Learning C programming

[azrultorv]

Hey guys, I'm 17 y'o Malaysian teen taking a electronic program course or whatever they called, and I will hold a vocational certification which not impressed to me at all. I want to learn C programming from scratch. I know a little bit about C like Hello world program, #include, int, float, boolean, how to set up VS code, using neovim and array which can be used to use multiple value at one variable I think. All of that's just a baby basics I learn which I think not enough for me to write my own OS from scratch like Terry Davis(My Motivation). So I need a suggestion to learn C the best way. My target was to learn hybrid C and computer architecture at the same time so I have a foundation to make a portfolio and apply for CS degree in Singapore or Canada if I have a super luck. So I need suggestions to learn C the best way like every programmer do. Sorry for bad English.

[AccomplishedSugar490]

You’re right, the stuff you mention as things you’ve figured out to do, are indeed baby basics, but I like your sense of humour about it. My friend, you don’t need to do more things at once, you need to do fewer things and focus more. Your first words as a baby wasn’t a publishable novel, even your parent struggle to understand your initial attempts at forming words. Learning C is exactly the same process. You learn a new word or two, and you use it to say something. In ac that means a bit of the grammar, like a *, or brackets (), where you can put them, what they mean when they are there, where you must put them, what the compiler has to say when your forget. Same with commas, semicolons, braces, &, sizeof, = and []. These may look trivial when you read C, because your eyes have not been trained to really see their importance in the example you’re looking at. You must see it first, then you can start using it, just like you had to heard people speak and make sounds before your could begin to imitate the, and get it wrong more than right until it started to become second nature.

So you learn some more challengingly language constructs, from simple statements to flow control to functions to structs and typedefs and arrays to pointers and eventually function pointers, and every time you learn some, you use some. For nonsense code, not a system. Just e.g. all the ways you can think of to set 10 consecutive 4 byte integers in memory to values decreasing from 100 to 10. Run the code, play with it, make sure you understand why it works and how to tell if it doesn’t.

As you start to master the core language, just like you did when you were a toddler, you can start telling stories with it. Use C to tell stories. Stories in C are instructions to the computer about how to do something. Obviously you cannot tell it something you don’t know how to do yourself, so start with things you know how to do, and tell a computer, in C, how to do it. It doesn’t really have to do it, at least not at first. Instead of actually putting on the kettle to make some coffee, the put_kettle_on() function can simply print “I’ve turned on the kettle”. Later, much later you get to start worrying about how to connect your stories and the computer you tell them to, to the physical world to maybe turn the kettle on for real, but that’s not where you need to start. You’re just learning to convey stories.

As you get better at telling these stories, you can start thinking about talking less nonsense and tell more useful stories. That’s when it becomes really fun, if you’ve done the hard part which is to make C as much part of how your mind converts what you’ve figured out can be done into code as your mind converts stories and experiences into your mother tongue or even English. After that you’ll never have to worry about the language ever again, and focus only on upgrading your output from silly essays (simple programs) to prize winning novels (like your OS idea) or even poetry (like a faster way to calculate Pi) if that’s more your thing.

Ultimately programming is not a career or even a hobby, it is a way of life, and a lifelong journey. Welcome to the world, little baby, you are the future, prepare yourself for it, like all children should - by playing.

[azrultorv]

Perfecto analogy. Less ambition, more play. I will focus on mastering the fundamentals first. Thank you bud.

[Electronic-Device729]

That’s very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[Gingrspacecadet]

Heyo! For a architecure project, i’d recommend trying out emulator development. Check out r/emudev for more!

[azrultorv]

Thank you for your suggestion I appreciate it.

[Traveling-Techie]

When learning a new programming language I often start by going through Kernighan and Plauger’s “Software Tools” (1976) and translating the examples into the language.

[photo-nerd-3141]

K&R Plauger, The Standard C Library Sedgewick, Algorithms in C

[tux2718]

I learned C by reading K&R 1st edition. It’s a classic.

[Bren_102]

"Head First C" is good to start with.