how much of C is enough?

[rhett]

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .
I m 29 , and have taken up a 3 years course in computer science , and
i love C for arts' sake.
i have been learning C language for almost last 8
months, i have referenced more than half a dozen of books.In every
book i find some new and intersting point.But my problem is I just
seem to be learning the LANGUAGE and not PROGRAMMING. At moment, i
came to know that C language and C compiler are different things, and
undefined behavior Vs unspecified behavior , and stuff like sequence
point.I have some doubts and i will be very grateful if someone really
helps me.My problems are..
1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?
2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?
3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming? And of course until i complete my college my programmes
will be just like text book questions..not from real projects.
So please help me clear my doubts.
Thanking you,
Rhett.

 

[Ronald Landheer-Cieslak]

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .

Your post isn't all that lengthy - just mildly off-topic..
This kind of question should go to comp.programming - I've set the
followup-to address to there.

I m 29 , and have taken up a 3 years course in computer science , and
i love C for arts' sake.
i have been learning C language for almost last 8
months, i have referenced more than half a dozen of books.In every
book i find some new and intersting point.But my problem is I just
seem to be learning the LANGUAGE and not PROGRAMMING. At moment, i
came to know that C language and C compiler are different things, and
undefined behavior Vs unspecified behavior , and stuff like sequence
point.I have some doubts and i will be very grateful if someone really
helps me.My problems are..
1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

You're never too old to learn, if that's what you're asking, and
depending on what you want to use it for, 29 might be just the right age

2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?

Get a copy of the standard from ISO and/or ask here. ISO-C is on-topic
on this list (programming in general, compiler-specific stuff, etc. is
not - which means this particular post isn't really on-topic here
either: please re-direct to comp.programming, for example)

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming?

If course! Find a project you think interesting (I've got two
open-source projects you'd be welcome to join) and pitch in. There's no
better way to learn C than to practice it

And of course until i complete my college my programmes
will be just like text book questions..not from real projects.

There's no reason for that: just find a real project willing to help you
learn and start programming. Like I said: I have two real-world free
projects on SourceForge. If you want, you can join either - or both - of
them and start working on some real-world problems/solutions.

rlc

 

[Thomas Matthews]

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .
I m 29 , and have taken up a 3 years course in computer science , and
i love C for arts' sake.
i have been learning C language for almost last 8
months, i have referenced more than half a dozen of books.In every
book i find some new and intersting point.But my problem is I just
seem to be learning the LANGUAGE and not PROGRAMMING. At moment, i
came to know that C language and C compiler are different things, and
undefined behavior Vs unspecified behavior , and stuff like sequence
point.I have some doubts and i will be very grateful if someone really
helps me.My problems are..
1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

Nope. Age 5 through 28, or 30 through 98; but not 29. ;-)
Seriously, there have been posts by people much older than you who
are starting to learn. As long as you can grasp the concept, age
doesn't matter.

2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?

Refer to the ANSI standard. If it is not in the ANSI specification,
it might be compiler specific stuff (or platform or library or...).

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming?

You can start programming once you know how to write a valid C
program. Every program requires more knowledge than just the
language. For example, a database program requires database
knowledge; a word processor program requires knowledge about
the written {human} language. You can't be expected to know
every subject so you can write _any_ program. You are expected
to know how to learn though.

And of course until i complete my college my programmes
will be just like text book questions..not from real projects.
So please help me clear my doubts.
Thanking you,
Rhett.

We can help you with your language issues, but not write
programs for you. If you have any language issues, go
ahead and entertain us.

--
Thomas Matthews

C++ newsgroup welcome message:
http://www.slack.net/~shiva/welcome.txt
C++ Faq: http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite
C Faq: http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/c-faq/top.html
alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++ faq:
http://www.comeaucomputing.com/learn/faq/
Other sites:
http://www.josuttis.com -- C++ STL Library book

 

[Dan Pop]

i have been learning C language for almost last 8
months, i have referenced more than half a dozen of books.

