[ale] [90dw-lcthw] C as a second language

[leam hall]

I know we'll appreciate the help! I'm hoping to avoid all the C99/C11 stuff
and stick with clean and simple C for the first go round. If we move to a
more advanced topic later, different C versions might come into play.

Leam

On Fri, Nov 27, 2015 at 4:36 PM, DJ-Pfulio <djpfulio at jdpfu.com> wrote:

> And that was the common advice from 1960-1995.
> Since then, we've learned that students don't stick with languages long
> enough
> if there isn't nearly immediate feedback and the ability to create useful
> programs.
>
> Python provides those things, while forcing reasonable coding style.  Plus
> the
> complexities of compilers, makefiles, linking, system debuggers can all be
> avoided for the casual python person, while still providing most of the
> background to be more successful at C.
>
> IMHO.
>
> I started with
> * TRS-DOS BASIC
> * FORTRAN 66
> * FORTRAN 77
> * a few engineering, functional languages MATLAB, Tk Solver, MathCAD, ...
> * then about 20 languages nobody here has heard of ....  plus IBM 360 ASM
> * then C, C++, Borne Shell, cshell, perl, python, Ruby, and I'm working on
> Perl6
> now.  Did C/C++ on about 12 different platforms, if that helps.
>
> I can help with C stuff too, but my knowledge is highly dated from the late
> 1990s. I was high-intermediate level of skill with C++. The C standards
> have
> changed in a way that my knowledge might not be useful. For C++, the
> Std-Lib
> changed everything. I thought everyone had switched from gmake to cmake
> about a
> decade ago. That's too bad, because I was REALLY GOOD at gmake, including
> automatic dependency stuff.
>
> Oh ... and foswiki has to wait. Got a laptop replacement keyboard today
> that
> REALLY needs to be installed. Have to disassemble the entire C720 to
> access the
> keyboard part and I'd rather not brick the machine.
>
>
> On 11/27/2015 02:57 PM, Justin Goldberg wrote:
> > I remember perusing the different "x as a first language" search results
> a
> > while ago, circa 2003?, and came across a book that made a lot of sense.
> It
> > was called assembly as a first language. It made the point that a future
> > programmers first language should be closest to the bare metal, exposing
> > the way a computer actually functions earlier. As opposed to other
> > languages which abstract away the bare metal. Although the C language is
> > supposed to be closer to the bare metal than most languages.
> >
> > It's was available for free online, at least back then.
> > On Nov 27, 2015 2:08 PM, "Paul Cartwright" <pbcartwright at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> I just installed pascal... See free pascal.org .waaaay back in my Atari
> >> st days  I ran Alice pascal.. Then I took C during my AT&T days on  a
> real
> >> UNIX computer..
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPad
> >>
> >>> On Nov 27, 2015, at 12:14 PM, DJ-Pfulio <DJPfulio at jdpfu.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> C is best learned after an interpreted language teaches basic
> >>> programming skills, IMHO. Python is a good first language. No need to
> >>> be a python expert, just functions, i/o, layout, version control, and
> >>> TDD to start. All of that translates easily to C.
> >>>
> >>> C is a jumping off point for all compiled languages - like C++, C#,
> >>> Java, .... Dart. Learning C teaches the language that most other
> >>> languages were built from originally. C memory management is critical
> to
> >>> understand. All languages basically use it under the covers. Learning
> >>> function pointers would be helpful to understanding how OO works under
> >>> the covers.
> >>>
> >>> Lots to know.
> >>>
> >>>> On 11/27/2015 11:35 AM, leam hall wrote:
> >>>> Also, something from the book. Zed recommends knowing another
> >>>> programming language before trying to tackle C. For those expressing
> >>>> interest, I can say that so far the book seems easy to read and most
> >>>> Linux users could get at least as far as I've gotten.
> >>>>
> >>>> However, if we're starting in Jan, then you have a month to play with
> >>>> Python, Ruby, or similar to get your programming feet wet.  :)
>
>
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-- 
Mind on a Mission <http://leamhall.blogspot.com/>
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