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LEARN C/C++ TODAY (A list of resources/tutorials)

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Archive-name:	C-faq/learn-c-cpp-today
Last-modified:  Tuesday - August 01, 1995

    					Copyright (c) 1995  Vinit Carpenter 
    							All rights reserved


Introduction:
-------------

    This is a list of a  few  C  and  C++ language tutorials available to a
    user.   This  list includes interactive tutorials,  public-domain  code
    collections, books etc.  I've developed this FAQ purely as a  volunteer
    effort  as  a service to the Internet community.  Although every effort
    has been made to insure that all the information here is as accurate as
    possible, no guarantee is implied or intended.

    I welcome comments, suggestions  or  criticism  for  all the people out
    there  on the net that read this.  If you can help me make this list  a
    little better, you will be helping a lot of people  out  there  on  the
    net.   I  am  a horrible writer and an even worse speller.  If you find
    any errors or would like to  suggest  any additions please feel free to
    email me at the address below:

    		carpenterv@vms.csd.mu.edu

  
What's new in this issue:
-------------------------

    This section of the  document  will  point  out  all the new additions,
    corrections,  updates  etc.  If there is enough interest, I will  start
    producing a 'diff' version.  

    1. Added a second web server that has the HTML and PS version of this 
       document.
    2. Updated the information on the 'C++ on the WWW'.  The address has
       of the web server has changes.  The author also converted Dordill's
       C++ course to HTML which is online.
    3. Updated the information in the MSDOS/Windows compiler section.
    4. Added a new item called `Programming in C' that contains a great 
       collection of C and programming items.
    5. Updated the information on the C++ FAQ.  
    6. Added a lot of information on OS/2. (Joe Dougherty)
    7. Added more information about Scott Meyers new book titled "More
       Effective C++". 
    8. Updated the oak.oakland.edu info and the directory structure has
       been changed.
    9. Update the information on the C Snippets packages.  The author 
       released a new package that includes 400+ files.


    I am switching to URL in place of the standard ftp and filename format.
    URL stands for "Uniform Resource Locator".   Think of it as a networked
    extension of the standard filename concept: not only can you point to a
    file  in a directory, but that file and that directory can exist on any
    machine on the network, can be served  via  any  of  several  different
    methods,  and might not even be something as simple as a file: URLs can
    also point to  queries,  documents  stored  deep  within databases, the
    results of a finger or archie command, or whatever.
   
    File URL:
    ---------
	file://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/c/00_index.txt

    Gopher URL:
    -----------
    To connect to a particular gopher server, use this URL:

	gopher://gopher.tc.umn.edu/

    News URL:
    ---------
    To point to a Usenet Newsgroups, the URL is simply:

	news:comp.lang.c

    HTTP URL:
    ---------
    HTTP  stands  for  HyperText  Transport  Protocol.   HTTP  servers  are
    commonly used for serving hypertext documents

	http://vinny.csd.mu.edu

    This file is posted on the 1st and the 15th of each month to the Usenet
    Newsgroups    COMP.LANG.C,     COMP.LANG.C.MODERATED,    COMP.LANG.C++,
    NEWS.ANSWERS  & COMP.ANSWERS.  The HTML and postscript version of  this
    documents are available.  Here's the URL:

	http://vinny.csd.mu.edu      		     

    NOTE: This is my Linux PC  that  does  get inundated with request.  The
    last  time  I checked the stats, there were about 27 connections  every
    minute.  If you get timed out, please try  again.   The  most  recently
    posted  version of this document is kept on the news.answers archive on
    rtfm.mit.edu.  You can receive it via anonymous ftp.  The URL is listed
    below.
    
    	ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/C-faq/learn-c-cpp-today

    If you don't have access to ftp, you can also receive this file via
    e-mail by sending mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with:

	send /pub/usenet/news.answers/C-faq/learn-c-cpp-today

    in the body (not subject line) of your message. You can also receive
    the latest version via electronic mail by e-mailing me.
	
    	To: learncpp@vinny.csd.mu.edu
	Subject: send learn-c-cpp-today
	Body: ignored. Can be blank.

