Puzzled : The path to programming ???

Hi !


Recently I have been working hard on learning C programming and I am up to the point on data structures and now I am trying to learn more about sorting/searching/hashing. I have read a few books on C and I am currently reading algorithms in C by robert sedgewick.


Even though I constantly learn more, my biggest failure comes from not being able to establish something in C to prove my accomplishments.

I am looking to build something practical which has a start to end in C. I also need some guidance in what programming languages should I go for next, should I keep probing deeper in to C and look for UNIX programming/windows programming or should i look for something else.

just looking for guidance from the programmers at the forum.

The force is lost :confused:

well, that really depends on what your plans are. nobody will ever know everything there is to know about computers and/or programming. you have to decide where you want to go with your knowledge and follow that path. for better answers, i suggest a more specific question, like, "I want to be a game programmer, where do i go from here?". although it will still yield a pretty broad range of answers, it will narrow the scope quiete a bit.

the most obvious step would be to move onto c++ and learn OOP...you mentioned windows programming. i don't really suggest learning windows programming in C with windows API. perhaps you should dabble with it a bit to understand the underlying principles of GUI programming, but don't get to invovled. i think i speak for most when i say that MFC is a far better choice. of course, you must be familiar with classes to understand how the Microsoft Foundation Classes work.

This is a nice central place for finding out a little bit about a large number of algorithms http://www.nist.gov/dads/
Google searches for specific ones (once you know the name) should then work.

Try some of the problems here http://acm.uva.es/problemset/

> I also need some guidance in what programming languages should I go for next,
None for the moment - knowing say 5 languages, but not how to design programs would not make you any better. At best, you'll be a "hello world" programmer in 5 different languages.
Knowing how to specify and design large programs is a big part of it.

great reply guys Thanks !!!!

I feel a lot more confiedent after reading your replies, that I should stick to what I am doing.

"misplaced" I already have been working on C++ but I don't want to change to C++ without mastering C, is that the right way to do it if I were to ask ???

I have been reading windows programming by charles petzold I read a few chapters and was very confused so I have reacently laid a little low on that, I wonder if I started from the right step on windows programming ???, since no one was there to guide me.....


"salem" : great links , really something good can you post up some more of these links, if its not too much of a trouble. I would stay I still have a lot to learn in C itself, but should I probe into other languages or keep it in C

one last question guys : if I haven't got a job in a while and I have been studying all this on my own, what would you guys suggest to do to prove something productive keeping in mind my level of expertise in C programming, untill I can find a job I just didn't want to waste my time so I started learning C, Iam looking for a job in embedded systems, but untill i find it I don't know how to prove to the interview panel that I have been doing something productive ????

gemini_shooter

Try an opensource project, that way you can prove what you're capable.... build up a portfolio of programs you write. Just think of something to make, and make it. Some sort of portfolio is always a plus.

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Originally Posted by misplaced

i don't really suggest learning windows programming in C with windows API

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You mean learning it in C++ instead , or not learning it at all?

Keep delving into C/C++. It wasn't a mistake to learn Windows programming, it's just not the most usefull.

If your looking to prove what you know in order to get a job, create some nifty programs that prove you know what your doing, and be prepared to explain them or even the code.

It also helps if you know what your aiming for. Say game programming, it wouldnt help to have a hello world program...but instead a few games you have made/worked on and what you have done with them.

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Originally Posted by Brain Cell

You mean learning it in C++ instead , or not learning it at all?

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i mean learn it after MFC. i could be mistaken, but i doubt many new programs will be written 100% with the raw windows API. I'm suggesting to learn MFC, and then learn the windows API to supplement MFC. Perhaps before learning MFC though, it might be useful to have a basic idea of how the windows API works, but not necessarily have it mastered.

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have been reading windows programming by charles petzold I read a few chapters and was very confused so I have reacently laid a little low on that, I wonder if I started from the right step on windows programming ???, since no one was there to guide me.....

