How to learn C++ as a C# programmer?

Question

I've spent the past several years coding in .NET (C# mostly and some VB.NET) in a enterprise consulting environment. there are a lot of job opportunities with such a skill set, especially in the corporate environment. However, these roles are typically not very technical. Put it another way, these roles are unlikely to be from product companies, where I believe code quality matters a lot more.

now, my question is, how do you gain real world C++ experience coming from a C# background? most of the jobs from Microsoft, Google and the like require a lot of relevant experience in C/C++. I delved in that direction mostly at a hobbyist level but it seems really hard to make a serious career investment without having prior experience. catch-22?

Answer 1

I would start here and skip the parts you already know. As for experience, write a second copy of some C# you did at work, but in C++. That way you can legitimately say "I built ... for such and such company", and "I wrote it in C++".

Answer 2

Contributing to Open Source projects these days is considered by many employers as almost as good as real world experience. If code you submit to a large Open Source project gets accepted it also shows that someone deemed the code worthy of inclusion.

Have a look at the Help Wanted section on SourceForge, chances are there will be some C++ projects on there where you can sharpen your skills.

Also here are some related Stack Overflow questions which might help:

• Switching from C# to C++. Any must-reads?
• C++ for the C# Programmer
• What C++ open-source projects have good and clean code to learn from?
• Get back to basics. How do I get back into C++?