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I got an upcoming class about c++ from scratch and I've bought the accelerated c++ book to get started but in the class they use borland c++ 3.1 so my question is: is the book too advanced for borland 3.1? And if not can i use another IDE for learning and then migrate to borland 3.1 without a problem?

Sebastián Dioses
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    The book sounds good, but the class sounds horrible (Borland C++ 3.1 is from 1992; FYI, at the moment of writing it's 2013; it is not acceptable to be that much lagged in the computer industry, *especially* if you're just learning (and will thus need to wait even longer before using things in practice)). Honest advice? Drop the class if you can, IMHO it will do more harm than good. For more on books, see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/388242/the-definitive-c-book-guide-and-list. – Matt Aug 11 '13 at 22:55
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    I'd suggest persuading the course instructor to use a more recent compiler -- like something within this decade perhaps? – greatwolf Aug 11 '13 at 22:55
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    The class will be a complete waste of time; there's no point learning a 20-year-old dialect of C++. Stick to the book, and ignore whatever the class tries to teach you. – Mike Seymour Aug 11 '13 at 22:56
  • The book is good. First published in 2000 and still useful. Unfortunately, Borland 3.1 is _ancient_ (it even predates the standard template library). – Blastfurnace Aug 11 '13 at 22:57
  • I know the IDE is very old but the class is mandatory, so there's no chance that what i learn from the book can be applied to borland 3.1? – Sebastián Dioses Aug 11 '13 at 22:58
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    @SebastiánDioses since dropping the class isn't an option then trying my first comment suggestion is a possibility. If you succeed, you'll be doing a great service to other students taking the course and not just yourself. – greatwolf Aug 11 '13 at 23:01
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    If I checked wikipedia right, Borland 3.1 came out 1992. I just cannot believe the course is still using this. – Borgleader Aug 11 '13 at 23:05
  • You're right, i'm going to learn from the book and hope that the teacher come to his senses, at least i'll learn the language well. Sorry to bother you further but if you can name a good IDE to start with the book i'll thank you a lot. – Sebastián Dioses Aug 11 '13 at 23:05
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    @SebastiánDioses, One more modern choice is CodeBlocks. Whatever you use, I suggest getting the most recent version of GCC or Clang. – chris Aug 11 '13 at 23:08
  • The basics of C++ syntax that are the same now as when BC++ first came out. However, there are newer features that are probably discussed in *Accelerated C++* but will not be supported by such an old compiler. You will definitely have your work cut out for you in determining when this occurs. – Code-Apprentice Aug 11 '13 at 23:16
  • @MonadNewb, I've looked through the book before, and I can say that will be happening almost constantly. It actually *uses C++* to do things in a more practical manner, unlike so many others. – chris Aug 11 '13 at 23:22
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    @MonadNewb There mere _existance_ of exceptions changed how everything should be written in C++. Borland 3.1's C++ has about as much in common with modern C++11 as Java. – Mooing Duck Aug 12 '13 at 03:45

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