[Forooz]

I am new to the world of programming and have a few questions.

1. What is the best IDE for a beginner learning C/C++? I have just gone through all of the tutorials for Xcode and like the set-up but it seems that it is tailored for objective-C; I am just now learning C.

2. Is a formal Computer Science degree a waste of time? Should I learn through books, practice, and resources on the web, or should I take the time to get a Computer Science degree?

I appreciate feedback. Thanks.

[chabig]

I'm not a programmer, but I dabbled before. XCode should be very good for you. That's what I used. It's not tailored for any particular language.

[idykenano]

I'm currently a student attaining a computer minor (to compliment my chemistry major). I've used xcode for everything from Perl, Python, Java, and C/C++. Granted, I just use xcode as an editor and compile/invoke the interpreter from terminal. Xcode does a terrific job with syntax coloring and indentation. The terminal is a little more hands on, and it keeps me fluent in unix.
I can't really answer your degree or not to degree question, but I can say this. There are a ton of good books out there (esp O'Reilly) that can be fundamental to learning a programming language. The classes you would take for a degree would also cover topics like algorithm analysis, dynamic programming, etc.

[mduell]

Computer science is about the science of computation; programming is merely a means to an end for computer scientists. Are you interested in computer science or software development?

[Forooz]

I am mostly interested in software development.

[afx5i]

For C, I would recommend Eclipse or Netbeans, if Xcode doesn't serve you well.

[ben200]

you wrote "2. Is a formal Computer Science degree a waste of time? Should I learn through books, practice, and resources on the web, or should I take the time to get a Computer Science degree?"

I've met many good programmers who have no formal computer science education. However, a degree in computer science will teach you how and why the computer does the things that it does. A good comparison would be if an engineer became a carpenter: A carpenter could hammer a nail just fine, but being an engineer would empower the carpenter to make a better structure.

I would recommend that you attend an "Intro to Programming" course at your college or local community college. If you enjoy the material, and wish to learn more, you can then continue with a degree in computer science. Keep in mind that professional programming is different than academic programming. The former is focused on writing code to implement specifications and meet due dates. The latter is all about achieving a scientifically "correct" answer.

(By the way, I have a Masters in CS, and 10 yrs professional programming experience.)

I wish you luck and many good times as you learn more about programming and computer science

[afx5i]

I agree with ben200 too. I've a friend whose major was German Literature, but has entered an electronic company to do Servlet/JSP. He's been interested in programming for years and I think he worked as a part-time programmer when he was still an undergrad.

CS is useful but definitely not the only way to enter the technology field.

[dsteinman]

Netbeans is pretty good. One of the best software developers I ever worked with was an English major..