    A lot of tutorials discussed here  are available via anonymous ftp.  If
    you  don't have ftp, you can also retrieve these files via a  ftp-email
    gateway.    To   retrieve   files   via   e-mail,    send    mail    to
    ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com with the command HELP in the body of the message
    to  receive  a  complete list of all commands.  A typical message would
    look something like this:

    		connect oak.oakland.edu
    		chdir /simtel/msdos/c
    		binary
    		uuencode
    		get xxx.zip
    		quit

    Some of the items discussed  here  are  platform-dependent, but most of
    the  items are applicable across all platforms (portable).  If you have
    any comments, suggestions, complaints, additions, etc, please feel free
    to e-mail me at the following address:

	    carpenterv@vms.csd.mu.edu

    If you are working on a tutorial or would like something added to this
    list, please e-mail me at the address given above.

The Origins of C and C++:
-------------------------

    The  'C'  programming  language   was   originally  developed  for  and
    implemented  on  the UNIX operating system, on a DEC PDP-11  by  Dennis
    Ritchie.  One of the best features of C is that it is not tied  to  any
    particular  hardware or system.  This makes it easy for a user to write
    programs that will run without any changes on practically all machines.
    C is often called a  middle-level  computer language as it combines the
    elements  of  high-level languages with the functionalism  of  assembly
    language.

    C allows the  manipulation  of  bits,  bytes  and  addresses- the basic
    elements with which the computer functions.  Another good point about C
    is  its  portability which makes it possible to adapt software  written
    for one type of computer to another.  C was  created,  influenced,  and
    field  tested  by  working programmers.  The end result is that C gives
    the programmer what  the  programmer  wants.   C  offers  the  speed of
    assembly  language  and  the  extensibility of FORTH, but  few  of  the
    restrictions of Pascal and Modula-2.

    C++ is an enhanced version of  the C language.  C++ includes everything
    that  is  part  of C and adds support for  object-oriented  programming
    (OOP).  In addition, C++ also contains many improvements  and  features
    that  make it a "better C", independent of object oriented programming.
    C++ is actually an extendible language since we can define new types in
    such a way that they act just  like the predefined types which are part
    of the standard language.

    If you just use C++ as a  better  C,  you  will not be using all of its
    power.  Like any quality tool, C++ must be used the way it was designed
    to  be used to exploit its richness.  Some of the new features  include
    encapsulation,   inline   function   calls,   overloading    operators,
    inheritance and polymorphism.  I am not going to explain what they mean
    here  as  that  would simply take me away from my purpose here, but you
    can refer to any  good  C++  book  or  the  C++  FAQ  (Item 7) for more
    information.
     

What do you need to get started?
--------------------------------

    The first thing you need is  a  compiler.   A compiler reads the entire
    program and converts it into object code, which is a translation of the
    program source code into a form that the computer can execute directly.
 
	
UNIX SYSTEM:
	
    Type cc at the %  prompt.   If  you  don't  get any error messages, you
    probably have a C compiler .  If you get an error message, try acc, gcc
    or  g++.   If  any  of  these don't work,  contact  your  local  system
    administrator and ask him/her to get you a C/C++ compiler.   GNU  C/C++
    compiler is available from a lot of anonymous ftp sites free of charge.
    Look  into  it.   (I've  got  g++  running  on my Linux box without any
    problems)
	
MSDOS/Windows/OS2/Linux (IBM COMPATIBLES): 
	
    There are a lot of good compilers  available to you.  Microsoft Quick C
    and  Borland Turbo C/C++ are both good products for beginners.  You can
    buy both of them for  under  $50.00.   I  use  Microsoft  Quick  C  and
    MS-Visual  C/C++, and I prefer Quick-C for all my DOS programs as it is
    small, and yet very powerful.   Most  of  my  programming  is now on my
    Linux  PC with gcc/g++.  (If you want a great 32 bit operating  system,
    you should look into Linux.  E-mail me for details).  You can also  get
    the   DOS   port   of  GNU  C/C++  called  DJGPP  from  oak.oakland.edu
    /simtel/vendors/djgpp.

    The increased popularity of OS/2 and  it's latest incarnation Warp, has
    provided   programmers   with  a  wider  selection  of  compilers   and
    programming tools.  Still available for free is  the  GNU  gcc  package
    under  the  name  emx.   Emx integrates nicely with the Extended Editor
    included with OS/2.  It's  available on ftp.cdrom.com, hobbes.nmsu.edu,
    and  other  sites.  IBM provides the CSet++ 2.x, as well as a  smaller,
    less-expensive package on  CD-ROM  called  CSet++  First  Step.   Other
    popular  compilers  include  Borland C++ 1.0 for OS/2, and Watcom C/C++
    for OS/2 10.0, and CA-C++ for OS/2 from Computer Associates.

