Learning to code

[ClownsandEntropy]

Seriously guys...

For those that don't know it, learn C really well if you want to be better programmers. Don't get stuck in the rut of using predefined data structures, automatic memory allocation and garbage collection. You're all too smart to be implementing what basically amount to APIs.

How would you recommend learning C? And what kind of projects can you make? Usually I just say "I want to make a...game which plays Big Two" and then I figure out how to do it. But I'm told that C isn't so robust because it's like the basics, so it's not really used for such applications. What kind of projects are realistic for me to make?

[xerx]

How would you recommend learning C?

This book by Stephen Prata is a pretty good, comprehensive intro for beginners. You'll probably want take a look at this book at some point, which is the de facto standard.

And what kind of projects can you make? Usually I just say "I want to make a...game which plays Big Two" and then I figure out how to do it. But I'm told that C isn't so robust because it's like the basics, so it's not really used for such applications. What kind of projects are realistic for me to make?

C isn't "robust" in the sense you mean because it doesn't hold your hand. You probably won't be able to make very advanced stuff at your level beyond simple calculations, reading from a file, etc. But it will make you better a better programmer.



[ ETA: the majority of games are written in C++, which is almost a strict superset of C. I'd suggest learning C++ before C since it comes with libraries and features that simplify things (particularly memory management and certain algorithms) and is object oriented.

Although it is actually possible to write object-oriented code in C if you want to impress your friends. Early C++ was compiled by translating it into C first. ]