One book is enough, if this book is K&R2 and you read it once in strict
sequence, solving all the exercises you encounter. After that, read it
one more time, in whatever order you like: you will discover plenty of
points you've missed during the first reading.

1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

It depends exclusively on your current learning capabilities and not on
your age. I learned C when I was 28.

2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?

If you're learning it from a good book (e.g. K&R2) it's the language,
if you're learning it from a compiler tutorial or reference manual, it's
a mixture of language and compiler specific stuff. Some good compiler
reference manuals make a clear distinction between the two (e.g. by using
different colours), some don't.

You don't learn C by experimenting with a compiler and drawing any
kind of conclusions from the results. You use the compiler to confirm
that you have correctly understood what you've read from the book. When
the compiler and the book are at odds and you cannot figure out what's
going on, you go to an experienced programmer and ask for help (or you
post here).

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming?

The basics are enough for solving arbitrarily complex problems. If you
don't quite understand an esoteric feature, e.g. pointers to arrays, you
simply don't use it.

Once you get comfortable with the basics, most of the intricacies are
nicely explained by the comp.lang.c FAQ.

And of course until i complete my college my programmes
will be just like text book questions..not from real projects.

There is nothing preventing you from defining your own real projects.
It's the best way of making progress after reading a good book.

Dan

 

[S.Tobias]

Just my $.02 in addition to others' excellent posts:

1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

A few years ago I heard from a long-time programmer complaining
that he had to learn another language again. C that was.
He looked in his late forties.

2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?

IMHO there're few things that you can write using purely standard C
(for different reasons). A C programmer is doomed to work with and
know a specific implementation in real life. Knowing your compiler
(or even better - a few of them) is never bad.

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming?

As you've noticed before, C knowledge and programming are two different
things. It helps to study other people's work. And "C" is not your
last word, is it?

Good Luck!

 

[Alan Balmer]

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .
I m 29 , and have taken up a 3 years course in computer science , and
i love C for arts' sake.
i have been learning C language for almost last 8
months, i have referenced more than half a dozen of books.In every
book i find some new and intersting point.But my problem is I just
seem to be learning the LANGUAGE and not PROGRAMMING. At moment, i
came to know that C language and C compiler are different things, and
undefined behavior Vs unspecified behavior , and stuff like sequence
point.I have some doubts and i will be very grateful if someone really
helps me.My problems are..
1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

Nope. Age 5 through 28, or 30 through 98; but not 29. ;-)
Seriously, there have been posts by people much older than you who
are starting to learn. As long as you can grasp the concept, age
doesn't matter.

I was older than the OP when C was invented

 

[Malcolm]

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .

At least you try to shorten the post for us, by using "u" instead of "you".
Seriously, leave dude-speak to non-technical groups.

1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

You'll be at some disadvantage, because the brain is more receptive to
mathematical ideas in the late teens, early twenties. OTOH you'll probably
work in a more disciplined manner than younger students. 29 is not
disastrously old, by any stretch of the imagination.

2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?

Get a decent book, read the FAQ, lurk on this ng. C is unusual in that it
requires quite a high level of expertise to write a perfectly portable
program. However it is not too difficult to write something that is
reasonably portable, ie would break on a deliberately perverse
interpretation of the standard but is OK on any platform it is likely to run
on.

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming? And of course until i complete my college my programmes
will be just like text book questions..not from real projects.

What you want to do is start a real project. This is probably a game, since
it is something that is immediately useful, isn't inherently difficult to
implement, and doesn't require specialist knowledge.
You could try an ANSI C adenture game, receiving commands from stdin and
posting the output to stdout. Or you could go the platform-specific route
and implement your favourite eighties arcade game. Or invent the next
"Tetris" and make millions.
There is nothing like writing real code to motivate you to program. Programs
don't have to take a long time. "Lunar lander" (land a spaceship on the moon
by burning fuel to counteract gravity and ensure a soft landing, and not
flying away) can be written in a day.

 

[Friedrich Dominicus]

One book is enough, if this book is K&R2 and you read it once in strict
sequence, solving all the exercises you encounter.