	
OpenVMS (VAX & AXP)
	
    If you're on a VAX, type  in  CC  to  check  and  see if you have a C
    compiler.  VAX C is not the best compiler around, but it certainly does
    the  job.   If  you don't have a C compiler, look into  the  GNU  C/C++
    compiler GCC.  You can get the VAX version of GCC from ftp.spc.edu  via
    anonymous  ftp.   If  on  a  AXP  system, you should have access to DEC
    C/C++.  Please contact  your  local  system  administrator  or computer
    consultant for more site specific questions.

Macintosh (Apple/PowerMac)

    There are three main  players  in  the  Mac  compiler market: MPW (from
    Apple),  THINK  C / Symantec C++ (both from Symantec),  or  CodeWarrior
    (from Metrowerks): THINK C is $225 (only a C compiler), while  Symantec
    C++  is  $375 (includes C and C++ compilers).  CodeWarrior comes in two
    versions: bronze and gold, at $199/299/399, respectively.  The Symantec
    C++ compiler (ver  8.0)  is  PowerMac  native.  Symantec and Metrowerks
    offer  academic pricing on their products which are substantially  less
    than the commercial prices.

    There have been  two  attempts  at  freeware/shareware Mac C compilers:
    Sesame  C  and  Harvest.   Harvest  C was an  ambitious  attempt  at  a
    production-quality  freeware compiler which was later abandoned by  the
    author.


Tutorials:
----------

1) Title:       A C tutorial. 
   Filename:	C-LESSON.ZIP
   Author:	Christopher Sawtell.
   E-mail:	chris@gerty.equinox.gen.nz
   URL:		ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/c-lang/c-lesson.zip

    This tutorial contains  a  complete  course  for  you  to learn the 'C'
    computer  language itself.  Some knowledge, of computers and the jargon
    is  assumed,  but  complicated  concepts  are  fully  explained.   This
    tutorial  is  geared  towards the UNIX operating system, but everything
    discussed here applies across all  platforms.   Most of the source code
    included  here compiles under all the platforms.  This is a good effort
    and is worth your time.  Updates to this tutorials are  posted  to  the
    USENET group comp.lang.c.

2) Title:	Coronado;s Generic C tutor v2.0
   Filename:	GENCSRC.ZIP
		GENCTXT.ZIP   
   Author:	Gordon Dodrill
   E-mail:	--
   URL:		ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/c/gencsrc.zip
   		ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/c/genctxt.zip


    This is one of the most complete tutorials out there.  Once again, most
    of the items covered here  are  apply  across all platforms.  There are
    some  items  discussed  here  that are  DOS  dependent.   The  tutorial
    includes a manual that covers all the aspects of the C  language.   The
    archive  also includes a huge collection of C code that is discussed in
    this tutorial.   The  best  way  to  learn  anything  is  by  practical
    application  and this tutorial does just that.  A payment of $10.00  is
    requested by the author if you  find  the  tutorial  helpful,  but  the
    payment  is  not  required.  I think you should send in the $10.00 as a
    lot of time and effort went into this project.

3) Title:	Thread An On-Line C Help File V 1.01
   Filename:	THREAD.ZIP
   Author:	Fran Horvath
   E-mail:	--
   URL:		ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/c/thread.zip


    Thread is a C language help utility.  It was written by a member of the
    U.S.D.A.  Grad School faculty to help students learning the C language.
    Thread is a variable  record-length  database,  together with an index,
    that  enables  the  fast lookup and  display of  C  keywords,  standard
    library  functions,  and  other  items.   There  are  a  few  important
    functions missing from this help utility, but it is still a pretty good
    resource.  Give it a shot.

4) Title:	Collection of C-Snippets
   Filename:	SNIP9503.ZIP
   Author:	Bob Stout
   E-mail:	bobstout@neosoft.com
   URL:		ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/c/snip9503.zip

    This  is  the  March  95   release   of  SNIPPETS  which  is  a  public
    domain/freeware portable C source code & instructional text.  According
    to  the  author,  the  1.6  MB archive  contains  over  400  files  and
    approximately 35% of it is PC-specific.  The rest of it  is  completely
    portable.  The PC-specific functions are system-level utility code with
    no multimedia or GUI code.  This archive has been tested on all popular
    PC  compilers  and  gcc,  SCO,  and HP/UX compilers where possible.  An
    eclectic  collection  containing  everything  from  macros  to complete
    cut-and-paste  C  code  solutions  &  utilities,  along  with  FAQ  and
    instructional files.

