[cyduck]

Hey, guys. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a total noob. I am in high school and want to seriously get into the world of programming. The main languages I want to learn are C++ and C#. So, I got the C# for dummies book and got right into it. But, it seems I need MS Visual Studio, which costs. I was hoping if you guys could point me in the direction of an older, free version that I could download. Also, can I use MS Visual Studio for C++ programming?

[Tenenbaum]

http://www.microsoft.com/express/download/default.aspx

Has the express editions that you can use, and also, you can use other compilers such as Borland and Dev C++.

And yes you can use MS Visual Studio C++ for C++ programming.

Good luck to you.

[Baez]

Mono is another C# compiler you can look at. You don't necessarily need to use VS.

[Tenenbaum]

Didn't see you were learning C#, I would suggest what Mono suggested, though, I would still stick to Microsoft Visual Studio C#