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My first programming language ever was Visual Basic, but I was 11 years old at the time and it was just a mandatory elective class I had to take to get credits in order to graduate school, and I didn't even know what a programming language was back then. I thought I was just writing words on the screen to make the program do things (we made stuff like tic-tac-toe, shooting a basketball into a hoop by inputting correct coordinates/arch, etc.) I forgot everything I learned since then, so I have absolutely no recollection at all of VB except "rem" which I recall as being equivalent to a comment in any other language. Later when I began to edit code to make programs do exactly what I wanted, I basically guessed what all the functions did and how the programs worked to modify them, and as long as they worked, I really wasn't concerned at all about how crappy the quality of the code was. So I decided to actually learn a language and I had heard Python was easy so I started learning Python first. But before finishing the first chapter I was told by several people that Perl was much "better." Considering their opinion was probably better than mine, I switched to Perl and picked up a book for Perl beginners but again before I even learned the print function, I read online that the first programming language one learns could be crucial to the person's future programming skills and habits that become ported to other programming languages they learn later on, and I don't want to develop any bad habits and practices. I've decided to choose C as my first language, for various personal reasons (mostly to audit code for security). So, as a newbie with no knowledge in programming at all whatsoever and wanting to learn C, I bought K&R's The C Programming Language (2nd edition) as per the suggestion on the OpenBSD website. I read the disclaimers in the intro of the book, and read on anyway. But the book seems to move very fast and does not elaborate too much on the features of the language, I guess due to the book not ...
Come on, LISP is from teh past, learn Haskell already.
--
Worse is better
Richard P. Gabriel
It something I keep dabbling in - very sowly - I find this a good pace for my totally noob self: It started out as a reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/carlhprogramming And morphed to: http://www.highercomputingforeveryone.com/ It's certainly a "start from zero" but I like the pace, and the C bent. Cheers
at the time and it was just a mandatory elective class I had to take to get credits in order to graduate school, and I didn't even know what a programming language was back then. I thought I was just writing words on the screen to make the program do things (we made stuff like tic-tac-toe, shooting a basketball into a hoop by inputting correct coordinates/arch, etc.) I forgot everything I learned since then, so I have absolutely no recollection at all of VB except "rem" which I recall as being equivalent to a comment in any basically guessed what all the functions did and how the programs worked to modify them, and as long as they worked, I really wasn't concerned at all about how crappy the quality of the code was. So I decided to actually learn a language and I had heard Python was easy so I started learning Python first. But before finishing the first chapter I was told by several people that Perl was much "better." Considering their opinion was probably better than mine, I switched to Perl and picked up a book for Perl beginners but again before I even learned the print function, I read online that the first programming language one learns could be crucial to the person's future programming skills and habits that become ported to other programming languages they learn later on, and I don't want to develop any bad habits and practices. I've decided to wanting to learn C, I bought K&R's The C Programming Language (2nd edition) as per the suggestion on the OpenBSD website. I read the disclaimers in the intro of the book, and read on anyway. But the book seems to move very fast and does not elaborate too much on the features of the language, I guess due to the book not being total-noob-friendly. I can barely follow along and get what's going on, but have no idea what the terminologies and phrases being used in the book mean since the book assumes the reader knows basic programming such The classic "The C Programming Language" is good. After that, learn from good sources; for raw ...
That is a bit of a rough book to start with but very good. It is very dense but touches on most language features. Its density is actually what makes it so good. You can read it twice in a weekend. Once you do that pick a simple utility from /bin and go read the code. That will put what you learned/read in the book in perspective. The thing that that book does not teach is libraries and other things since it simply focuses on the language itself. Some other books I found very helpful were: http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Programming-Brian-W-Kernighan/dp/020161586X/ref=sr_1_1?... http://www.amazon.com/Programming-GNU-Software-Andy-Oram/dp/1565921127/ref=pd_sim_b_5 The must have is: http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Environment-Addison-Wesley-Professional-Computing/dp... All that reading aside; the only way to truly "get it" is to read a piece of code you are interested in and deconstructing it completely. The trick is finding a piece of code that illustrates the things you are interested in *and* is well written. Most things in the OpenBSD tree are well written but beware of the dragons. Doing this a couple of times will make almost anyone interested enough a good enough coder. Learning C is easy; learning to using C right is the hard part. Read more code to learn from the experts. Good luck.
