C Programming Help

[boyz]

Hey Guys, i start school in august and 1 of the topic in the course outline is c programming, i know we have to use a program of some kind to experiment with c programming. If you guys have any idea on what program to use to practice c programming please let me know. thanks

 

[Nothinman]

You need a C compiler, but it's best to use the same one that you're learning on in school as there are subtle differences.

 

[Ynog]

Depending on the OS you are using, the gcc compiler is probably a good place to start.

I know some that buy Microsoft C++ compiler for Windows to compile C, but gcc under cygwin isn't bad.
And its free.

If you have never programmed C, I would also pick up
"The C Programming Language" book by Kernighan and Ritchie. (Basically the C Bible)

 

[boyz]

What about c programming for dummies or the dummy guide. Is there any specific program that i can buy to practice c programming. Thanks guys

 

[pac1085]

Originally posted by: boyz
What about c programming for dummies or the dummy guide. Is there any specific program that i can buy to practice c programming. Thanks guys

Dummies books suck. I like O'Reilly books for computer-related stuff.
You dont need to buy anything. Just install a flavor of linux, bsd, etc and use your favorite text editor with gcc. There are c compiliers for windows, too.

 

[Nothinman]

There are c compiliers for windows, too.

Of which gcc is one.

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

There are c compiliers for windows, too.

Of which gcc is one.

But the by-far best development environment on ANY platform is MS Visual Studio.

 

[Nothinman]

But the by-far best development environment on ANY platform is MS Visual Studio.

But by far the worst help system is included with VS, I can't believe MS can write a whole OS but can't write a help search function that works half as good as google.

VS is decent, but it usually just over complicates things when you're just starting off.

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

But the by-far best development environment on ANY platform is MS Visual Studio.

But by far the worst help system is included with VS, I can't believe MS can write a whole OS but can't write a help search function that works half as good as google.

VS is decent, but it usually just over complicates things when you're just starting off.

The search function isn't great, but the information that is present, if you find it, is awesome. They document stuff REALLY well.

 

[Nothinman]

if you find it, is awesome.

That's a big if, I put in the exact name of the function I wanted the syntax for and it couldn't find it. I had to make up some stupid english phrase to trick it into giving me the right results.

They document stuff REALLY well.

Only the stuff they feel like documenting.

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

if you find it, is awesome.

That's a big if, I put in the exact name of the function I wanted the syntax for and it couldn't find it. I had to make up some stupid english phrase to trick it into giving me the right results.

They document stuff REALLY well.

Only the stuff they feel like documenting.

They document everything imaginable - you're just not finding it 😉. I actually prefer to search with google, which is smart, and ends up pointing me to the MSDN page with the information I want. Enough thread crapping for now though 😀.

 

[Nothinman]

They document everything imaginable - you're just not finding it

I was referring to things they don't document on purpose like SMB and MAPI.

I actually prefer to search with google, which is smart, and ends up pointing me to the MSDN page with the information I want. Enough thread crapping for now though

I'm not always connected to the net, atleast my laptop isn't always. man pages on Linux almost never fail me, or atleast I get a higher hit rate with them =)

 

[kylef]

What about c programming for dummies or the dummy guide. Is there any specific program that i can buy to practice c programming.

Since universities always seem to teach programming using the Unix standard C library, of which the GNU C library is an example, using GCC in Cygwin would be a reasonable option, as would investigating DJGPP (also a version of GCC, this one built natively for Win32).

However, if you happen to have a copy of Microsoft Visual C++, you can let the nice IDE spare you from having to understand the details of invoking the command-line compiler or setting up makefiles. Just remember to create "Console App" projects only. This is undoubtedly the easiest way to write toy C console apps in Windows that I have seen to date. However, Visual C++ is obviously not free. Perhaps someone will give you an old copy of Visual C++ 6.0 that they no longer use. (the current version is Visual Studio .NET 2003, with .NET 2002 before that)

Just be aware that console programming is wholly, fundamentally different from writing real interactive applications like you see running in Windows and/or Macintosh. In your course, you will undoubtedly be writing only console-type applications that have few or no visual elements. For this work, a compiler and text editor like Notepad may be sufficient. For more complicated interactive applications, the IDE tools available in Visual Studio save lots of time.

 

[PrincessGuard]

Actually MinGW is the Win32 port of GCC. DJGPP is the DOS port.

You can get the standard edition of Visual C++ .NET for pretty cheap if you buy it with the book (~$80 for the bundle). It's definitely overkill for a 1st quarter C course though.

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

They document everything imaginable - you're just not finding it

I was referring to things they don't document on purpose like SMB and MAPI.

If you're writing on windows, you don't need to understand the inner workings of samba. By the way, man pages don't document NTFS, SMB (the real thing, not semi-compatible knock-offs) either 😉.

I actually prefer to search with google, which is smart, and ends up pointing me to the MSDN page with the information I want. Enough thread crapping for now though

I'm not always connected to the net, atleast my laptop isn't always. man pages on Linux almost never fail me, or atleast I get a higher hit rate with them =)

man pages are a pain. I find it difficult to find perl functions I need.

I agree with what kylef said (console apps).

 

[Nothinman]

By the way, man pages don't document NTFS, SMB (the real thing, not semi-compatible knock-offs) either

No but they do have clear docs (no, probably not man pages) on things like NFS and protocols people actually want you to interoperate with.

man pages are a pain. I find it difficult to find perl functions I need.

Why? man perlfunc (literally, it's one big man page with a lot of short descriptions) and the other things, like Net::FTP for example, have their own man pages atleast on Debian.

 

[jose]

Get RH 9.0 installed on a partion of your computer. Leave about 7 gigs for a full install.

Now you will have several languages to use ansi C, c++, etc.

Also wait till you enroll in college & purchase from your bookstore a student version of MS Visual Studio $99

Now your set for both Windows & Unix programming.

Regards,
Jose

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

By the way, man pages don't document NTFS, SMB (the real thing, not semi-compatible knock-offs) either

No but they do have clear docs (no, probably not man pages) on things like NFS and protocols people actually want you to interoperate with.

man pages are a pain. I find it difficult to find perl functions I need.

Why? man perlfunc (literally, it's one big man page with a lot of short descriptions) and the other things, like Net::FTP for example, have their own man pages atleast on Debian.

Exactly. One GIANT man page. Quite a pain to use.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: CTho9305

Originally posted by: Nothinman

By the way, man pages don't document NTFS, SMB (the real thing, not semi-compatible knock-offs) either

No but they do have clear docs (no, probably not man pages) on things like NFS and protocols people actually want you to interoperate with.

man pages are a pain. I find it difficult to find perl functions I need.

Why? man perlfunc (literally, it's one big man page with a lot of short descriptions) and the other things, like Net::FTP for example, have their own man pages atleast on Debian.

Exactly. One GIANT man page. Quite a pain to use.

How is it a pain? Try the "/" key, "n", "N", "g", "G", and control-(f|b|d|u)

 

[Nothinman]

Exactly. One GIANT man page. Quite a pain to use.

Not really, try /searchstring

 

[CTho9305]

Yeah, works great on those really uncommon search strings like "s" and "tr"

😉

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: CTho9305
Yeah, works great on those really uncommon search strings like "s" and "tr"

😉

"/tr "

 

[Nothinman]

or /tr\/

 

[boyz]

Thanks Guys for your help.