C is a good starting point. Its "strengths" and "weaknesses" made me appreciate/discover other programming languages' "strengths" and "weaknesses" :)
Ask HN: Should I learn C?
91–98 of 98 posts
Re: Ask HN: Should I learn C?
#92Yes you should! It's also important to know how basic data structures work(you will learn it in college). I studied before college on a good book of data structures in C which introduce from the basics(like binary numbers and so on) that let you learn C and also improve a lot in algorithms. The book name is "data structures using C". Here is the amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Data-Structures-Using-Aaron-Tenenbaum/...
Have much success in your degree!
Re: Ask HN: Should I learn C?
#93You're going to be learning C and / or Java in your first year so, you're just getting a bit of a leg up. If you have a strong preference for Java go for it first, but, I'll say uselessly (cuz everyone else already has) that you'll learn more about computers with C.
Re: Ask HN: Should I learn C?
#94Yes, you should learn C. And enough assembly language to understand aspects of how C works, like what a "stack frame" is. Now is a great time to start. Go find K&R, fire up Linux and write and compile "hello, world". Then keep going until you experience your first segmentation fault. ;) (Do not study C++ at this point. Study C. These things turn out to be very very different.)
I'm sorry but I think this is bad advice.
I'm not against learning C in general. I think everyone should. But his question isn't should he learn C ever it's should he learn it in his spare time between High School and College
The best thing I did for myself during college was to program on my own time in languages that people use out in the world. Learning C, Assembly, Data Structures and all the rest is great but when you get out into the world it helps to have been programming in Python or Ruby for 4 years and be experienced in that.
So I say "No". Learn C in school but in your free time I suggest you learn Python (Here's a great starter book I used when I taught a class on it: http://www.amazon.com/Python-Programming-Absolute-Beginner-3...)
Re: Ask HN: Should I learn C?
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ahh, in that case learning C is a veritable goldmine! Edit: Also, if you use linux and end up going down the rabbit hole a bit, C is a prerequisite.
Being good at C can be very profitable in a money sense of the word too. Bloomberg is one example that hires a lot of C hackers and pays them obscure amounts of money (very very long hours though)
I wouldn't call their salaries obscene when you consider the cost of living around NYC. But they are great if you are single and don't mind living in a tiny apartment.
Re: Ask HN: Should I learn C?
#96You should absolutely learn C - you don't need to be an expert, but you should fully grasp the use of pointers and memory allocation, and how the compiler really works (intermediate stages and all that). This, for the same reason you should learn some provisional level of assembler on an older 8 or 16 bit processor with a simple instruction set (intel 8080 or 8086, and then maybe something RISC just for kicks). You d…
I wouldn't recommend learning assembly on the 8080 or 8086. These systems are register-poor, which makes programming on them frustrating. Instead, try ARM or perhaps MIPS. If you learn ARM, you'll probably end up programming at a higher level on it in the future.
On second thought, learn assembly language for a platform you can run it on. If you only have x86, learn 8086.
Re: Ask HN: Should I learn C?
#97Yes, you should learn C. And enough assembly language to understand aspects of how C works, like what a "stack frame" is. Now is a great time to start. Go find K&R, fire up Linux and write and compile "hello, world". Then keep going until you experience your first segmentation fault. ;) (Do not study C++ at this point. Study C. These things turn out to be very very different.)
I'm sorry but I think this is bad advice. I'm not against learning C in general. I think everyone should. But his question isn't should he learn C ever it's should he learn it in his spare time between High School and College The best thing I did for myself during college was to program on my own time in languages that people use out in the world. Learning C, Assembly, Data Structures and all the rest is great but wh…
I already am fluent in Python. I've used it in real world stuff for 2 years. I also am in the midst of learning Ruby (with _Why's guide).
Re: Ask HN: Should I learn C?
#98You won't learn anything unless you need it, and it depends on your interests whether you need C in your programmings. Other than that, I can't speak for anyone but myself. For me, C has taught me so much since I was 14 that I couldn't possibly be where I am if I hadn't spent years writing C and I couldn't possibly recommend anyone not to learn it. But it's a different world for everyone and I can't say it's a bad th…
An irony is that von Neumann architecture - specifically, code and data in the same memory space - is not modeled by the C language in its most distinguishing sense, and would arguably be better modeled by a language with first class functions. First class functions - the notion of creating new code, and passing it around as if it were data - capture this essence, that the data and code lie in the same memory space, and that both are potentially mutable.