    There is a piece of code for  every single task starting with macros to
    complete  cut-and-paste C code solution and utilities, along with  some
    frequently asked questions and instructional files.  This archive is  a
    must for every programmer.  If you already have a copy of snip9404.zip,
    see   snpd9503.zip  which  includes  the  diff  needed  to  upgrade  to
    snip9503.zip.  Numerous bug fixes  and  enhancements  were made in this
    archive and 60 New files added.

    This is Public  Domain/freeware  created  by  the archivist, ex Fidonet
    C_Echo moderator and author, Bob Stout


5) Title:	COMP.LANG.C FAQ
   Filename:	FAQ
   Author: 	Steve Summit 
   E-mail: 	scs@eskimo.com 
   URL: 	ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/C-faq/faq
   

    The FAQ (Frequently Asked  Questions)  is  a compilation of frequently-
    asked  questions  of  the  usenet group,  COMP.LANG.C  along  with  the
    answers.  Steve's put in a lot of work and this compilation  shows  it.
    I  found that the FAQ answered a lot of my questions.  I even learned a
    lot of new things  browsing  through  the  document.   I think this FAQ
    should  should  be  on  your  computer desk right  next  to  a  good  C
    programming book.  The FAQ is posted to  COMP.LANG.c  and  news.answers
    every month along with the diff version.


6) Title:	TUTOR v3.10
   Filename:	CTUTORDE.ZIP
   Author:	Gordon Dodrill
   E-mail:	rowe@netcom.com
   URL:		ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/c/ctutorde.zip


    This is an educational learning tool which helps expedite the difficult
    process  of  learning  the  C  Programming  Language.   It  includes  a
    tutorial,  style  guide,  and interactive quiz program  all  integrated
    together in one program.  The tutorial covers both K&R version of C and
    ANSI C.  One of the biggest limitation of this tutorial is that  it  is
    only available for DOS computers.


7) Title:	Programming in C
   Filename:	CE.html
   Author:	Dave Marshall
   E-mail:	Dave.Marshall@cm.cf.ac.uk
   URL:		http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/Dave/C/CE.html

    This is one of the best C  programming tutorials out there on the World
    Wide  Web (WWW).  See tutorial #11 for more information on the web  and
    tools to access the web.  This tutorial  starts  out  with  some  basic
    ideas  and  then extends to some more advanced features of C.  With the
    popularity of the World Wide Web, items on the web servers are going to
    be very popular.  This is  really  a  great tutorial and worth checking
    out.   Some  of  the  items discussed here are  loops,  arrays,  string
    manipulation,  pointers,  dynamic  memory  allocation,  I/O,  UNIX,   C
    preprocessor  and  some  exercises.   While you're out there, check out
    Ceilidh, the online C tutoring system.
                                          


8) Title:       ANSI C for Programmers on UNIX systems.
   Filename:	love_C.ps.z, love_C.shar
   Author:	Tim Love
   E-mail:	tpl@eng.cam.ac.uk
   URL:		ftp://svr-ftp.eng.cam.ac.uk/pub/misc/love_C.ps.Z


    This is a really nice C  tutorial  geared towards people on UNIX system
    as  the  title would suggest.  This document introduces C by  providing
    sample programming tasks.  One of the good things about  this  tutorial
    is  that all the source code included is ANSI compliant.  This tutorial
    also includes programming exercises to  aid  or  gauge your progress as
    you  go through the material (answers included in back).  The  tutorial
    covers some of the  basics  such  as  functions,  pointers  and  string
    manipulation  followed  by some programming examples to apply the items
    you've just learned.

    There is also a section  on  memory allocation that illustrates the use
    and dangers of malloc.  The section on the Make utility helped me a lot
    as I really don't like make and makefiles.  The section of debugging is
    also  extensive and has some great tips.  The appendix of this tutorial
    also has a section of converting from K&R to ANSI C.  Really great  job
    and well worth the checking into.


