Learning D

[Kiith-Sa via Digitalmars-d-learn]

On Monday, 25 August 2014 at 16:46:11 UTC, Ryan wrote:
> Me: Software developer for 30 years.
>
> So perhaps this is old fashion, but I wanted to start using D 
> by whipping together nice little personal utilities.
>
> I tried installing MonoDevelop and Mono-D.  I can't even figure 
> out the basics, such as adding references to a project.  There 
> are no options in the context menus, and although it looks like 
> drag an drop might work (a '+' sign appears by the cursor), 
> dropping a file from the filesystem doesn't work either.
>
> Although I dream of someday being able to add a reference to a 
> project, I'm not really sure what I might drag in.  I managed 
> to download and compile GtkD, since it seems like a GUI would 
> be a nice place to start (again, old fashion).  I got three 
> *.lib files out of it... Hmmmm... Maybe these are references??
>
> I had installed the Visual Studio plugin, but I don't want to 
> use this since I would like to eventually migrate away from 
> Windows.
>
> Let me cut to the chase.  I have no friggin' clue how to start, 
> and I can't seem to find a tutorial anywhere...
>
> What IDE should I use? I'm not big fan of Eclipse, although if 
> I had to use it this wouldn't be a dealbreaker.  Give me 
> something easy and lightweight, unless you've got a GUI builder 
> (this is why I started with MonoDevelop, though this isn't 
> working so well for me).
>
> What Widget library should I use?  I started with GTKD, but 
> since there are no tutorials does this mean nobody actually 
> does this?  Should I use DWT?  What about QT?
>
> I just want something simple and mainstream to start learning D 
> with.
>
> Any thoughts?

I don't use an IDE, but MonoD seems to be the most recommended 
cross-platform option. It has a wiki page here if it helps: 
http://wiki.dlang.org/Mono-D

I recommend only using an IDE that uses DUB 
(http://code.dlang.org/about), which is becoming the de facto 
standard for building D projects, and is cross-IDE, allowing you 
to move between IDEs and to work with developers using other 
IDEs. MonoD probably uses this, as does DDT(Eclipse). I have no 
idea what interface MonoD or other IDEs offer for DUB, but DUB 
uses a 'dub.json' file where you specify libraries you use and 
their versions. DUB will automatically download the libraries 
when you compile the project. Available DUB packages 
(libraries/apps) are listed at http://code.dlang.org . That is 
probably also the best list of D libs we have at the moment, 
although many projects are not there yet.

Only use DWT if you like Java-style code. QtD is not in usable 
state yet. GtkD should be good, better for 'big' apps (i.e. more 
features), TkD for simple ones (simpler to use).


To learn about the language itself, this (free) book is really 
good:
http://ddili.org/ders/d.en/index.html