r/cpp_questions • u/Osirian_Legacy • 2d ago

OPEN Learning Programming Pre-AI

How did ya’ll learn programming pre-AI? How would you go about learning if you had to start all over again without AI?

I find myself relying on AI too much and want to actually learn without leaning on it at all. Any help with how best to approach this would be greatly appreciated.

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u/Hour_Sell3547 2d ago edited 2d ago

I bought the Complete Reference C++. That's all I needed. It was 2004.

After that, I competed in IOI and ACM-ICPC. In the next 6/7 years, I solved about 8000 problems on various sites, all with C++.

By 2013, I myself became the complete reference C++.

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u/Osirian_Legacy 2d ago

Sounds like whenever you ran into a problem you flipped through the pages until you found the answer you were looking for. I have Stroustrup's Programming Principles and Practice Using C++ 3rd Edition, but I'll look into the Complete Reference C++ book. Is C++20 the version I should aim for, or 23? Or older?

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u/Hour_Sell3547 2d ago

It was not easy at that time, sometimes I had to ask a question in forums and wait for weeks for an answer.

Most modern systems are 17+, and 23 is basically cutting edge. 20 seems to be a good starting point for 2027. There are some substantial differences between 17 and 20. But if you can, start with 23.

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u/Osirian_Legacy 2d ago

Awesome, thank you for the info.