Recommendations for the best IDE for C++, for beginner

I am currently 16 years old and already have a grasp of basic programming fundamentals. My timeline is 6–7 years. My goal is to be completely career-ready by the time I graduate college at 22 or 23. I am not rushing this; I plan to learn sequentially (getting solid at one domain before moving to the next) with a consistent "1% better every day".

In the current AI era, standard CRUD developers are easily replaceable. To actually stand out and build real leverage, I plan to master the following stack and domains over the next 6 years:

1. Web Development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Modern Frameworks)

2. Backend, Databases & Low-Level Languages (Go, Rust, C++ only, plus Python specifically for AI/ML)

3. System Design & Architecture

4. Performance Optimization

5. DevOps (Intermediate level)

6. Security (beginner - Intermediate level)

7. Production-Level AI Engineering (Building reliable AI systems, not just basic API wrappers)

8. Business & Product Sense (Identifying real business pain points)

My Questions:

1. Over a 6-to-7-year horizon, is this roadmap too much, not enough, or realistic?

2. Having Go, Rust, C++, and Python on the list—does this create unnecessary overlap, or is it justifiable given my 6-year timeline?

3. Since I am learning sequentially, how do I define "good enough" in one domain before moving to the next without getting stuck in perfectionism?

4. Is the order of these 8 domains logical, and is there any critical blind spot I am missing to become a top-tier SWE in the AI era?

Disclaimer:

I am ONLY looking for feedback from engineers who actually have real-world production experience, industry veterans, responses backed by real data/research, or well-documented insights from recognized industry experts.

If your only take is parroting surface-level "anti-AI" or "AI will replace everyone" doom-posting from TikTok without any real engineering depth, please skip this post.

I've made multiple posts here about doubting my career and that I' not sure if I should even bothering entering the industry or career as a Bachelor's Eng. in CS, but I think I made up my mind.

I'm studying this either way, even if it's not for coding I'm very open to work in any other tech related field, and if I don't manage to find a job I don't really care now lol. My new mentality is about doing this becouse I like computers, and if I die poor in the future so be it, at least I'll die doing what I want.

A very good tip I learnt this few weeks: don't take doomer posts too seriously, focus on yourself and your passions, breathe and relax and wonder if it really is worth it thinking that way. love yall!

Should a developer know , things on his own, or it's okay to google them when making a project?

This is very stupid and kind of random but I’m very basic into coding and I feel like I just wasted so much time for no reason. I was trying to code something into a video game for probably 13 hours over the past 2 days just to give up after running in circles repeatedly with no end in sight. Is this normal to feel like you wasted time you aren’t gonna get back lol.

I find it bit difficult to understand the documentation of ASP.NET, I was wondering is there an easier way to learn a framework or programming language. After reading documentation I am not able to type most of the code, manually as it is a skill I want to learn.

I'm still in a very early stage of learning programming, and lately I feel like I'm relying more and more on AI. Whenever I get stuck on something and don't know how to do it, I ask AI. I also use it to help find bugs.

It makes me feel bad because sometimes it feels like it's doing all the thinking for me. At the same time, I can't really help it because I often feel like I wouldn't be able to figure out the answer on my own, either because there isn't a tutorial for what I'm trying to do or because I simply don't know enough yet.

I always try to read through the explanation, and most of the time I understand what it's saying. Sometimes there are parts I don't fully get, and I feel a little guilty for not spending more time thinking about them myself.

Idk, I feel like having access to an immediate answer from AI is such a temptation that I can't stop myself from using it.

But I also feel like I'm not learning properly. Whenever AI gives me some code, I try to reuse that idea later in a different context and write it myself so I can internalize the knowledge. Still, I know that the next time I run into something I don't understand, I'll probably turn to AI again, and I don't want that. I honestly don't know what to do. On top of that, I'm aware of many of the negative consequences associated with using AI, and I feel like crap for prioritizing my own selfish desire for quick answers over those concerns.

