Learn C in 21 Days.

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phil.drummond
 
Posts: 125
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:57 pm

Learn C in 21 Days.

Post by phil.drummond »

I read at this web page, http://www.ladyada.net/learn/avr/ that Ladyada learned C using (I bet as well as other resources) the "Learn C in 21 Days" book.
I tried to read that book and zombies ate my brain. Well, I felt like something had gone wrong... Is that book really capable of teaching C to a total novice, or am I a basket-case?
I'm not having any trouble with Ladyada's Arduino Tutorials, in fact, I'm loving them... the "clean cat wash the cat(dirty cat)" example was the reason I even started all this!
Let me know if I should try this book again, and please give any insights on how you managed to "digest" and learn the C language.

Thanks,

Phil

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westfw
 
Posts: 2008
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2007 1:01 pm

Re: Learn C in 21 Days.

Post by westfw »

Do you know any other programming languages?

I find that the big problem with a new language is figuring out a proper problem to apply it to. "Intro" books tend to present trivial examples and you set there going "sure. Buy WHY?" But problems that are complex enough to require getting into the language are frequently too complex to approach as a beginner.

You could do a lot worse that to stick with the Arduino example sketches; IMO they've done a particularly good job of picking an easy-to-understand subset of C that is a good starting point, while still allowing pretty complex (in some ways) things to be done.

niksun
 
Posts: 202
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 9:59 pm

Re: Learn C in 21 Days.

Post by niksun »

The first language you learn is always the hardest. There's a lot of logic and constructs that must be learned. Learning a second language then just becomes syntax, and that's the easiest part of learning a language. There are, of course, things that make learning a second language harder. For example, if the new language is of a different "kind" (e.g. functional language like LISP, logic language like PROLOG, etc).

jarv
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:48 pm

Re: Learn C in 21 Days.

Post by jarv »

there is no one book suitable for learning the C language. The best way to learn any language like a speaking language is to immerse yourself. There are so many good online tutorials a book should be bought as a good reference, I recommend K&R.

The_Don125
 
Posts: 373
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:51 pm

Re: Learn C in 21 Days.

Post by The_Don125 »

I've never personally used it, but I've heard good things about c++ for you++
http://www.amazon.com/You-Introduction- ... 663&sr=8-1

Might have just been comments on the name though...

Matt
 
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:40 pm

Re: Learn C in 21 Days.

Post by Matt »

I have this book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Prog ... age_(book), it's rather popular. It has a short tutorial chapter but it's a bit fast paced after that. It's also quite unix centered, but you can still apply what you've learned to anything. I've only read a little bit of the book because I decided to learn Python first instead, but it seems like a good book.

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