Finding Code::Blocks Tutorials

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on February 10, 2014.

Sometimes it’s hard to know precisely how to cover information in a book because each reader’s needs are different. One reader may be somewhat knowledgeable and not need tutorials, another reader might me a complete novice and require more assistance. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the landslide of comments I receive about my language books when they deviate to discuss topics other than the language. Most readers don’t want to read about anything other than the language. In fact, in a few of my language books I’ve stopped mentioning any sort of IDE except in passing (and sometimes not at all).

C++ All-In-One for Dummies, 4th Edition is a little different from most of my language books in that it must make mention of an IDE in order for the reader to follow all of the examples. (In fact, there are two: one for mobile development and another for desktop development, this post is specific to Code::Blocks, which is used at the desktop.) Because I want the book to work well on all platforms, I’ve chosen Code::Blocks as the IDE for this book. This particular IDE works on all of the platforms that the book supports (Mac, Linux, and Windows) in a similar fashion, so one set of instructions works for everyone. In addition, Code::Blocks enjoys great community support and has a large enough user base that it’ll be around for a long time.

This book does contain a few bits of information about Code::Blocks because it must in order for the reader to follow the examples. However, I’ve purposely kept the amount of information about Code::Blocks to a minimum because this really is a language book and you could use any IDE with it, not just Code::Blocks. It’s difficult to walk the line between providing enough information about the IDE and not enough. Whether I’m successful depends on the skill level of the reader for the most part. The beta readers of the current edition are definitely letting me know where I need to add more information to ensure the material is understandable, but there will always be some room for readers to feel there is either too much or too little coverage.

With this in mind, I’ve provided tutorial-type posts in the C++ All-in-One for Dummies category. If you have a question about how to perform a task in the book, this is the first place to look. Make sure you contact me at [email protected] if you have questions, because then I’ll know to discuss the topic as part of a blog post. What it all comes down to is my wanting to provide you with the information you need, but not knowing what that requirement is until you contact me.

Code::Blocks also comes with a nice help file, but you might not know it. Choose the Help | Codeblocks option and you’ll see a new window pop up with the help information. I must admit that it would have been better had the vendor provided a different command for accessing the help file, but at least the help file is there.

Even with these two resources, you’ll likely find situations where you need more information. As I said, Code::Blocks enjoys good support in the development community. The following list contains some tutorials you can try when none of the other sources I’ve mentioned help.

There are other tutorials available. What I need to know is whether these tutorials answer your questions or not. If not, what topics do you need covered that my blog doesn’t already discuss? It’s important to me that you have a good learning experience with my books so always feel free to contact me about topics you’d like to see covered in the blog.

Author: John

John Mueller is a freelance author and technical editor. He has writing in his blood, having produced 123 books and over 600 articles to date. The topics range from networking to artificial intelligence and from database management to heads-down programming. Some of his current offerings include topics on machine learning, AI, Python programming, Android programming, and C++ programming. His technical editing skills have helped over more than 70 authors refine the content of their manuscripts. John also provides a wealth of other services, such as writing certification exams, performing technical edits, and writing articles to custom specifications. You can reach John on the Internet at [email protected].