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I don't think you should leap to programming an API. First, learn the names of common GUI elements. You know, the basics dialog, button, combo box, edit box, sliders, etc. There's a lot more to this. When you're trying to design some visual interaction, you basically figure out what data the user needs to see and what data the user needs to change, and then present this to the user in the acceptable way. It can be quite difficult, whole books have been written on this. What I do, howver, is take a close look at the applications I like to use. I try to note the principles I like and the one's I don't. When you're done doing this, learn MVC(Model view controller). But you can't learn MVC unless if you're confortable with C++ or some other object oriented language.

OK, back to what you've been reading . Sedgewick's book will teach you how to design and implement algorithms, but a lot of programming isn't very algorithmic. It's not that algorithms aren't used somewhere but that they're at a lower level. For instance, if you're using a database, you're not worried so much how the database processes your updates, your searches, and your deletes, but how the database is accessed from your program and which data is stored in the database.

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one last question guys : if I haven't got a job in a while and I have been studying all this on my own, what would you guys suggest to do to prove something productive keeping in mind my level of expertise in C programming, untill I can find a job I just didn't want to waste my time so I started learning C, Iam looking for a job in embedded systems, but untill i find it I don't know how to prove to the interview panel that I have been doing something productive ????

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Gemni, it's quite difficult to get a job as programmer. Internships might be helpful while learning. You're off to good start, but if you want to produce a substantial work to a company as proof, you'll going to have to learn some time of analysis and some type of design. Whole books have been written on these subjects. So, you're talking at least a couple of months to go through them and then may a little more time spent getting practice. Then, actually analyzing, designing, and coding a project might take several months also.

okinrus can you suggest some books for analysis and design that will help to generate complete works on c programming from end to start, a project which can proven as a substantual work and go on my resume.

it would be a great help , thanks !!

Sorry for the double post !!!

To be more precise in my ambitions I am looking to pursue ERP software design or something along the lines of a business and financial software design.

What direction would to advise me to proceed in further after taking a look at these skills :

1. c programming (newbie) : books read (K&R C, algorithms in C by robert sedgewick, ANSI C by balagurusamy.
2. MATLAB : (newbie) : books read ( into to matlab for engg. by william palm, a few tutorials)

I know oracle and SAP are very strong softwares and provide certifications, but these are very different from C, I need a more gradual step into a new sector of progamming or a new language that would get me closer to design of ERP software or financial/business analysis software design

Any help would be appreciated !!!!

Business and financial programming is about getting the software done on time, under budget and as reliably and bug free as possible. Show me a bank that writes all its software in pure C and I'll show you a software devision that needs their faces pushed in a blender.

I know of a lot of banks and financial services companies using C#. Others are using Java. Are they the fastest or most optimised languages in the world? Maybe not. But they are probably the fastest for developing standard CRUD (create, read, update, delete records from databases) business applications with good OO. So if thats the field you want to get into (and it's a lot of fun and you get to meet very... interesting... people), I would reccomend a .NET language (VB.NET or C# preferably).

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okinrus can you suggest some books for analysis and design that will help to generate complete works on c programming from end to start, a project which can proven as a substantual work and go on my resume.

it would be a great help , thanks !!

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I don't know of any good books on analyst and design for C programming. What you want if you're designing for C is a book on functional design. But I'd probably first go through the C++ tutorial on this site; the C++ library has a lot of classes like std::vector that make C++ easier than C.

For business programming a lot of companies are using .NET and Java. You ought to know databases, too.

One you've learned a little bit of C++, you could try appying Use Cases, second edition, a practical guide-not a lot of infomation but enough to get you started on analysis. Some of the conversational elements of this book make it a bit strange, but you won't be overwealmed and it should be a fairly quick to read. For most of the book, you won't need to know any C++, but the very end of the book uses analyst-level classes. Another book, Object Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications by Grady Booch, is pretty good, but it's kind of dated. ( You might be able to get through this book without C++, but then you might not. The author gives a very brief explanation of all the C++ he uses )

Thanks for all the output guys its has been a great help in understanding a lot.

one last question I have is what are some good opportunities for someone in the field of C/C++, MATLAB and verilog HDL. What options are open for me

Thanks a lot again guys