9) Title:	Coronado Enterprises C++ Tutorial (v2.20)
   Filename:	CPTUTS22.ZIP   
		CPTUTT22.ZIP   
   Author:	Gordon Dodrill
   E-mail:	--
   Phone:	(505) 293-5464
   URL:		ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/cpluspls/cptuts22.zip
   		ftp://oak.oakland.edu/simtel/msdos/cpluspls/cptutt22.zip


    Just like its C counterpart, this  is  really  one of the best and most
    complete  C++ tutorial out there.  This tutorial is not for the  person
    just starting out in programming as C++ is not an ideal first language.
    But if you are familiar with C or any other programming language,  this
    tutorial  will  get  you started with C++.  All the source discussed in
    this tutorial is included and learning is really accelerated as you can
    compile the code while you  are  reading  about it.  This tutorial will
    assume  a  thorough knowledge of the C programming language and  little
    time will be spent on the fundamental aspects of the language.  Special
    attention has be devoted to explaining the newer additions as  provided
    by  the  ANSI-C  standard, as  many programmers are used to the old K&R
    school of thought.

10) Title:	COMP.LANG.C++ FAQ
   Filename:	FAQ
   Author: 	Marshall P. Cline, Ph.D. 
   E-mail: 	cline@parashift.com
   URL: 	ftp://sun.soe.clarkson.edu/pub/C++/FAQ
    
    Wow!!!  That's really all I can  say about this collection of questions
    and answers for C++ and Object Oriented Programming (OOP).  This is the
    complete FAQ for the Newsgroups COMP.LANG.C++ compiled by Dr.  Marshall
    Cline.  I have been programming in C++ for a few months and am far away
    from  being  an  'expert', and this compilation helped  me  enormously.
    Once again, this is not for the person that is starting to  learn  C++,
    but  if  you've  already taken the first step, this FAQ is for you.  If
    you don't have ftp, you  can  also  receive  it via e-mail by sending a
    message  to archive-server@sun.soe.clarkson.edu with the subject  `send
    C++/FAQ'.

    The C++ FAQ has been released as  a book called `C++ FAQS -- Frequently
    Asked  Questions'  by Addison-Wesley.  The book is a complete  re-write
    and contains about 5 times the  material  that  is  indexed  and  cross
    referenced.   Check out the book section for a review of the book.  The
    FAQ will still be  posted  in  the  Newsgroup comp.lang.c++, but if you
    find the FAQ helpful, you should really buy the book.

    
11) Title:	C++ on the World Wide Web
   Filename:	C++.html
   Author:	Marcus Speh
   E-mail:	marcus@x4u.desy.de
   URL:		http://uu-gna.mit.edu:8001/uu-gna/text/cc/index.html

    This is one of  the  award  wining  courses  at  the 1st WWW conference
    (congratulations  Marcus.  great job).  One of the newest addition here
    is the Dorill C++ course converted to  HTML.   There  is  a  wealth  of
    information  on  C++  available on the World Wide Web (WWW).  The World
    Wide Web (WWW) is a  wide  area hypermedia information retrieval system
    that  gives the user universal access to a large universe of documents.
    One of the most popular to the Web is called Mosaic developed by  NCSA.
    Mosaic  is  an Internet based global hypermedia browser that allows you
    to discover, retrieve and display documents  and data from all over the
    world.   Global  hypermedia means that information located  around  the
    world is interconnected in an environment that  allows  you  to  travel
    through  the  information  by  clicking on hyperlinks-- terms, icons or
    images in documents that point to  other related documents.  Here's the
    URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for the C++ Virtual Course.

    		http://uu-gna.mit.edu:8001/uu-gna/text/cc/index.html

    You might also want to connect  to  info.desy.de and browse.  I found a
    lot  of  great  items such as documents and sources on C++  and  Object
    oriented programming, Internet groups for discussions and questions  on
    C++,  discussion of Object-Oriented Literate Programming and many other
    postscript papers.

		http://info.desy.de/general/users.html


12) Title:	Programming in C
   Filename:	index.html
   Author:	Jutta Degener
   E-mail:	jutta@cs.tu-berlin.de
   URL:		http://www.lysator.liu.se/c/index.html

    
    This is really one of the best  collection of C related items out there
    on  the  World Wide Web maintained by the Lysator computer society,  an
    association of  computer  science  students  at  Linkoping  University,
    Sweden.   Here's a list of some of the items.  There is a great section
    on ANSI C, reviews of 3 books and a list of errata from 2 books.  There
    is a very interesting paper called `A development of the C language' by
    Dennis Ritchie that traces the origin of  the language we know and love
    today.

