Re: Self-taught C

From	JohnF <john@please.see.sig.for.email.com>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.c
Subject	Re: Self-taught C
Date	2012-02-08 04:05 +0000
Organization	PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC
Message-ID	<jgss9h$2ru$1@reader1.panix.com> (permalink)
References	<1bhaz39pfp.fsf@pfeifferfamily.net> <d3dc861f37149c2293ae33df08a7437c@msgid.frell.theremailer.net>

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> Fritz Wuehler <fritz@spamexpire-201202.rodent.frell.theremailer.net> wrote:
>> Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu>
>> > gwowen <gwowen@gmail.com> writes:
>> >> Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nos...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> >> > Sleepy Duke <josh.izz...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > What are the best methods you all have found for
>> >> > teaching yourselves how to code proficiently in C?
>> >>
>> >> write lots of code.
>> >
>> > It'll help to have a project or something that you want
>> > to accomplish, and work towards that goal.
>> 
>> I think that's the most important single advice that can be given.
> 
> Agreed.

Ditto. That's the ticket. But conjuring up the functional specs
for an interesting, doable (in this case easily doable) project
is a skill in itself, in fact a job title in itself. Most entry
level books I've seen sacrifice the "interesting" in favor of
the "easily doable", which I guess is a necessary tradeoff.
Maybe there's some site with a collection of little learning
projects that's both, though I don't know of one. That would
be a nice idea in itself, probably largely language agnostic
(i.e., not C specific).

> But working at a support role where you have to read lots of code
> and fix it is even better than that and along with it,
> you'll have it all.

That's a different mindset and a somewhat different skill.
Some people can do one and not the other: some just can't 
seem to get going with nothing but a blank sheet of paper,
while others can't seem to dive into the middle of a pile
of existing code. Programmers need both skills in spades,
but you want to learn (as the op does) with writing your
own code, expressing your own thinking in your own style.
So, like "gwowen" first suggested, get yourself a project.
-- 
John Forkosh  ( mailto:  j@f.com  where j=john and f=forkosh )

Thread

Self-taught C Sleepy Duke <josh.izzard@gmail.com> - 2012-02-03 09:24 -0800
  Re: Self-taught C "Bl0ckeduser ." <bl0ckedusersoft@gmail.com> - 2012-02-03 11:54 -0800
    Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-05 04:34 -0800
  Re: Self-taught C Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-02-04 05:38 -0800
    Re: Self-taught C Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2012-02-08 16:42 +0000
      Re: Self-taught C James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-02-08 11:50 -0500
        Re: Self-taught C Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2012-02-13 22:07 +0000
          Re: Self-taught C James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-02-13 17:25 -0500
      Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-09 00:42 -0800
        Re: Self-taught C Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-02-09 05:05 -0800
          Re: Self-taught C Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2012-02-09 13:31 +0000
            Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-09 06:39 -0800
            Re: Self-taught C Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-02-09 07:53 -0800
              Re: Self-taught C blp@cs.stanford.edu (Ben Pfaff) - 2012-02-09 09:32 -0800
                Re: Self-taught C Patrick Scheible <kkt@zipcon.net> - 2012-02-09 12:34 -0800
                Re: Self-taught C James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-02-09 16:06 -0500
                Re: Self-taught C Patrick Scheible <kkt@zipcon.net> - 2012-02-09 14:17 -0800
                Re: Self-taught C James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-02-09 17:46 -0500
                Re: Self-taught C "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-02-18 01:08 +0000
                Re: Self-taught C "io_x" <a@b.c.invalid> - 2012-02-19 18:23 +0100
                Re: Self-taught C blp@cs.stanford.edu (Ben Pfaff) - 2012-02-09 14:38 -0800
                Re: Self-taught C jgk@panix.com (Joe keane) - 2012-02-09 21:52 +0000
                Re: Self-taught C Stephen Sprunk <stephen@sprunk.org> - 2012-02-09 16:08 -0600
              Re: Self-taught C Stephen Sprunk <stephen@sprunk.org> - 2012-02-09 16:16 -0600
                Re: Self-taught C Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-02-10 00:39 +0000
                Re: Self-taught C Stephen Sprunk <stephen@sprunk.org> - 2012-02-10 10:50 -0600
                Re: Self-taught C Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-02-10 22:21 +0000
              Re: Self-taught C Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2012-02-09 23:45 +0000
                Re: Self-taught C Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-02-09 16:32 -0800
                Re: Self-taught C Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2012-02-10 11:24 +0000
                Re: Self-taught C Phil Carmody <thefatphil_demunged@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-02-21 23:19 +0200
                Re: Self-taught C Nomen Nescio <nobody@dizum.com> - 2012-02-22 08:54 +0100
              Re: Self-taught C Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-02-10 00:38 +0000
            Re: Self-taught C Shao Miller <sha0.miller@gmail.com> - 2012-02-10 00:07 -0500
            Re: Self-taught C jgk@panix.com (Joe keane) - 2012-02-10 20:34 +0000
          Re: Self-taught C Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com> - 2012-02-09 23:36 +0000
          Re: Self-taught C Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2012-02-09 22:14 -0700
            Re: Self-taught C gwowen <gwowen@gmail.com> - 2012-02-10 03:49 -0800
        Re: Self-taught C Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2012-02-13 22:12 +0000
      Re: Self-taught C Willem <willem@toad.stack.nl> - 2012-02-14 14:50 +0000
        Re: Self-taught C 88888 Dihedral <dihedral88888@googlemail.com> - 2012-02-14 09:49 -0800
  Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-05 04:32 -0800
    Re: Self-taught C gwowen <gwowen@gmail.com> - 2012-02-06 04:23 -0800
      Re: Self-taught C Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2012-02-06 22:34 -0700
        Re: Self-taught C Fritz Wuehler <fritz@spamexpire-201202.rodent.frell.theremailer.net> - 2012-02-07 10:26 +0100
          Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-07 02:18 -0800
            Re: Self-taught C Jorgen Grahn <grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se> - 2012-02-07 22:28 +0000
          Re: Self-taught C JohnF <john@please.see.sig.for.email.com> - 2012-02-08 04:05 +0000
    Re: Self-taught C Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2012-02-08 10:31 +0000
      Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-09 00:51 -0800
      Re: Self-taught C Shao Miller <sha0.miller@gmail.com> - 2012-02-09 21:26 -0500
  Re: Self-taught C James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-02-07 07:53 -0500
  Re: Self-taught C notbob <notbob@nothome.com> - 2012-02-07 14:29 +0000
    Re: Self-taught C Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@dqel.com> - 2012-02-07 09:26 -0800
      Re: Self-taught C notbob <notbob@nothome.com> - 2012-02-07 17:45 +0000
        Re: Self-taught C notbob <notbob@nothome.com> - 2012-02-07 18:07 +0000
          Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-09 00:56 -0800
  Re: Self-taught C Nick Keighley <nick_keighley_nospam@hotmail.com> - 2012-02-09 00:53 -0800

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