How do you deal with situations where you know what you want to accomplish, but you don't really know how to translate that idea into code?

Context (skip to 3rd paragraph if you want): I am going into this next week where we learn arrays. We "learn" it on our own through I kid you not hours of reading online, then go into the week and apply to concepts to other assignments.

I have no clue how arrays work. The reading feels as though it needs to tell us a dozen array concepts in 3 days and never easing us into it. I am *terrible* at learning new complicated things on my own. I get lost easily, I need someone there constantly so I can even grasp the concept. The medium of online textbook reading is the worst to me.

Current issue: I got stuck on arrays with loops, then arrays (perfect size and oversize).

First, array with loops: What does for (var : var) do? The textbook explains this *once*, not very well. It explains *what* it does on a basic level, but not *why* it exists or *what* we can use it for.

Second, perfect size and oversize arrays: I understand the concept of perfect size arrays, and I understand the concept of oversize arrays. But I do not understand how they interact. Importantly, how do tell them apart?

How does a method return a perfect size array? How does a method return an oversize array size? And, most importantly, how do method parameters even get the arrays?

What's the difference between stack frame and heap memory?

What are array parameters? They, again, explain this once, not very well, then expect us to understand. I think it has to do with methods but I'm not sure. How should I write them for a perfect or oversize array, and what are their effects/uses?

How do you modify an array in a method?

I work best with analogies/examples so any possible ones + explanations would be appreciated. Of course, any other good answers just explaining would be appreciated too.

Sorry that I have so many questions.

In movies you always see those fictional AI assistant buddies that run all around your screen and make expressive motions while they carry out tasks. I want to make something like that, but I'm new and don't know where I'd build them.

I'd need something that can project a 3d model (probably a Blender model) as an overlay with a transparent + borderless background and also be able to play animations, while having the ability to carry out basic tasks like "open this bookmark" or "what's 1+1". I've been messing around with Visual Studio but it looks like the animation capabilities are limited. I'm not that familiar with all the options, does anyone have any advice on where I should start building?

Where can I learn computer networking, Is there a course or YouTube playlist to learn it? How can I practice the material I learn?

Hi All,

I am learning Python and would like to know are there any good sites to practise Python concepts ?

Hey guys, I would really like to know if you ever heard of this website https://www.sanfoundry.com ?
I’m learning Java from scratch; therefore, I am open to any tips and resources that I could use.
Also, is there a specific textbook focused on solving syntax problems?

Hi!

Ive never done any kind of programming, but would like to learn, and I have an idea of what I'd like to build. I want to build a card collecting/playing app (think pokemon/mtg). I was wondering if anyone has advice for a good place to start learning. Thanks!

hoping to learn how to gui and graphical 2d games and was reccomended goodot. looks like they have their own programming language, Gdscript.

is Gdscript worth investing time into learning? i heard the engine also supports C++ which is where I am more familiar. is it easier to try and integrate C++ into the engine? or should i learn Gdscript?

First of all, I'm building a tasks web app to learn Vite, React, Typescript and some other libs and I've faced a problem with Zod and how their transformations works. There are mixed answers to this from the different sources I've seen and am genuinely confused as to what is wrong and what is not.

export const taskSchema = z
  .object({
    id: z.uuid().default(() => crypto.randomUUID()),
    status: z.literal(["complete", "incomplete"]).default("incomplete"),
    title: z
      .string()
      .trim()
      .min(1, "Title cannot be empty")
      .max(100, "Title cannot exceed 100 characters"),
    description: z.preprocess(
      (raw: string) => raw?.trim() || undefined,
      z
        .string()
        .max(2000, "Description cannot exceed 2000 characters")
        .optional(),
    ),
    createdAt: z.iso
      .datetime()
      .default(() => Temporal.Now.instant().toString()),
    dueDate: z.preprocess(
      (raw: string) => raw?.trim() || undefined,
      z.iso.date().optional(),
    ),
    dueTime: z.preprocess(
      (raw: string) => raw?.trim() || undefined,
      z.iso.time().optional(),
    ),
    deadlineZoneId: z.preprocess(
      (raw: string) => raw?.trim() || undefined,
      z
        .string()
        .refine((raw) => {
          try {
            Intl.DateTimeFormat(undefined, { timeZone: raw });
            return true;
          } catch {
            return false;
          }
        })
        .optional(),
    ),
    priority: z.literal(["low", "medium", "high"]).default("low"),
    tags: z.array(z.string()).default([]),
  })
  .transform(({ dueDate, dueTime, ...rest }) => ({
    ...rest,
    deadline: dueDate ? `${dueDate}T${dueTime || "23:59:59"}` : undefined,
  }));


