem a rather awkward fit in an already very complex language. C++ might be the most complex language to parse, compile, and to implement I believe, but I would have to get back to you on specific metrics for that claim. If you are writing software that is on a level of abstraction above that of the OS or hardware, do take the video author's advice and stick with something more high level. And there are languages that stay reasonably high level that let you break through to lower levels of abstraction where needed, such as C# with its P/Invoke, so there isn't really anything that you could do native that you can't do with C# on Windows at least. I am not sure off the top of my head how P/Invoke works on Linux, if at all. If you want to do the plumbing of a UI, for example, quickly, without wasting your or your company's time, do not be ashamed to use as many GUI tools as you can get your hands on. There are people who think it is a display of some kind of elitism to live a life as Spartan as imaginable, because they think it's somehow evidence of their programming prowess, such as the smug look some people get on their face for mentioning at every opportunity that VIM is their favorite editor. Absolutely use the tools that get the job done quickest, easiest, and cleanly, both now and in the future, in terms of maintainability. Languages such as Python are great for that, and ecosystems such as node.js/NPM have gained amazing popularity. It's really exciting to see how much is out there, how quickly you can put modules together and so forth. Whereas we might have had a software crisis in earlier days, we might now have a software explosion. I am very, very happy about that and I am glad to see how many young people nowadays know how to program. I am absolutely unafraid of competition and I welcome any changes that make software better, as well as easier and faster to write. The future is bright for software development - if you know C++ or not.

With c++ u can do everything!! Blender, really popular games, whole programming languages were written with c++/c/c# !!

Awesome video i am so happy in this day and age i can draw from someone with so many years experience thank you!

The analogy about sprinting and long distance is so apt. Over the past 2 years I've had to learn Java so I could develop Android apps, and the biggest change was getting used to the dev environment. I have to mentally leave Python mode and switch to Java mode. Now I've recently been doing it all over again for C so I can take advantage of the JNI. If I can be fluent in 2 languages and proficient in one, I'll be happy.

I am learning c++ and I really like it.

Is it just me or does this guy sound like Godfather if you're reading this dude your voice 10/10 👌👌👌

very interesting, thank you!

I work in semiconductor industry, we always use cpp for writing verification test bench. It will continue because all the Intel and AMD processors provide only that linker to convert cpp to ALP that is required for verification of these processor.

His voice is so calm that I slept.

It's an exotic language.

it's a very good language to start off with. You can write program both in low level and high level with it. The best introductory cs language in my opinion.