#Cprogramming #LearnC #FirstLanguage #CollegeStudent
👋 Hey there! Welcome to the world of programming and congratulations on starting your journey with learning C! It’s great that you’ve made the decision to learn a programming language, and C is a fantastic choice for a first language. In this article, I’ll provide you with a roadmap and some suggestions to help you navigate through the process of learning C.
## Why Learn C as Your First Language?
If you’re wondering why C is a good choice for a first programming language, here are a few reasons:
### 1. Foundation for Other Languages
– Learning C will provide you with a solid foundation for understanding other languages, such as C++, Java, and C#.
### 2. Widely Used
– C is one of the most widely used programming languages in the world, and it’s commonly used for system programming, writing operating systems, and developing games.
### 3. Close to the Hardware
– C allows you to work closely with the system’s memory and hardware, giving you a better understanding of how computers work at a lower level.
## Roadmap for Learning C
Now, let’s dive into the roadmap for learning C as your first language.
### 1. Understand the Basics
#### ☑️ Variables and Data Types
– Start by learning about variables and the different data types in C, such as integers, characters, and floating-point numbers.
#### ☑️ Control Structures
– Familiarize yourself with control structures like loops and conditional statements, which are essential for creating logical, well-structured programs.
#### ☑️ Functions
– Learn how to write and use functions to break down your code into smaller, reusable components.
### 2. Practice, Practice, Practice
#### ☑️ Coding Challenges
– Solve coding challenges on platforms like HackerRank, LeetCode, or CodeSignal to reinforce your understanding of the language.
#### ☑️ Small Projects
– Start with small projects, such as creating a simple calculator or a text-based game, to apply what you’ve learned in a real-world context.
### 3. Dive Deeper
#### ☑️ Pointers and Memory Management
– Delve into concepts like pointers and memory management in C, as they are fundamental to understanding the language’s power and flexibility.
#### ☑️ File Handling
– Learn about file input/output operations to work with external data and store your program’s output.
## Suggestions for Learning C
To make your learning journey smoother and more enjoyable, here are a few additional suggestions:
### 1. Read the C Programming Language Book
#### ☑️ “The C Programming Language” by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie
– This classic book, often referred to as K&R, is a must-read for anyone learning C.
### 2. Join a Community
#### ☑️ Online Forums and Communities
– Join online forums, such as Reddit’s r/C_Programming and Stack Overflow, to connect with other learners and experienced programmers for guidance and support.
### 3. Stay Persistent and Curious
#### ☑️ Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes
– Programming is all about trial and error, so don’t let mistakes discourage you. Embrace them as learning opportunities.
#### ☑️ Keep Exploring
– Stay curious and keep exploring new concepts and techniques in C. The world of programming is constantly evolving, and there’s always something new to discover.
In conclusion, learning C as your first programming language is a fantastic choice, and by following the roadmap and suggestions provided, you’ll be well on your way to mastering C programming. Remember, persistence and curiosity are your best allies in this journey. Happy coding!
Since you are learning C, you will encounter pointers. So, here below is what I recommend you learn
* Pass by value, pass by reference
* Scope
* Functions and returns.
After that, it is going to be looping through stuff all the time.
If you don’t know much about programming, I suggest starting with a higher level language.
Python is my top pick for beginners. Also, you can check up javascript and get into frontend pretty quickly from there.
Congratulations 🎉
I have too! I am following an OSSU tutorial for Operating Systems and it advises learning C as a prerequisite. All the best! Learning C is never a waste.
However, it also recommends learning another , easier language before C so as to get familiar with coding concepts, so my understanding is, if you think you are determined and discplined enough, you can jump straightaway into C.
Pointers are not as scary as they seem. If they seem confusing at first, just keep practicing working with pointers till it clicks
man i just feel sorry for you, but good luck from another c beginner
Hey brother, learn by doing projects that’s the most effective and useful way …. start from the beginner level and progressively build to advance level projects. Good luck
Best way to do it IMO. I use C almost exclusively as a firmware engineer. Pretty much any YouTube video or other beginner course on C will be good. Data types, operators, loops, functions, header and source files, and eventually working your way to memory safety and *pointers*. Pointers are magic and the world starts to make sense once you understand pointers. At the end of the day, *everything* is a pointer. A good way to learn them from my experience is to write a program that makes changes to strings without using the return values of functions to make the changes. Remove and add characters, tokenize a string (split it up based on a character), shift characters left and right, etc.
You’re doing exactly what I would recommend but it’s not going to be easy. C is a very foundational language in programming and understanding how it works (especially pointers) is very useful in higher level languages. Handling memory directly can be a pain and it does miss language features like classes, so it’s like playing on hard mode.
I would find a copy of “The C Programming Language” by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie. They wrote the C language in the first place so that book should be the first thing you do if you have a problem.
1. Buy an arduino starter kit.
2. Build killer robots.
3. Profit!
My best advice is and always has been – K&R. It’s a short book, you can read it in a week. Work all the exercises, they’re not super-challenging, but they are very eye-opening.
edit: and yes, every programmer should learn C, and learn it well.
Yep, the right language. Unless you are going for only frontend web development you will someday need to learn a little bit of systems programming. Learning c will teach you that. And learning languages like python will be easy af and you’ll be able to know then down to the Implementation level very easily.
For some reason imperative programming seems easier for me, maybe not keeping track but it doesn’t make a hell of a lot of fuzz while you’re trying to understand the async programming in OOP, took me a while to grasp it.
You should do the free Harvard CS50 course. The first 5 weeks are all in C and it’s great for beginners. It will teach you about Memory, Data Structures, pointer, etc. It’s a bit difficult, but worth the time. For reference, I’m only half way done now on week 6, but I’ve learned a lot so far.
