A dummy's question about C language?

Question

Dear friends,

I have no knowledge of C language. I have used QBasic for my purposes, but I want to use a more "user-friendly" and "visual" language. I have considered Visual Basic, but it seems outdated; I am using Linux and I would like to learn C syntax and programming principles first, then jump to C++.

Which editor/programming medium shall I use?

Thank you for your responses.

Answer 1

You should learn C, and ignore the people who are telling you that you are not ready for it. I would even recommend C as a first programming language to anyone.



There are several IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) for C and C++ in Linux. I recommend Code::Blocks which you can get from codeblocks.org, and it's completely free. There are also Anjuta and KDevelop but I don't think that they are so great (they're good for beginners, though).



To learn the language, get a book. There are plenty of free ones in freecomputerbooks.com !

If you need help during your studies feel free to ask here :)

Answer 2

I'm confused. How can you consider VB for Linux programming? And where did you find a Linux port of QBasic?



Anyway, C is indeed a language that's available on most platforms. Beware that it's quite low-level. It has a nice standard library, but the core language itself doesn't have any operators that aren't single machine instructions on most computers. The error handling is simple. Most of the time, there isn't any, unless you implement your own. Which means that you must implement your own if you want your program not to self-destruct on invalid input.



It's possible to write C code that is readable, maintainable and robust, but it takes discipline.



In Linux, you have choices for a development environments. A pure Linux approach is to learn emacs and/or vi for editing source code, make for building projects and autoconf as an installer. (make and autoconf come later.)



It's a bit easier if you use a cross-platform IDE like NetBeans or Eclipse. Both of those packages are oriented toward Java, but have support for C and C++ development, plus some other languages as well. I use NetBeans, but Eclipse has a lot of fans. On Windows, I use Visual Studio (an old one that I got cheap years ago) but there are free mini versions called Express Editions you can download. If you want to develop GUI apps in C or C++, the Visual C++ 2008 Express Edition is a better free choice than either NetBeans or Eclipse.



...but Java with NetBeans is easier. (IMHO)

Answer 3

There is not any have got to set up C# in an effort to get a useful C compiler. C# is a later language and is item oriented in layout, in which as C is useful. On a aspect factor, studying C from scratch isn't always a quality inspiration except you're making plans to put in writing program for embedded hardware or different such low degree tactics. If you desire to put in writing program for trade tactics or the internet, you're higher off establishing with C# or Java. These languages generate much less superior code, however are tonnes less complicated to study, alter, adapt, debug, and so forth.

Answer 4

Well I don't want to sound mean, but I'm not sure you're ready for C.



QBasic is a very high-level language, so it is relatively easy to learn and program in.

C is just the opposite, it is a very low level language that is very difficult to learn (even for experienced programmers).



Personally I would recommend a slightly more advanced high-level language before you work your way down to C.



PHP and Python are great examples, but they're not so great for graphical user interfaces.

Java on the other hand is not a very difficult language to learn and it is great for creating GUI applications. Learning Java is also very valuable in terms of finding employment.



P.S. Java and PHP share the same C/C++ like syntax, so this will also help you with the transition to C.

Answer 5

i suppose you would better use C++ language Instead of C,because it's easier to learn.also i suggest you work on Windows if you are fresh and use visual studio 2005 +,then in next step you can write your programs in Linux. PHP is used for designing WEB page and paython isn't as good as C or C++ language.

however Visual C# can be applied as powerfull language and it's easer than all of language which mentioned above.

Answer 6

Hi Barbaros,

first of all if you want to use modern visual language then its VISUAL C#

and the c compiler for LINUX is tiny c compiler you can get it at http://bellard.org/tcc/

c/c++ compiler for windows is turbo c++.

best of luck for c programming.