I agree with Marco Peereboom <slash@peereboom.us> He told "Learning C is easy; learning to using C right is the hard part. Read more code to learn from the experts." I think if you are sharp u can learn C during one week. But using C is not so easy. You should be able to think as a programmer. I think all parts of a program is important. you should pay attention to design, algorithm, debug, data structure, architecture and also libraries. you can not be a programmer by learning syntax of every computer language. I think programming is an art And there is only one way to learn an art, practice makes perfect. you can learn programming by reading and writing real projects codes. -- Gula_Gula =;=; BNF
And I'll add (I'm not a computer scientist!) that one should thoroughly understand functional programming before even thinking about object-oriented programming. Michael
C is a decent first language to learn; but I think that starting with C will focus your attention on the mechanics of how things happen at a very fundamental level, which is all well and good if you plan to write operating system kernels or device drivers (or audit them for security). and starting with C will help you later learn all the C-derived languages that came after: C++, Java, C#, etc. but if you intend to write applications, you may be better served by starting with a language that focuses your attention on the structure of your programs and the relationship between their parts. once you have a good foundation about the structure and meaning of programs, it's a relatively simple matter to learn any programming language, including C and the C-derived languages, as well as languages that are not remotely C-like. since you've indicated that you are interested in a 'first' language, I must assume you plan to learn other languages later. as a result, I strongly recommend that you start with the book "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" (available online at http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html, or you can buy a paper copy if you prefer, for example from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Interpretation-Computer-Programs-Engineering/dp/026201...). this book will give you an excellent foundation on programming in general (and the Scheme programming language in specific). despite what some Scheme fans claim, I personally have not found Scheme to be a terribly useful language for 'real' work. however, I believe that it's an excellent language to learn programming with, and when combined with the book I mentioned, it will leave you in an excellent position to then choose any other language (or set of languages) you wish. C was one of my first languages, and while I cannot say that I regret it, I can't help but feel that in the long run I would have been better served learning Scheme first. -ken
http://www.amazon.com/Structure-Interpretation-Computer-Programs-Engineering/ Are you insane ? Recommending SICP to a guy that just started programming and CS in general ? Have in mind that not everyone is a MIT grad. Learning lisp/scheme as ones first language is sweet, but it just doesn't happen in 2010, that makes me said, but it's the truth. Before flaming me, I'm quite fond of scheme and elisp. Stick with Marco's books and you should be fine. I also recommend the following, disregard the name, it isn't all that: http://www.amazon.com/Expert-Programming-Peter-van-Linden/dp/0131774298 Another advice is, make yourself small goals like "try to write a wc(1) program", try to write a strtok(3) function and stuff like that. Also have in mind that learning C can be quite painful.