Have you been able to compile your first program yet? The hardest part about starting with C is learning how to actually compile and run the program on your machine. After that, just find a tutorial that you can follow and have fun! Remember to make your own programs after you learn a new concept. Don’t just do the example ones.
Stick with it. Learning C is one of the most important things you’ll ever do.
If you ever get frustrated and want to give up, _stick with it_. We’ve all been through it. It’s worth it, I promise you.
Try this course [https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/](https://www.udemy.com/course/microcontroller-embedded-c-programming/) I make all my interns do this
Yes, C is hard, esp if you don’t understand hardware but once you learn it properly, all other languages are easy because they are built on top of it.
Stick with it…C will teach you so much. Sure, as you advance it’ll get tricky, but perseverance will greatly reward you. After C, you’ll pick up other languages sooo much easier
If you’re in college and programming is something that you want to learn about, take a class. Every school must have at least some introductory programming classes; take advantage of the opportunity to learn in a more formal setting. There’s nothing wrong with learning on your own, but you’ll learn faster and better with help.
Also, you will learn about arrays. They can be challenging especially multi dimensional arrays. But you can do it.
Head First C is a great book for learning C
I mean ive seen a few of these kinds of posts lately and i am biased towards the way i learnt but i will explain why i think you should learn other languages first.
Compared to other high level languages c is very difficult to understand and requires learning a lot of different things at once and it will take a lot longer to be able to build something tangible with it.
Python on the other hand, will teach you many of the basics of programming such as conditionals loops and methods as well as oop if you want to delve into that and is much more easy to understand without things like pointers and garbage collectors to get in your way.
I personally learnt a lot in python and made a few projects in it as well as a few games and learnt the basics of oop fundamentals as well. I then started learning some java which is a language which forces the use of oop and learnt a lot about the underpinnings of object oriented programming and how things actually linked together and how to properly utilise it as well as types and generics and other things like that.
I have more recently started learning c which feels weird not using oop but i am very glad i have a strong knowledge of programming already and that the syntax feels very similar as now when im learning things like pointers and garbage collecters and different things like that, i dont have to focus on anything else.
In my opinion started with the (easier in some ways) languages and then moving to the more lower level languages in this way is more beneficial as i feel you are more likely to give up on your goal with too much to learn at once without much tangible results quickly. Python is built to be a more natural way to turn language into code and therefore is a nice place to start as long as you recognise its limitations and make sure to not limit yourself to it.
Hope this helps sorry if its too long
the book c programming language is a good place to grasp the concepts of c, written by the father of c
Should’ve started with Python
But C is a fine starter too
Use the book “Let us C” for the reference
Goodluck my dude! It’s the old fashioned proper way of learning it!
I can’t give you a road map (you should probably pick a book and stick to the road map in it’s intro). But I do feel the need to preemptively assure you that console software is a great thing. Lots of people get upset about not being able to create a UI for a while, but I promise you, it’s not important.
That’s fantastic! Learning C as your first programming language is a solid choice, as it provides a strong foundation for understanding the fundamentals of programming. Here’s a roadmap and some suggestions to guide you:
### Roadmap:
1. **Understand Basics:**
– Learn about variables, data types, and basic input/output.
– Get familiar with control structures: if statements, loops (for, while), and switch.
2. **Functions:**
– Grasp the concept of functions and modular programming.
– Learn about function prototypes, parameters, and return values.
3. **Arrays and Strings:**
– Explore arrays and strings in C.
– Understand how to manipulate and work with them effectively.
4. **Pointers:**
– Master the concept of pointers, a powerful feature in C.
– Learn about pointer arithmetic and dynamic memory allocation.
5. **Structures and Unions:**
– Understand how to create and use structures and unions.
– Explore how they can help organize data in your programs.
6. **File I/O:**
– Learn how to read from and write to files.
– Understand file handling concepts in C.
7. **Memory Management:**
– Dive deeper into dynamic memory allocation and deallocation (malloc, free).
– Understand common pitfalls and best practices.
8. **Advanced Concepts:**
– Explore more advanced concepts like bitwise operations, enums, and typedef.
9. **Algorithms and Data Structures:**
– Start implementing basic algorithms (sorting, searching) in C.
– Learn about fundamental data structures like arrays, linked lists, and trees.
### Suggestions:
1. **Practice Regularly:**
– Programming is a skill that improves with practice. Code regularly to reinforce your learning.
2. **Build Small Projects:**
– Apply what you learn by working on small projects. It could be a simple game, utility, or anything that interests you.
3. **Read Code:**
– Read code written by others. It exposes you to different coding styles and helps you learn new techniques.
4. **Participate in Coding Communities:**
– Join online coding forums and communities. Platforms like Stack Overflow and GitHub can be valuable resources.
5. **Explore Debugging:**
– Learn to use debugging tools. Understanding how to find and fix bugs is an essential skill.
6. **Read Books and Documentation:**
– Refer to classic programming books like “The C Programming Language” by Kernighan and Ritchie.
– Read the official documentation for C.
7. **Stay Curious:**
– Stay curious and explore new concepts. Don’t hesitate to try out things on your own.
Remember, the learning process takes time, so be patient and enjoy the journey. If you encounter challenges, don’t hesitate to seek help from online communities or resources. Good luck with your programming journey!
Learn assembly and then C will become easy for you
I started learning C many years ago, but gave up totally defeated. The main problems with C are what to do with the * and & , as well as the fact that it has no graphics commands built in. It depends on libraries to add them. I think you should try Python with the popular Pygame library or SwiftUI instead. To find out more about the * (pointers) in C you could read [https://beginnersbook.com/2014/01/c-passing-pointers-to-functions/](https://beginnersbook.com/2014/01/c-passing-pointers-to-functions/)