Want to learn "C"

[alan monro]

Would anybody please tell me if there is a better book than "C" for dummies as there are many projects I wish to make using the Arduino . I have already have a evaluation  board  and have programed a flashing led , but , that is only the smallest fraction of what that  powerful  computer can do. Thank you, ..............................Alan

[nctnico]

Well there is "the C language by Kernigham & Ritchie": http://zanasi.chem.unisa.it/download/C.pdf. This is written by the inventors of the C language. Some regard this book as the ultimate C bible because there is no book closer to the source of the C language 

Besides that a good way to learn is to look at software other people wrote. Some examples are bad and some are good so when looking for a solution make sure to look at at least 5 different solutions and pick one that looks uncomplicated and you can understand.

[oldrose]

Every C programmer should have "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie and I highly recommend "A Book on C" by Kelley and Pohl.

[IanB]

Tread carefully though: Arduino sketches are not written in C, even though the language is similar.

[updatelee]

I learned in University on the Deitel and Deitel books, they are excellent.

UDL

[JuiceKing]

K&R is the reference, and important as it is to read and own, if it were perfect there wouldn't be so many other books trying to supplement it. The book Deep_C_Secrets helped me understand C better than any other. It's context is way out of date, but the concepts that it explains are timeless. I'm sure it's out of print, but maybe a search in Amazon or Abebooks will turn up a copy.

[poptones]

http://kat.ph/expert-c-programming-deep-c-secrets-peter-van-der-linden-pdf-t6506890.html

[Pagweb]

I learned C at my university too. The book we used was 'Problem Solving and Program Design in C' by Hanly Koffman. Is a good book for beginners and it has examples and practice problems. You can get a used version in Amazon for like $10.

[grumpydoc]

K&R is probably my favourite book on any programming language. It sets out to describe the C language and does so with the minimum of fuss and extraneous detail.

It helps that K&R C is a very compact language - ANSI C has bloated somewhat and C++, much as I like it, is actually a nightmare.

It is an excellent example of the Unix philosophy of "one task, done well" and I thoroughly recommend it if you are learning C.

However you also need a good reference on the platform - modern systems are much more than the programming language and you need to know as much about he environment as possible to make effective use of it.

[Bored@Work]

http://kat.ph/expert-c-programming-deep-c-secrets-peter-van-der-linden-pdf-t6506890.html

Oh, come on. One doesn't become an expert out of nothing by reading an expert/secret book. Such books are snake oil.

[mtkaalund]

Tread carefully though: Arduino sketches are not written in C, even though the language is similar.

And what do you based that on?
The arduino "language" is just a framework, that you program around, but it stil uses AVR-GCC and AVR-LIBC http://arduino.cc/en/Hacking/BuildProcess

[Simon]

I got a book called "programming in c" by Stephen kochan it is very good. To be honest just reading others programs won't help one little bit unless you know so c, I'd prefer a less compact language, in the long run it would be faster for me to use and understand.

[IanB]

And what do you based that on?
The arduino "language" is just a framework, that you program around, but it stil uses AVR-GCC and AVR-LIBC http://arduino.cc/en/Hacking/BuildProcess

I base it on the link you provided.

The C programming language consists of the standard language syntax and standard set of libraries (with a corresponding set of standard named header files).

The Arduino programming language uses different libraries and header files and macro definitions, and it also includes elements of C++ (which is not C).

So although programming an Arduino may be similar to writing C, it is not C. If you try to work through K&R and follow the examples and exercises as given you will run into trouble.

An experienced person may be fully aware of this, but it is not something that may be equally clear to beginners.

[TerminalJack505]

I have to agree with IanB here.  Strictly speaking sketches are neither C or C++.  This can really trip-up a newcomer.  For good or bad  Arduino sketches are their own little beast. 

For example, try putting a struct declaration in your Arduino sketch.  It won't work.  It does in C/C++.  Someone trying to learn C or C++ will find this very frustrating.

Someone who already knows C/C++ will find this merely quirky.  (A 10-second Google search reveals that the workaround is to simply put the declaration in a .h file.)  A noob will likely waste countless hours with a problem like this, however, and will likely come away feeling duped into thinking that Arduino sketches are "just" C/C++ code.

[phil_jp1]

It's has been mentioned earlier and I will repeat it:
Apart from reading a book(doesn't matter how good that book would be), you should learn from others code! Learn design patterns in process.

Another really good way to learn is to take someone's code, compile it to see if it works, then change something and compile it again, pay attention to compiler generated errors and warnings, fix the problems and run the program, then repeat this cycle again.

[JuiceKing]

http://kat.ph/expert-c-programming-deep-c-secrets-peter-van-der-linden-pdf-t6506890.html

Oh, come on. One doesn't become an expert out of nothing by reading an expert/secret book. Such books are snake oil.

Since I recommended this book, I'll defend it. The author, Van Linden, managed the compiler team at SUN, and many of the "secrets" he reveals are things that anyone who has actually implemented a compiler would know. If you don't have this experience, the insights might be hard to come by otherwise. His introductory book on Java (also badly dated now) was similarly great.

[alan monro]

Every C programmer should have "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie and I highly recommend "A Book on C" by Kelley and Pohl.

Thank you....................Alan

[alan monro]

Well there is "the C language by Kernigham & Ritchie": http://zanasi.chem.unisa.it/download/C.pdf. This is written by the inventors of the C language. Some regard this book as the ultimate C bible because there is no book closer to the source of the C language 

Besides that a good way to learn is to look at software other people wrote. Some examples are bad and some are good so when looking for a solution make sure to look at at least 5 different solutions and pick one that looks uncomplicated and you can understand.

Thanks to everybody who gave suggestions..............................................Alan

[alan monro]

Every C programmer should have "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie and I highly recommend "A Book on C" by Kelley and Pohl.
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Thank you I will download the book you so kindly gave me. ...............................................Alan

[T4P]

Oh, come on. One doesn't become an expert out of nothing by reading an expert/secret book. Such books are snake oil.

[Kremmen]

My 2 cents worth: while not strictly an elementary instruction book, the "Elements of C Programming Style" by Ranade and Nash can be worth checking. Most of the guidance given in there is as valid today as the day it was written. Works for me at least.

[Ferroto]

Even better then a book.

[alan monro]

Thanks Ferroto.....................................Alan

[andyturk]

Even better then a book.

Ugh. That's the thing with IDEs--you spend an hour screwing around with project and Makefile creation before you can even get to running some C code. Yuck.

Back around the time when dirt was invented, I learned C on a PDP-11 running Unix. I had a copy of K&R on the desk beside me and worked through simple examples in minutes using just a command line:

$ ed hello.c
a
#include <stdio.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv) {
 printf("Hello World!\n");
}
.
w
q
$ cc hello.c
$ ./a.out
Hello World!
$

The same thing still works on my Mac today. Woo hoo!

You kids can keep your IDEs. 

[Kremmen]

An hour is a long time (for IDE setup)? Do you honestly know a single SW project that failed because the IDE took so long to set up?
There are pros and cons for IDE and non-IDE project setup. Some advanced things are a bit difficult to do in an IDE environment but your basic project dependencies, tool parameterization  and build is not one of them. That is one big reason why i find myself doing everything in an IDE these days (at least for AVR-GCC projects).
Some like to bash e.g. the AVR Studio in its different versions but i can live with it quite nicely. And as to project setup, it takes all of ca. 10 seconds and you are good to go. For me it is a big value that the IDE lets me concentrate on solving the software creation task, not mess with tool setup and operation at every iteration.