Absolute beginners guide to c is very lightweight & accommodating http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0672305100/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1290688733&sr=8-1 If you're going the k&r route there is the c answer book which goes with it apparently, I've not read it myself but it explains the answers to the exercise in k&r http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0131096532/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1290688949&sr=8-1 Sevan / Venture37
On Thu, Nov 25, 2010 at 7:20 AM, Christiano F. Haesbaert < SICP isn't used to teach MIT grads, it's used as the entry-level course to teach MIT undergrads how to program (or so I understand, I never went to MIT). if a college undergrad can use it to learn programming while also taking 5-6 other classes at the same time, then I'm confident the OP (who I assume isn't trying to learn 4-5 other things at the same time) can manage the task as well. that is, if the OP wants a solid foundation in program design, rather than merely learning a language. it roughly corresponds to the difference between someone who wants to learn to be a draftsman, versus an architect. they both start out doing similar things, but one of them will end up going farther. I stand by my recommendation - SICP and Scheme to learn the basics, most importantly how to *think* about programs. after that, K&R will suffice to teach you how to express your already well-structured thoughts in C syntax. -ken
actualy I'm not sure it's used anymore http://www.wisdomandwonder.com/link/2110/why-mit-switched-from-scheme-to-python It's on the list of books I want to read anyway :)
I have read that book after I learned C from "The C Programming Language" and I found it especially useful in the way it explained complicated declarations in C. Only for that it is already worth the money. I have spend much more than one weekend with "The C Programming Language" and immediately after finishing it, I dived into studying about linked lists. These documents where tremendously helpful: http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/103/ http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/102/ But I stopped using "Pointers to Pointers" as was suggested here. Also this video is on my list of recommendations: http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/104/ Regards, Ludo
I'm no expert, but I do program C for applications (not operating systems). My advice would be to study data structures, pointers and concepts such as const, struct, etc. and to understand why types are important. When you script with Python/Perl/Ruby much of that is glossed over, but is really important. By itself, C is very basic and small and can be learned quickly. However, if you need a data structure to do useful things, you need to find a library or roll your own. I would suggest learning C++ as a C with more stuff built-in. Its STL has well-tested lists, queues, stacks, maps, vectors, hashes, etc. built-in to it so you are not rolling your own or looking at external libraries. It also has references (but you can still use raw pointers if you like) and the C++ compiler won't let you get away with nearly as much. Just my experience, good luck. Brad
Forgot to mention a book... If you decide to take the C++ route, I suggest "Accelerated C++". http://www.acceleratedcpp.com/
I'll call crap on c++ It doesn't really qualify as a language but more as a "let me show you how smart i am" tool for tools. Object orientation is interesting on the surface however the promises have never materialized. I'll reiterate my previous point. Learn C, if required you have most tools and ideas figured out to use other fancy languages (which ultimately degenerate into understanding C anyway). C is somewhat hostile and that is a good thing. Nothing brings attention quicker to an app than crashing. Crashing is good; running in some sort of unknown state is bad. I happened to learn assembly first and C was just an easier way to do things. Honestly, not much has changed over the years. I tried many languages and have always gravitated back to C. New things are new and last a couple of years and then something new pops up that will write all the code for you. Unfortunately when writing code you have to do that pesky task of writing code. FWIW
Hi, I see you already bought the book, perhaps an online primer could help you too. I have dabbled in writing a C primer on Hackepedia at http://www.hackepedia.org/?title=C_Primer You can read it, and you can modify it and add other parts if you wish. The C examples have a line number in front of them ala w.r. steven's books it helps explaining what each line does in that regard. To make them work use awk '{$1= ""; print;}' or something. And my advice regarding learning C is that you not only read source code but also write your own and learn from your mistakes by comparing. Cheers, -peter
If you go to the book store or Amazon, look at the page counts on books to learn computer languages. Many of them are huge. They give you lots and lots of words so that you don't have to think very much and get your information in tons of very small doses. On the other hand, K&R gives you concentrated goodness. But you will have to approach it differently. If you read something and don't understand it completely, stop and think about it. Then reread that part again and think some more until you do understand. *Carefully* read the code they show until you understand it. *Really* try the exercises (I mean it). If you're not used to doing this it will be difficult, but it will be worth it. If you can do this you will have a better grasp of C than some professionals. If you give up and get the 800 page book you will finish it and still not know important things about C and programming. But you do not have to read only 1 book. So maybe some of the books others have recommended will help, but still keep K&R. Also see http://www.highercomputingforeveryone.com/ for free online material for beginners. -- You've been warned.
