Thread: Good way to get started with C?

  1. 02-03-2002 #1
    Sunner
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    Question Good way to get started with C?

    Im trying to learn C, but I have a bit of a problem.

    Following books tends to become extremely boring after a while, since in every book I've seen, you write about 100 "Hello World!" type programs, then the book is over, while this gives some theoretical knowledge, it doesn't exactly tell how to do something with this knowledge.

    What Im looking for is a project to get me started, the problem is, I dont know what would be a good project to start out with.

    So, does anyone have any suggestions about what would make a good project, something that will take a bit of time and effort, but not something that complex enough to just scare me away from C alltogether.
    Im working with UNIX all day long at work, and I'll be doing the programming under Linux, and my programming skills strech as far as writing "Hello World" programs in C/C++.

    Thanks a bunch.
  2. 02-03-2002 #2
    Crossbow
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    You could try making a simple calculator program. Or you can try a string manipulation program, like something that takes user input and reverses it or something. When you think you are ready, you can make a tic-tac-toe game. These are just a few suggestions. Good Luck!
  3. 02-03-2002 #3
    Sebastiani
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    Write a proggie that asks a user to enter new employee info, saves it to a file.

    Then let the user open the file and edit or delete employee stats, and saves those results back to that file.

    Here's another:

    I have a string:

    "John Leighton 27"

    Write a function that extracts each piece of data and reads it into a firstName, lastName, and age variables. Print out to verify. Can you do that?
    Code:
    #include <cmath>
#include <complex>
bool euler_flip(bool value)
{
    return std::pow
    (
        std::complex<float>(std::exp(1.0)), 
        std::complex<float>(0, 1) 
        * std::complex<float>(std::atan(1.0)
        *(1 << (value + 2)))
    ).real() < 0;
}
  4. 02-03-2002 #4
    starX
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    I have to agree with the calculator program as a first project. That's always a good one because even after you "finish" it, it leaves room for a lot of expansion. i.e., now that you've got a 4-func calc, make it work with the command line. now add more functions. now make it a scientific calculator. How about a graphing calculator? (your first GUI project). How about a graphing calculator that can also play tetris, or display a randomly generated quote from shakespeare? The sky's the limit, and I can pretty well promise that you'll find all sorts of ways of applying those simple concepts.

    starX
    www.axisoftime.com
  5. 02-04-2002 #5
    Sunner
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    Thanks for the suggestions, the calculator program seems like a good program to start with.

    Thanks a bunch people.
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