c programming tutorials

[php111]

hi, I am a beginner and haven't decided to learn how to program in C or Python. Is there any free tutorials in C that is very good? I can run searches in google but i am not sure what tutorials are good or not good. Another question, later in the future why do i need to start with Python to learn how to build an OS and not start off in pure C? Is Vista a good OS to program on?

[Ancient Dragon]

did you read the Read Me thread at the beginning of this board? If not, then you should.

>> Is there any free tutorials in C that is very good
No. If you are serious about learning the language then buy any of the many books available at your local book store. Yes they are expensive, but worth every penny because they normally cover the language pretty thoroughly and provide lots of examples. Just don't bother with "blabla for Dummies" because they are not for newbes but only cover subjects very briefly.

If your goal is to just learn how to write simple games, then go for the online tutorials. But remember, many of those tutorials are old, obsolete and sometimes just plain wrong.

[Salem]

> hi, I am a beginner and haven't decided to learn how to program in C or Python
If you've never programmed before, go with Python. It's a lot easier to get to grips with, and getting something working.

With regard to books, check this out
http://www.accu.org/index.php/book_reviews?url=view.xqy?subject
Avoid
- books which refer to (or bundled with) specific compilers,
- books whose titles contain references to time,
- books whose titles contain Guru, wizard, dummies or other useless adjectives,
- books which use the unholy trinity of void main, fflush(stdin) or gets(), except in the context of telling you NOT to use those things.

"Become a wizard C programmer in 42 seconds with code musher 4.2" would be a book to avoid!

This is a good tutorial
http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/notes/top.html
by the same guy who maintains the c.l.c FAQ
http://c-faq.com/

[php111]

Thank you. On that tutorial site they said K&R, Is that the name of the complier they using? Or what complier are they using?

[Hamrick]

K&R is a book, The C Programming Language. If the tutorial is any good it won't matter what compiler you have, but I recommend visual C++ express because it's free and easy to use once you blank out all of the features you don't need. :) I don't know how well it works on vista though. You might have to do some google searches to find a compiler that works well on that OS.

I think vb.net is a nice language to begin in.

[php111]

just looking over that tutorial it looks way to complicated and difficult and complex means it looks hard. Is there any easier tutorials?

[Salem]

> hi, I am a beginner and haven't decided to learn how to program in C or Python.
An analogy.
Learning to drive has nothing to do with the car you choose to drive.

As it is with programming. Programming in itself is a skill which is largely independent of whichever programming language you choose. Once you've mastered some of the basics, then an awful lot of languages look pretty darn similar. I don't actually know Java at the moment, but I do know how to solve say "The Tower of Hanoi" problem from an abstract program point of view. After that, it's simply a book exercise to look up the syntax of various programming constructs (loops, functions etc) to get the job done.

You're going to learn several languages in your career anyway (just as you'll drive several different cars). Picking a nice simple language to do that with (I was taught Pascal, but never used it since) is preferable to jumping in at the deep end with say C.

[Ancient Dragon]

just looking over that tutorial it looks way to complicated and difficult and complex means it looks hard. Is there any easier tutorials?

No there isn't. If you want to learn C then take the time to study and understand it. I thought it was hard at first too -- had problems with a simple "Hello World" program. People spend hundreds of hours mastering programming languages. If you don't have the time, patients, or inclination then you probably should take up playing the piano instead of computer programming. But that too is difficult for many people.