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A lot of people love this book, but I kept getting stuck because it seems like half the time it assumes prior programming knowledge. I only made it a few chapte
by phaus 9y ago
A lot of people love this book, but I kept getting stuck because it seems like half the time it assumes prior programming knowledge. I only made it a few chapters in, but I don't think they do a great job of explaining much of anything to a beginner.
I'm planning on attempting to read it again after I finish Harvard's CS50. Maybe I just need a lot of hand-holding, but this course seems to do a much better job of explaining concepts.
- flavio81 9y ago>but I kept getting stuck because it seems like half the time it assumes prior programming knowledge Yes, to be honest, C is not good as a "first" programming language. If i can give you a suggestion, it would be: Start learning Python, which is a good "first language to learn", and then try this book. You will find that jumping from Python to C there will be two strong differences: a) C is a statically typed language, so you will need to declare (specify) the type of each variable you would like to use. b) In Python, the language manages your usage of the computer's memory. In C, you manage the memory... After some CS courses you'll probably be familiar with concepts like "linked lists", which then you can try implementing in C by using pointers. Thus, you'll realize that in C you are in control of the computer's memory; you will be able to request (allocate, with malloc) blocks of memory and free them afterwards. c) C syntax can be tricky, compared to Python.
- Koshkin 9y agoI have had a great success teaching a kid programming using javascript and plain HTML. There are numerous advantages to this approach.
- sn9 9y agoK&R was written for programmers, so it's completely unsurprising you would have trouble reading it while learning to program. Working your way through it after taking CS50 is actually a fantastic idea.