I disagree, there are so many wonderful books about C out there that it would
be a shame to just read one ;-)

Well and there is a bit beyond Standard C available, so at least one
should look after the books treating those areas + books about general
programming principles are worth reading too.

Regards
Friedrich

 

[rhett]

Hi all,
thanks a lot for ur replies and clearing my doubts.
I will be very delighted to join in some project and learn
by programming in your project Ronald.
Rhett.

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .

Your post isn't all that lengthy - just mildly off-topic..
This kind of question should go to comp.programming - I've set the
followup-to address to there.

I m 29 , and have taken up a 3 years course in computer science , and
i love C for arts' sake.
i have been learning C language for almost last 8
months, i have referenced more than half a dozen of books.In every
book i find some new and intersting point.But my problem is I just
seem to be learning the LANGUAGE and not PROGRAMMING. At moment, i
came to know that C language and C compiler are different things, and
undefined behavior Vs unspecified behavior , and stuff like sequence
point.I have some doubts and i will be very grateful if someone really
helps me.My problems are..
1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

You're never too old to learn, if that's what you're asking, and
depending on what you want to use it for, 29 might be just the right age

2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?

Get a copy of the standard from ISO and/or ask here. ISO-C is on-topic
on this list (programming in general, compiler-specific stuff, etc. is
not - which means this particular post isn't really on-topic here
either: please re-direct to comp.programming, for example)

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming?

If course! Find a project you think interesting (I've got two
open-source projects you'd be welcome to join) and pitch in. There's no
better way to learn C than to practice it

And of course until i complete my college my programmes
will be just like text book questions..not from real projects.

There's no reason for that: just find a real project willing to help you
learn and start programming. Like I said: I have two real-world free
projects on SourceForge. If you want, you can join either - or both - of
them and start working on some real-world problems/solutions.

rlc

 

[pete]

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .
I m 29 , and have taken up a 3 years course in computer science , and
i love C for arts' sake.

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming?

Programming for art's sake?
You're ready now!

Programming for money?
That would be up to your prospective employer.

 

[Dan Pop]

I disagree, there are so many wonderful books about C out there that it would
be a shame to just read one ;-)

There is little point in reading more than one tutorial book.

There are many other C books one can read *after* learning C.

Dan

 

[Ronald Landheer-Cieslak]

Hi all,
thanks a lot for ur replies and clearing my doubts.
I will be very delighted to join in some project and learn
by programming in your project Ronald.
Rhett.

Hello friends,
Sorry if u find my post somewhat lenghty .

Your post isn't all that lengthy - just mildly off-topic..
This kind of question should go to comp.programming - I've set the
followup-to address to there.

I m 29 , and have taken up a 3 years course in computer science , and
i love C for arts' sake.
i have been learning C language for almost last 8
months, i have referenced more than half a dozen of books.In every
book i find some new and intersting point.But my problem is I just
seem to be learning the LANGUAGE and not PROGRAMMING. At moment, i
came to know that C language and C compiler are different things, and
undefined behavior Vs unspecified behavior , and stuff like sequence
point.I have some doubts and i will be very grateful if someone really
helps me.My problems are..
1] Is the age 29 ok ( if not bad) to start learning computer science?

You're never too old to learn, if that's what you're asking, and
depending on what you want to use it for, 29 might be just the right age

2] How do i know if i m learning C language or just a compiler
specific stuff?

Get a copy of the standard from ISO and/or ask here. ISO-C is on-topic
on this list (programming in general, compiler-specific stuff, etc. is
not - which means this particular post isn't really on-topic here
either: please re-direct to comp.programming, for example)

3] After learning how much intricacies of C would i be able to start
programming?

If course! Find a project you think interesting (I've got two
open-source projects you'd be welcome to join) and pitch in. There's no
better way to learn C than to practice it

And of course until i complete my college my programmes
will be just like text book questions..not from real projects.

There's no reason for that: just find a real project willing to help you
learn and start programming. Like I said: I have two real-world free
projects on SourceForge. If you want, you can join either - or both - of
them and start working on some real-world problems/solutions.

rlc