C compiler?

[Howlin1]

Hello,

I've been thinking on (trying) to learn C, but I'm not sure of any compilers for it. I have googled C compiler fro windows, but even at the I'm not too sure which one is best to use.

Also what is the difference between c, c# c-- and c++?

[dsavi]

I've never used it myself, but MinGW is the standard open source C/C++ compiler for Windows.

 

C is a minimalistic but very powerful programming language that is used for a huge number of things, including a large amount of the Linux kernel, many heavy programs, etc.- Basically if you want to create a serious program, C (Or C++) is usually the starting point.

 

C++ is maybe what you would call a superset of the C standard, that includes support for classes and objects like Java. Some people like that, some people prefer C's minimalism.

 

C# is a language started by Microsoft that resembles Java. I don't know a huge amount about it other than it supports objects and classes and such and that it's less cross-platform than C/C++ (Although Linux/Mac OS X support has gotten pretty good these days with the Mono compiler).

 

I thought you were joking about C-- until I looked it up; Suffice to say that it's nothing you need to worry about.

[sven_bohikus]

Try the Quincy C/C++ compiler and development environment. Its small, has a number of important libraries included, and is portable (can be run from a usb drive). The MinGW compiler is included with the installer.

Its only 18mb and really is worth a look. Don't be worried about the fact that it hasn't been updated in a while. Not much has changed that would be of consequence to someone who is just learning.

 

http://www.codecutter.net/tools/quincy/

[Doomster]

http://www.bloodshed.net/compilers/index.html - Quite a big list of free compilers (not all for C), and Bloodshed's is worth a look

 

http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/gtomar/ComparisionofCandcsharplanguages10242007013053AM/ComparisionofCandcsharplanguages.aspx - differences between C# and C++

 

The choice of free C# compilers is more limited

http://www.thefreecountry.com/compilers/csharp.shtml

[Howlin1]

Okay thanks.

Next question, what would be a good language to learn next? In college I have learned (learning)

* (x)html)

* CSS

* Java

* PHP

* SQL

* Actionscripting 3

At the moment I'm trying to lean C, but in the above languages I would mainly be a beginner in them (except for html, I know that the most) So what would be a good language to learn next or should I try learn more of the languages I already know?

[Ember]

.

[dsavi]

I'd stick with C for now, and maybe pick up some PHP.

A little SQL familiarity can also go a long way.

:thumbup: Also, if you eventually know Java and PHP, Python will come naturally.

 

The most difficult thing in C, for me anyway, was pointers. There's this great guide, I'll have to look for it later.

[Markup]

C++

 

Ignore friendship and inheritence, polymorphism for now.

 

Basics of C++:

· Structure of a program

· Variables. Data Types.

· Constants

· Operators

· Basic Input/Output

Control Structures:

· Control Structures

· Functions (I)

· Functions (II)

Compound Data Types:

· Arrays

· Character Sequences

· Pointers

· Dynamic Memory

· Data Structures

· Other Data Types

Object Oriented Programming:

· Classes (I)

· Classes (II)

Advanced Concepts:

· Templates

· Namespaces

· Exceptions

· Type Casting

 

Then take a quick look at reference , specifically the stl containers and strings library.

 

And you could use Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express