I started reading some of my dads programming books, particularly "The C Programming Language" and I wanted to know which Compiler I should use. Or if I should even be learning C... I have pretty much no experience with programming except for a couple web pages I made a really long time ago. Any advice/experience is greatly appreciated.

Microsoft Visual Studio is the norm. If you're at a university with an MSDN license you can get it for free.

I don't know of any free ones offhand except for Linux, which I doubt you're using.

Free IDE with built in compiler: http://www.bloodshed.net/

Your dad's book might be really really old. Back before 1995 or so (even up till about 2000 really), not all C compilers created the same output - some were more efficient, some even had bugs, and there were different features supported by some compilers and not others. But since about 2000, any C compiler that you use will be about as good as any other. So older books tend to be written for specific compilers, or talk about differences between compilers, but for the most part none of that really matters any more - at least not for personal hobby things. If you were running an actual business making software, then it might be of small importance.

These days it's much more up to what IDE you use, but bloodshed there is very simple and free, and comes with a compiler all ready to use.

There are a ton of good heavy compilers, like Visual Studio, Eclipse, Netbeans, etc. If you end up programming professionally, you'll use them. For small programs where you're just learning, you'd do better with a smaller, simpler compiler - I use Quincy for my class. It's very light on features, but you don't come across any weird issues like the compiler requiring more included libraries or anything along those lines.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Feb 15 2011, 1:49 am by Centreri.

Visual studio C++ Express is free and has the added bonus of the drag and drop WYSIWYG editor for making menus and programs. Netbeans and Eclipse work on linux, mac, AND windows, and the full version is free (AFAIK). C++ is probably the best language to learn at the moment, and once you've got the basics down you can look at .NET stuff and C#.

Also, why are you trying to learn to program? If it's just a hobby, take a look at Python; it's funner to program in. If you're preparing for a career in computer science or programming, I suppose some experience wouldn't hurt. Though, again, something like Python might help because it's easier to learn and will help understand key concepts. C's just frustrating while you're learning the syntax and standards.

That's why Java is the only object oriented language lectured in programming at universities...
I've never programmed in python :S only java and c++ which was confusing with pointers.

edit:
at least in Germany there is Java everywhere... you learn a bit Scheme, Haskell, too. I was in 2 different programming classes because I've changed my major and both were focused on Java.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Feb 15 2011, 2:25 am by Ahli.

Since I've had two classes covering C and none covering Java except in High School, I'd disagree.

C isn't object oriented.

.. Really? Ah. Objection withdrawn.

I use gcc. It comes pre-installed with Dev-c++ (which was mentioned earlier from bloodshed.net) if you want to use an IDE and not bother with most of the command-line stuff.

I don't like Visual Studios. Too much garbage and it's very disorganized and redundant ... Also the programs it produces are very large and heavy and require large external libraries to run in the first place (MSVCR##, or .NET frameworks :X).

I thought it was now.

C++ is object oriented. C isn't.

We haven't gone into enough details for me to really distinguish that far. However, since I'm in a course that promises to teach C/C++, if C++ is object oriented, then Ahli's point is still false.

I disagree with the former and agree with the latter.

By the way, Visual Studio 2010 is $12,000

C++ and C# are OO.

Your course may or may not actually teach you C++. It is common for courses to say "C/C++" but really it's just C. Or C with a light smattering of C++ such that it doesn't really count as C++.

At my uni the introductory language was Java, because the syntax is much easier to get a grip on and you don't have to worry about memory management, so it's much easier to focus on the concepts without worrying about the syntax and implementation. Then in 2nd year we had a course on C. After that there weren't really any courses whose purpose was to teach you a language, although some courses uses other languages (scheme, hugs, SQL, openGL etc).

C++ has much messier syntax and you have to do all your own memory management. I don't even know C++, and I've been working as a professional C developer for 5 years now.

Really C++ isn't used as much as it used to be. All of the embedded systems stuff (what I do) is written in C because it's lightweight and powerful and you don't need what C++ brings to the table. Many large client-side applications are now written in Java or in C#, whereas in the past they might have been in C++. A lot of stuff is now developed for smart phones or is web-based, which you don't use C++ for either. Apple uses Objective C, which apparently is a bunch of bolt-ons for C to make it at least somewhat object oriented, but it still is fundamentally C rather than C++.

Only if you get the expensive version that is actually a multi-user license (I don't know how many users). IIRC, standard single-user pricing for a new version of Visual Studio is typically $300 for standard edition and $800 for professional edition (or maybe it was $500; not sure). Of course, there are also the free single-language express editions, which are still fairly full-featured.

If you are student, you may be able to get the professional edition for free, either through MSDNAA (if your school is subscribed) or through DreamSpark (need a .edu e-mail address, IIRC. may have alternate means of verification).

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Feb 15 2011, 1:03 pm by ShadowFlare.

I got VS 6, 2003, and 2008 through MSDNAA.

.NET applications are especially bad. How are those not large, heavy, or slow?

You can link the C/C++ runtime into the program in a way that it does not need the dll. Using the dll is just the default, for various reasons.

I mostly just want to get as much experience as possible so I can decide exactly which sort of field I want to go in... I guess what I'm asking is which language would give me the most opportunities?