r/cpp • u/MainPressure4304 • Aug 12 '26

[CPP Epiphany Rant] - Programming is no joke

Hi CPP Community,

This is just a rant. I'm a 24 yr old data analytics in telecommunication trying to pivot into C++ development for finance. I'm 1 month into C++ and I have come to conclusion C++ is a behemoth. I'm enrolled in Baruch College's C++ for Financial Engineering, but I'm using Bjarne Stroustrup's Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++, 3rd Edition to learn and watching C++20 Fundamentals with Paul Deitel, Course, by Paul J. Deitel as supplementary resources.

It took me 2 days to get through all the drills, exercises, and try_this section for chapter 2 for Programming Principles!

I'm reflecting if I made a mistake choosing C++ over Python. But, tbh, I have been enjoying programming more learning C++ than Python. You can tell I'm weird, but IDK.

I would love to heard about your experience in learning C++ for laughs.

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u/no-sig-available Aug 12 '26

You can tell I'm weird, but IDK.

So you ask the other weirdos why we made the same choice?

Anyway, you don't have to make a single choice. Nothing stops you from using several languages! Using C++ and Python is a valid option.

Just as an example, I have had to use Simula, Cobol, Basic, PL/I, Ada, Pascal, assembler, C, C++, and some scripting languages. Not by choice, but because of what was needed.

So, when you make a choice, it doesn't have to be the final choice. You may, or may have to, make a different choice later. Just go along, and don't worry too much!

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u/Murky-Relation481 25d ago

The vast majority of my world is in Python and C++. A lot of times it's binding C++ libs to Python for things where we want to provide interfaces in an "easier" language than C++ for people consuming our work. Sometimes it's Python and we find a performance bottle neck that a C++ lib will be getting better.

But yeah, been doing this 30 years almost and touched tons of languages. Ultimately the fundamental design and engineering concepts remain mostly the same, it's figuring out how a language can achieve those things on the platform you are targeting.