On Sat, 19 Dec 1998, Chris Frost wrote: > > I'd like to start learning C (I know a bit of latex and enough > basic/newtonscript to do simple math stuff, but that's about it) and was > wondering what a good book would be to serve as in intro to programming c > on linux (and as an intro to programming in general). >
Kernighan & Ritchie will teach you C syntax but syntax is really not the main thing you want to learn IMHO. i.e. learn programming, not C. C is merely incidental. The classic text used in many CS 101 courses is "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs." I'm sure any decent intro to programming text would be OK though. The key is to learn about data structures, algorithms, types, abstraction and so on. C can be terrible without proper guidance because it has no built-in syntax to make these things natural. It is a very low-level language and encourages bad habits and beginner mistakes. I would recommend the Gtk+ and glib source code; this is nice code that shows how to use C well, and it will give you data structure routines to play with. It is also fun and interesting, since windows on the screen are always niftier than text-mode hello world programs. I think "Beginning Linux Programming" (Wrox Press) and "Linux Application Development" (Addison-Wesley) are both nice books about Unix programming with a Linux focus, but they assume you already have some C under your belt. Of course, part of learning to program on Linux is learning Emacs or vi, and religiously defending your choice; and you'll probably need to know something about make. Havoc
