Hello, everyone. I'm new here. name's David.
Recently I've decided to learn some programming languages, and i heard the best
one to start is C Programming, and was also recommended to join up a Forum to help me out wherever I hit a bump.
My reason for posting here, is to really ask if there's any recommended guide books to start off with, for C Programming?
All reply's are appreciated, and thanks for the time.
From the top of this forum... C Book Recommendations
Welcome.
There's a big list of books stuck to the top of the forum - perhaps start with those.
> and i heard the best one to start is C Programming
C is one of the worst languages to start with, if you don't know any programming at all.
Don't get me wrong - it's fantastic, once mastered. But there's the rub - "mastery".
C has far too many traps and pitfalls which can really sap your motivation.
Plus there's no shortage of people on the net who know "a bit of C" giving bad advice.
If you've never programmed before, then I would suggest Python. It's easy enough to learn, and you get the "buzz" of early successes.
If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.
thanks i didn't realize that sticky. just rushed into posting, sorry about that.
I think I'll go check out Python, maybe come back to C in the future.
thanks for the replies <3
Would it matter if I disagreed with Salem?Originally Posted by dave9_
I started out with Pascal, which is a mid level language that includes strings and garbage collection as part of it's structure. Worked in it for many years (until Borland killed it). Then with little choice I moved over to C. The adjustment was horrific. I had to unlearn so many bad habits and understand my way around so many new ideas that I was starting from scratch.
While I still bemoan the lack of a native string type in C, the truth is that I would have been much further ahead learning C first... then by comparison Pascal would have been a hoot!
My point is that learning grass roots programming --C style-- while a slightly more difficult path, does ingrain better habits and broader concepts that will follow you to the "easier" languages and help you there too. However, as I discovered, the reverse isn't always true.
Well I also started with Pascal, but it was only ever a teaching language to me (the purpose for which it was designed).
Perhaps your frustration with Pascal (and the induced brain rot) stems from Brian's observations as well?
Why Pascal is Not My Favorite Programming Language
If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.
I've seen that critique before. I don't necessarily agree with all of it but some of it is very true.
None the less, my experience with Pascal was entirely positive --I actually enjoyed coding with it-- and it was not until I got deeply enough into C to realize a few of my own bad habits that I had any reason to question the experience at all.
My one big grumble with C is that through the course of several revisions, they never got around to adding a native "str" type to the compilers... beyond that I'm perfectly content to use it.
Now... give me "C with real strings" and watch me smile!
Last edited by CommonTater; 05-03-2011 at 09:24 AM.