Hi, that one is quite funny and not too technical (as one you mentioned) book http://www.dummies.com/store/product/C-For-Dummies-2nd-Edition.productCd-0764 570684,navId-322467.html . But best jump to C and assembler (in my opinion) is that one http://nostarch.com/hacking2.htm . Good description of C keywords with real examples which are immediately examined in gdb. Even if you will not read rest of the book (just chapters 1 and 2) you will learn a lot about C, gdb and assembler. at the time and it was just a mandatory elective class I had to take to get credits in order to graduate school, and I didn't even know what a programming language was back then. I thought I was just writing words on the screen to make the program do things (we made stuff like tic-tac-toe, shooting a basketball into a hoop by inputting correct coordinates/arch, etc.) I forgot everything I learned since then, so I have absolutely no recollection at all of VB except "rem" which I recall as being equivalent to a comment in any basically guessed what all the functions did and how the programs worked to modify them, and as long as they worked, I really wasn't concerned at all about how crappy the quality of the code was. So I decided to actually learn a language and I had heard Python was easy so I started learning Python first. But before finishing the first chapter I was told by several people that Perl was much "better." Considering their opinion was probably better than mine, I switched to Perl and picked up a book for Perl beginners but again before I even learned the print function, I read online that the first programming language one learns could be crucial to the person's future programming skills and habits that become ported to other programming languages they learn later on, and I don't want to develop any bad habits and practices. I've decided to wanting to learn C, I bought K&R's The C Programming Language (2nd edition) as per the suggestion on the OpenBSD website. I read the disclaimers in ...
their first language and explain basic programming terms along the way? I tried a lot of things and if I could go back I would choose "How to Design Programs". It's free and it uses DrScheme which is great for learning purposes. It allows you to run and watch your program step-by-step. Definitely do not start with SICP, it's as dense as C Programming Language by K&R. "How to Design Programs" is available for free here http://htdp.org/ After that I would jump to C Programming Language by K&R, because C is fundamental knowledge , but mainly because I love operating systems. But if you do not want to go through "How to Design Programs" just stick to "C Programming language by K&R" and use Google a lot. I love that book and I think it's great book even for start, but you have to think and work on your own a lot. After all there there is nobody who holds your hand forever. Get used to harder approach, it makes things easier later. One last recommendation if you plan to stick to operating systems. Learn shell programming first and along "C by K&R" read also "Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective". 1) http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-Shell-Programming-Hours/dp/0672323583/ 2) http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Language-2nd-Brian-Kernighan/dp/0131103628/ along with 3) http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Systems-Programmers-Perspective-2nd/dp/0136108 040/ Good luck! "I will persist until I succeed. Henceforth, I will consider each daybs effort as but one blow of my blade against a mighty oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling, and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today."
Let's go: at the time and it was just a mandatory elective class I had to take to get credits in order to graduate school, and I didn't even know what a programming language was back then. I thought I was just writing words on the screen to make the program do things (we made stuff like tic-tac-toe, shooting a basketball into a hoop by inputting correct coordinates/arch, etc.) I forgot everything I learned since then, so I have absolutely no recollection at all of VB except "rem" which I recall as being equivalent to a comment in any Visual Basic: the eternal disease. It is very good you forget VB. Keep basically guessed what all the functions did and how the programs worked to modify them, and as long as they worked, I really wasn't concerned at all about how crappy the quality of the code was. So I decided to actually learn a language and I had heard Python was easy so I started learning Python first. But before finishing the first chapter I was told by several people that Perl was much "better." Considering their opinion was probably better than mine, I switched to Perl and picked up a book for Perl beginners but again before I even learned the print function, I read online that the first programming language one learns could be crucial to the person's future programming skills and habits that become ported to other programming languages they learn later on, and I don't want to develop any bad habits and practices. I've decided to To the point, the first language one learns is very important for unlearing is not a possible experience. I suggest you go into Djkistra wanting to learn C, I bought K&R's The C Programming Language (2nd edition) as per the suggestion on the OpenBSD website. I read the disclaimers in the intro of the book, and read on anyway. But the book seems to move very fast and does not elaborate too much on the features of the language, I guess due to the book not being total-noob-friendly. I can barely follow along and get what's going on, but have no idea ...