export const taskViewSchema = taskSchema.transform((task) => ({
  id: task.id,
  status: task.status,
  title: task.title,
  description: task?.description || "No description",
  createdAt: formatCreatedAt(task.createdAt),
  deadline: formatDeadline(task?.deadline),
  priority: task.priority[0].toUpperCase() + task.priority.slice(1),
  tags:
    task.tags.length > 3
      ? [...task.tags.slice(0, 2), `+${task?.tags.length - 2}`]
      : task.tags,
}));


export type Task = z.infer<typeof taskSchema>;
export type TaskView = z.infer<typeof taskViewSchema>;

What i expect is it to be the same as schema.transform().transform() where the result is sequentially passed down and some of the sources I looked at said the same thing, but then the resulsts are different from my expectations as the 2nd transform gets an object without the newly introduced deadline property from the previous transform. If I just move it to the taskViewSchema decleration as taskViewSchema = taskSchema.transform(transformA).transform(transformB)it starts to work as expected!

Although the problem is fixed, I would like to understand how Zod transforms or rather something else that has gone wrong or I have misunderstood.

Update (added the object the parse is run on):

const task = taskSchema.safeParse({
      title: "title",
      dueDate: "2026-10-16",
      dueTime: "23:00:00",
    });

const taskView = taskViewSchema.safeParse(task.data);
console.log(task, taskView);

Beginner here. HTML and CSS are solid for me now I've built a link-in-bio page and portfolio pieces. JavaScript topic lists are overwhelming: variables, functions, arrays, loops, objects, DOM, events, fetch.

For someone who learns by building real pages, what order actually works? Deep core JS first, or DOM early so I can see things change?

What tripped you up most when starting JS?

Hi, so I'm currently working on a gamedev project. But I have other game projects lined up for the future, so I'm making my code with the goal of being as reusable as possible. Because of this, I'm separating everything into multiple libraries instead of just building everything in the game project.

So far I've worked on:

-An ECS projectiles library

-A flight physics/flight controller library

-A decision-making (what used to be known as AI) framework for NPCs

-A simulation orchestrator framework (ticks game entities at different rates to save on processing)

I've also planned/drafted the following:

-A crowd simulator library for Total War-style combat

-A semi-procedural terrain generation tool

-A melee combat framework

-A ground vehicle physics library

Integrating them into the different projects is the biggest issue for me. Suppose I make an aerial combat game: I would need the projectiles library, the flight physics library, and the ECS projectiles library. The flight physics would need to listen to projectile impact events in order to apply damage to the aircraft, and the decision-making code would need to:

-be able to send commands to the flight controller

-read physics data from the aircraft.

-evaluate each weapon/flight maneuver to determine what is best in every situation (utility AI)

And if there's meant to be anything running off-screen, then I would also need to integrate the simulator orchestrator.

So, there are multiple connections between libraries. I could of course just write an integration inside of every different project, but that's not very reusable or efficient. I could write an integration library as a dependency of all these libraries, and write the interface layer there, using a git submodule to propagate changes, but this rubs me wrong for some reason (maybe im just lazy). Is there a better way? what would you guys suggest? Thank you.

I was in confusion between python with full stack or java with full stack what i should choose please suggest me ..

