Totally new to programming, need some help

[whoisparker]

I'm a web designer and am looking to get into programming. I have zero experience with programming. I think the best place to start is with C (open to suggestions) and last night purchased the K&R book on C. I almost exclusively use a Mac (OS X 10.4 - Tiger) and would like to learn my programming skills on it. The problem is I don't know where to start. I want to start with the classic "hello, world" program, but as I said, I have zero programming experience and am not sure what to do first. I don't know what application to write it in. I don't know how to compile it or what application to use or where to get one for my mac. The list goes on. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! I would also be interested in any resources for learning C or programming on Mac for a total novice like me. Thanks in advance, I look forward to your suggestions!

[John A]

The first thing you should do is install the Apple Developer Tools. It's included on one of the installation discs that came with your Mac, or alternatively, you can download it from Apple's website. Among other things, it includes gcc (the compiler you'll be using), and Xcode (an integrated development environment). I'd suggest starting with Xcode, as the interface makes it simpler to compile and run applications.

As for learning C - there are lots of resources in the C forum here, I'd recommend starting with a Hello World program and working your way up from there. Not having any programming experience might slow you down a bit, but there's nothing in learning C that absolutely requires prior programming expericne -- it just helps.