Thread: Becoming Linux Developer

95% of the software running on a normal (non-KDE) linux system is compiled from C. On KDE systems this is less, since KDE is written in C++.

I've developed stuff for linux that is in (very small scale) distribution and I do work on linux servers. When I get to choose, I work in either C or perl, a few times C++. I've occasionally had to fiddle with python stuff, but I've never put any real effort into learning it because it has not been required and IMO perl and python fill the exact same niche (so since I am good with perl, I have no need for python).

But IMO C occupies a very different niche than perl/python; it is much more time consuming to work in, but delivers a much faster and more streamlined product. Traditionally, I think this has meant many complex, heavy duty applications had to be done in a compiled language, but due to the increasing speed and resources of new hardware, some software which traditionally would have been written in C (such as end user GUI applications) is more and more appearing in python or (to a lesser degree) perl, because those languages allow fewer people to accomplish more in less time.

However, both the perl and python interpreters are written in C. It's very nice to be able to write customized "high performance" routines for use with perl in C, and I know the same is possible in python. Also, the linux kernel and the core system are 100% open source C code; it is nice to know that you can (at least make a good try) to understand the guts.

So I would say if you are serious about programming on linux, you almost certainly want to study C. Being competent in either perl or python is also a good idea. And while you probably won't want to do that much with it, a bit of shell scripting is still more or less essential.

Speaking as linux desktop user now, I have come across a lot of python apps lately. Much more than four to five years ago. So MK27 seems to be right. There's also an increasing amount of Java desktop applications, but browsing through different linux forums I get the feeling that with Oracle's overtaking of Java its attractivity for linux desktop developers seems to have decreased again. I'd also say that C or C++ would be your first choice for development under linux. At least, that's why I am trying to learn it.

EDIT: Additionally, it's a fact the the most widely spread linux GUI libraries (Qt, GTK+ and wxWidgets) are either C or C++. Surely there are bindings for many other languages, but why use an adapter when there's a direct link?

Originally Posted by dennis.cpp

EDIT: Additionally, it's a fact the the most widely spread linux GUI libraries (Qt, GTK+ and wxWidgets) are either C or C++. Surely there are bindings for many other languages, but why use an adapter when there's a direct link?

For me its because there are different types of GUI needed. I work a lot in python and C and will more than happily use wxPython for my GUI if all that user interface is a quick form-based user interface used for configuration etc.... If I wanted a word processor, then I'd use C/C++, but the majority of times I need a GUI I don't need performance and the ability to rapidly change the interface in python is rather handy.

Originally Posted by manasij7479

Can you clarify a bit what you mean by that ?

I find it much quicker to make changes in a scripting language....few keystrokes...Ct-X-S....launch. You can probably get it pretty fast in C too if you use a RAD type IDE....but I'm more of an emacs fan.

Again thanks for your reply ,

I wanna become linux developer but I don't know how can I start ?

How can I connect C to oracle or sql server database ?

Thanks in advance

EDIT : [ How can I contact you ? There is no Private MSG service in this forum I think ! ]

Originally Posted by manasij7479

Originally Posted by Fordy

the ability to rapidly change the interface

Can you clarify a bit what you mean by that ?

There is a big (as you scale, huge) difference between modifying 2-3 lines of code and modifying 5-10 (or 10-20, or more) lines of code, esp. when the difference is between changing "these few lines" and "that bunch of lines, plus that other bunch, plus that other bunch", because compiled languages are just plain stricter and more inflexible (which is why, given a sufficient hardware bottleneck, interpreted languages become the rule -- no one is going to write something in C/C++ if the advantages of doing so are rendered irrelevant). I sometimes prototype an idea in perl then re-work it in C. C++, even with the STL, is much closer to C than it is higher order interpreted languages in this regard. Probably dynamic typing has a lot to do with that.

If you look at the amount of code in a major perl or python project vs. a comparable C or C++ project, you are going to see a very drastic difference (much more than C vs. C++).

I need some references for learning C programming language

If you live near a major city, the library system will have books.* There are also lots of things online, eg:

The C Book - Table of Contents
http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~xujia/Ex...rogramming.pdf

I actually have not read most of either of those, but I've read parts and I think the first one is straightforward, well-organized and informative, and the second one is informative, quirky, and interesting; both of them have practical exercises. If you are coming from PHP, doing some basic practical exercises is probably a must in order to get used to the much stronger typing and manual memory management. I think you will be completely new to both those concepts and they are very significant.

* unfortunately and ironically, I've noticed some library system search engines cannot deal with "C" as a subject matter, and adding "programming" may or may not help. So you have to check shelves. 005 is the base dewey decimal number for "Computer programming"

Now , Let me know how can I build GUI apps in C ?

I would put that on hold for a bit, lol. Anyway on linux, the most common way is via GTK+.

Originally Posted by Homayoon

How can I connect C to oracle or sql server database ?

As Elkvis says, there are native C libraries for stuff like this. But a difference between C and PHP is how that stuff is "organized"; whereas it is centralized with PHP via PECL, with C, there is no such authority/repository for extension libraries. They are maintained and distributed directly by the developers. Eg, if you go search your fav SQL engine's site, you'll find stuff about the C API...

An Introduction To The SQLite C/C++ Interface

Again, I recommend you hold off on this a bit and do some more basic things not requiring any extensions or you may be slightly shocked and confused as to why the ___ you have to do it this way and how the ___ that is going to work anyway. PHP is also written in C, and like other interpreted OO languages, much of it is a clever, convenient interface to the underlying standard C library. However, PHP does not really presume knowledge of C and the connections will be hard to spot going from PHP->C. The "clever, convenient interface" is literal, and by contrast dealing with C itself will at first seem like the stupidest most awkward thing imaginable, lol.

EDIT : [ How can I contact you ? There is no Private MSG service in this forum I think ! ]

There is after you have sufficient posts but we like to keep things public for posterity, etc. Legit programming questions belong in the forum, you will get quicker answers and from more than one source