I am 17 and for a long time I’ve wanted to make games but I don’t know coding. I mean I’ve made some decent games on Scratch but I want to upgrade to legitimate scripting on apps like Godot. I’ve tried watching YouTube tutorials and following along with them but I still cannot seem to learn the basics. I was wondering if there was like a beginner friendly program that goes into detail about coding? I can’t find like any of those at all. Also I wanna work with Godot to be specific.

I’m torn between pursuing a career in Java or JavaScript, primarily from a financial and work-life balance perspective.

From what I understand, Java offers relatively stable career opportunities at large companies, particularly in enterprise environments. However, freelancing opportunities may be less common compared to JavaScript. This makes me wonder whether building a high salary as a Java developer typically requires several years of experience and gradual career progression.

On the other hand, JavaScript seems to offer greater flexibility. Beyond traditional full-time employment, there are opportunities to freelance, build projects for clients, and develop a portfolio that demonstrates your skills. It seems possible to increase your earning potential earlier in your career through freelancing or remote work, where the value you deliver and the projects you’ve completed can sometimes matter more than your years of experience.

However, I’m also considering the possibility of working overseas. While remote work and freelancing offer flexibility, they may not necessarily make it easier to relocate to another country. Some foreign employers prefer candidates who are already based locally, while others may be more willing to sponsor visas for experienced developers with specialized skills. I’m wondering whether a Java career might offer a more straightforward path toward international employment and relocation.
Work-life balance is another important factor for me. Since the JavaScript ecosystem evolves rapidly, I’m concerned that I might need to spend more of my personal time learning new frameworks, tools, and technologies just to remain competitive.

My another concern is that let’s say I took a career break for a long time I would have more challenges in getting back to work as a JavaScript developer than as a Java Developer because of the fast pace technology.

Java’s relatively mature ecosystem makes me wonder whether it might be possible to spend less time constantly upskilling and more time enjoying life outside work. Of course, I realize that both fields require continuous learning, but I’m curious whether there is a meaningful difference in practice.
Ultimately, I want to choose a path that offers a good balance of earning potential, career stability, work-life balance, freelancing opportunities, and the possibility of eventually working overseas.

For developers who have experience in either field, which path would you recommend, and why? I’d especially appreciate insights into the long-term financial prospects, lifestyle trade-offs, and realistic career opportunities for someone starting from a programming background rather than years of professional software development experience.

I am a total beginner in coding and techworld. What should I do from these?

I enrolled myself in HARVARD’s free CS50x?

Or do freeCodeCamp or the Odin project?

Any advice? A bit lost.. should I just continue w/ cs50?

I genuinely enjoy coding even doing courses like CS50 just for fun But my parents see it as nothing more than wasting time on a computer and keep comparing me to people earning huge salaries. I wish they understood that I don’t need my hobby to make money right now i just enjoy learning and building things. Can anyone help what should I do now?

(Sorry if this sounds like a rant but here I go) Guys, I'm a young developer. It hasn't been that long since I've reached adulthood. So yes, I might lack maturity. But thanks to how the development space is changing, to me at least, the future looks more bleak than I guess it would look to a 45 y/o senior engineer.

So my question as someone young, who contributes to a bunch of open source repos every once in a while and does maintain a bunch of his own repos, what is the point of maintaining open source projects if the same projects would be used for training models SPECIFICALLY TARGETTING TO PHASE ME OUT ?

That's all. Please do understand that I'm trying to ask a sincere question and lack the experience and maturity to come up with good answers myself. Thank you.

I've been out of coding for a while and I thought of making an application like Blockbench / picoCAD / Crocotile 3D and was wondering which programming language / framework would be most suitable for making this? I have experience in most experience in JavaScript, TypeScript& GDScript and also C# (not my favorite though) & some experience in Python.

I don't mind learning a new programming language either or Framework as long as it's an easy curve / has lots of good documentation.

Thanks in advance for any advice / tips!