How to start to study C ?

[riverlam]

I am newbie to C. I feel much awkward to C codes. Would you please to give me some advices in studying C ?

Thanks in advance for your advices.

[DavidP]

Get a book. There are SEVERAL good ones out there. Just go to the book store and find one. Find a net tutorial. Sunlight has some good ones...go to the links page on this web site.

Take a course in school, that is an excellent way. This board is also a good way to start...many of the regulars on this board have learned quite a lot by coming to it all the time...I know I have.

Those are just a few suggestions.

[BellosX]

Another good way as well as the ones mentioned by DavidP is to ask LOTS of questions. This board is VERY good for this. Even questions that you think are the most ridiculous ever ask! Because it probably means we'll know the answer

Also try making your own programs. No point trying to learn and not applying this knowledge in your own situations. A good way is to make a program that you would like to use (keep it within your knowledge) and go about making it. When you encounter something you don't understand log on here and ask the question, there should be an answer soon enough depending on how difficult the question is. But usually a day at most. In the meantime you can either be reading up on a book that you have gotten, or browsed around on the net to see if you can find something relevant. Or just try to tackle another section of your program.

But don't start too big. I made this mistake when i first started! I wanted to program something really big and useful, which seems like a good idea, but you just can't figure it out! You gotta start small else you'll never grasp the basic concepts of programming.

Also they say (and i think it's true), the best way to learn something is to teach is (sounds weird huh?). But learn the basics and then log on here and try to answer questions from newbies. They don't understand something, try to explain this to them and most of the time it clicks for you!

That's all i can really think of. Just don't treat programming like it will come to you without any work, you have to learn it and it isn't easy but after you grasp the basics it will come easily after more coding etc.

[rahat]

Fantastic .....!!!! Be with C and get some books of C programming.
you should select only one of the boks you got. You must select a book that has been written for the very beginners.
keep on reading the book seriously and go ahead as politely as possible.
you haven't told anything about what compiler you are using. But if I were you, I would be starting using Turbo C compiler for dos.
that is what i did at your situation and i think i was benifited.
if you want any further help about C, you may mail me.

[QuestionC]

Personally, I think writing toy programs to perform mathematical tasks is your best way to get into C. Here's what I figure the stuff one needs to know in order to start learning C are...

1. main ()
2. int
3. if ()
4. for (;;)
5. basic operators (like +, -, /, %)
6. printf()
7. and maybe scanf ()

You can write some interesting programs with these alone... but you can't do hardly anything without them.

I suggest just borrowing a book from a friend, or maybe the library, if your library has the books. I also suggest using (djgpp + )RHIDE, since it does allow for stepping through code, and it has quick reference to the documentation of any libc function.

[quzah]

Here's a way to see if the C book is any good.

Look at the first program in the book. (Usually called "Hello World".) If it has this line in it:

void main ( void )

Then skip the book. In C, "void main" is incorrect. "int main" is correct. Some books teach the former of the two, which is wrong. It will compile, but it is wrong.

Quzah.

[Guideon72]

I just started working with it this week, myself. I have already received some great input from folks here, and finding a good book is a MUST. You can find several at a decent book store. Just look through the first chapter or so and figure out whether it is starting at a level you are comfortable with.

Cheers and good luck

[stargazer]

That's cool,

what I found helpful (once you've got a good book, lecture notes, online tutorial etc.) was to get an instruction or algorithm for a common starter's program (like a number guessing game) and to try to program it myself. Then look up different interpretations of the code from different programmers on the net or post it on a message board to see if someone else could help you correct it/streamline it. You will learn lot of ways to improve/economize your code.

Good Luck,
stargazer.

[Garfield]

Use books, not online tutorials. They never work. Or at least not for me.

[Sayeh]

This is my personal method, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for others--

Yes, you need books and documentation, and examples, but _before_ such things, atleast for me, the most important thing is to pick a goal. Something I want to do.

1) It must be _achievable_
2) it must be _realistic_

if you pick a goal, then you have something to find reference material for. You will naturally learn other things along the way, but it gives you something to focus on.

Achievable means it must not be something to big-- don't start out trying to right the next DOOM or Quake... Start out with things that are simple, but just slightly beyond where you are. Otherwise, you set yourself up for failure-- in which case you will have a bad experience.

It must be realistic-- What do you need to learn? Loops? Whiles? queues? what-- create something that meets these needs. Don't try to cram everything together-- learn about one thing at a time, until you understand it, and then add something else. This way you build a foundation that grows stronger-- not one built on guesses, shaky understandings, etc.

Find alternate ways to prove that how you think something works, is the way it is actually working-- this can be difficult, but necessary, as this is how you will debug your own code (and other's code) in the future.

enjoy, and GOOD LUCK.