6 ms·

If you don't know C, learn it. Its very different from python and java, but will give you a feel for whats going on "under the hood" so to speak in both those l

by octo_t 13y ago

If you don't know C, learn it. Its very different from python and java, but will give you a feel for whats going on "under the hood" so to speak in both those languages.

redxblood 13y ago
You know it's low level? How is it different?
- tjr 13y ago
  The main difference you will probably notice pertains to addressing the computer memory, through pointers and through manual memory allocation/deallocation. In a broad sense, Java is pretty similar to C. I think if you wanted a perspective-altering experience, learn something like Lisp or Haskell. But I agree that there is value in learning C. You should probably learn both C, and Lisp or Haskell or Scheme or whatever functional-ish language looks interesting. (This is with the assumed goal of getting an overview of programming language styles. If you have specific application-building demands, then language choice may be more dictated by that, e.g., Objective-C for iOS.)
Dirty-flow 13y ago
java and c are both object oriented programming languages so they are not so much different.
- venomsnake 13y ago
  C is hardly object oriented.
- vittore 13y ago
  С++ is object oriented, Objective C is. C is not.
X4 13y ago
I agree with octo_t and would also suggest learning C. If you have ZERO experience, start learning Programming with "Scratch" http://scratch.mit.edu/ http://scratch.mit.edu/ (or "BASIC" when you like retro). Yes seriously, even if it looks childish, just do it. That's logic 101. After at least 1-2years I would suggest that you start learning Lisp, then Elixir http://elixir-lang.org/ http://elixir-lang.org/ If you thought becoming a programmer is easy, everybody can do that, you're right, but becoming a good programmer is NOT. You have to learn the scientific background, if you want to understand things and not just use what get. For that matter I would recommend reading SICP. Well, let's say you don't want to become a good programmer, but just make money, then go and learn ABAP, Cobol, ADA or JavaEE. (Just beware that some Pro C guy, could make you jobless one day, by writing a LLVM back-end that converts existing code to LLVM bytecode and then to C. There are many people who have the same question, I would recommend @pg to propose a FAQ containing info about it. That's the best advice I can give you currently, but if you know somebody who can give you better advice, then please let me know about it too. Because what doI know, nothing, everybody can benefit from your and other people's experiences.
digipaper 13y ago
What projects can be done in C (and only C). I used C while learning programming but never built anything useful or any system in it.
S4M 13y ago
Zed Shaw has published a good (IMHO) resource to learn C, in the "learn python the hard way" style: http://c.learncodethehardway.org/ http://c.learncodethehardway.org/

by octo_t 13y ago

If you don't know C, learn it. Its very different from python and java, but will give you a feel for whats going on "under the hood" so to speak in both those languages.

redxblood 13y ago

You know it's low level? How is it different?

tjr 13y ago
The main difference you will probably notice pertains to addressing the computer memory, through pointers and through manual memory allocation/deallocation. In a broad sense, Java is pretty similar to C. I think if you wanted a perspective-altering experience, learn something like Lisp or Haskell. But I agree that there is value in learning C. You should probably learn both C, and Lisp or Haskell or Scheme or whatever functional-ish language looks interesting. (This is with the assumed goal of getting an overview of programming language styles. If you have specific application-building demands, then language choice may be more dictated by that, e.g., Objective-C for iOS.)

Dirty-flow 13y ago

java and c are both object oriented programming languages so they are not so much different.

venomsnake 13y ago
C is hardly object oriented.
vittore 13y ago
С++ is object oriented, Objective C is. C is not.

X4 13y ago

I agree with octo_t and would also suggest learning C. If you have ZERO experience, start learning Programming with "Scratch" http://scratch.mit.edu/ http://scratch.mit.edu/ (or "BASIC" when you like retro). Yes seriously, even if it looks childish, just do it. That's logic 101. After at least 1-2years I would suggest that you start learning Lisp, then Elixir http://elixir-lang.org/ http://elixir-lang.org/ If you thought becoming a programmer is easy, everybody can do that, you're right, but becoming a good programmer is NOT. You have to learn the scientific background, if you want to understand things and not just use what get. For that matter I would recommend reading SICP. Well, let's say you don't want to become a good programmer, but just make money, then go and learn ABAP, Cobol, ADA or JavaEE. (Just beware that some Pro C guy, could make you jobless one day, by writing a LLVM back-end that converts existing code to LLVM bytecode and then to C. There are many people who have the same question, I would recommend @pg to propose a FAQ containing info about it. That's the best advice I can give you currently, but if you know somebody who can give you better advice, then please let me know about it too. Because what doI know, nothing, everybody can benefit from your and other people's experiences.

digipaper 13y ago

What projects can be done in C (and only C). I used C while learning programming but never built anything useful or any system in it.

S4M 13y ago

Zed Shaw has published a good (IMHO) resource to learn C, in the "learn python the hard way" style: http://c.learncodethehardway.org/ http://c.learncodethehardway.org/