    There is a HTML version of  Kernighan's historical "Programming in C: A
    Tutorial"  from 1974 (that describes an early version of C, four  years
    before K&R.  WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS DOCUMENT  AS  A  TUTORIAL);  also
    included  are  the  "Ten  Commandments  for  C  Programmers  (Annotated
    Version)" and a HTML version of Steve Summit's comp.lang.c FAQ.
    
13) Title:	C++ Annotations (ver 3.3.3)
   Filename:	cplusplus.html
   Author:	Frank Brokken & Karel Kubat 
   E-mail:	frank@icce.rug.nl, karel@icce.rug.nl
   URL:		http://www.icce.rug.nl/docs/cplusplus/cplusplus.html

    This web based tutorial is  intended  for  knowledgeable users of C who
    would  like  to make the transition to C++.  This document presents  an
    introduction to programming in C++.  It  is  a  guide  for  programming
    courses  taught at State University of Groningen This document is not a
    complete C/C++ handbook, but  rather  serves  as  an  great addition to
    other  documentation sources.  The reader should take note of the  fact
    that an extensive knowledge of the C programming  language  is  assumed
    and required.

    This document continues where topics of the C programming language end,
    such as pointers, memory allocation and compound types which makes it a
    very good programming guide.  I  highly  recommend this tutorial to any
    individual who is really interested in becoming extremely knowledgeable
    on C++ and a proficient programmer.  Here is a listing of the chapters.
   
		1. Introduction to C++
		2. A first impression of C++
		3. Classes
		4. Classes and memory allocation
		5. Static data and functions
		6. Inheritance 
		7. Polymorphism, late binding and virtuality
		8. Concrete examples of C++ 
		9. Templates

14) Title:	C programming reference 1.1
   Filename:	cref.html
   Author:	Martin Leslie
   E-mail:	leslim@gatwick.Geco-Prakla.slb.com
   URL:		http://vinny.csd.mu.edu/martin/DOC/C/cref.html
   
    This is not an ordinary  C  language  tutorial,  rather  it is a great
    reference  guide for the C programming language.  As the author states,
    "I have found several C  tutorials  and  lessons  on  the  net  but  no
    reference  documents.   This is not an attempt to replace the many high
    quality books available, but does  try  to provide an on-line reference
    that can give answers to questions quickly and without hassle".

    Martin has put a lot  of  work  in  this  and the archive is definitely
    worth  checking  out.   One of the nicest item is the  `Function  Quick
    Reference'.  It is a summary of a lot  of  useful  functions  including
    ANSI  standard  functions,  Non  Standard  functions  from CONIO.H, non
    Standard UNIX functions,  user  written  functions  and variable length
    argument  lists  including the library, prototype, syntax  and  example
    programs.  Here's a sample.

                         FGETC/GETC FUNCTION 08-MAY-94
                                       
    fgetc and getc both read  a  character  from  a file (input stream) and
    have the same syntax.  They are for all intents and purposes the same!

	Library:   stdio.h

	Prototype: int fgetc(FILE *stream);

	Syntax:    ch = fgetc(file_pointer);
        	   ch = getc(file_pointer);

	   [IMAGE] example program.
	   See also:
   
	   getchar, fgets, gets
	   getch, getche (non standard)


    And if you're really nice to him, he will give a really cool program to
    randomly change the root window  color  on  X Displays.  :) The program
    randomly selects a target color and then performs a basic interpolation
    to  move  from the current color to the target color.  When the  target
    has been reached, a new target is selected and the process is repeated.
 


Books currently being reviewed:
------------------------------

    If you have any thoughts or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at
    carpenterv@vms.csd.mu.edu

1.  C++ A Pratical Introduction by Brian Hahn (ISBN 1-85554-325-7)

2.  C++ For Dummies by Stephen R.  Davis (ISBN 1-56884-163-9)

3.  The Craft of  C:  Take  Charge  Programming  by  Herbert  Schildt (ISBN
    0-07-881882-6)

4.  C By Discovery by L.S.Foster (ISBN 1-881991-29-6)

5.  Teach yourself C++  programming  in  21  days  by  Jesse  Liberty (ISBN
    0-672-39541-0)


Books:
------


[1] "The C Programming Language" (2nd ed.)
    Brian W. Kernighan & Dennis	Ritchie
    Prentice Hall ISBN: 0-13-110362-8

    This is the second edition  of  the  original Kernighan & Ritchie (K&R)
    text.   This  book is  commonly referred to as the New Testament as  it
    includes the modifications incorporated by  the  ANSI  standard,  while
    retaining  the  nature  of the 1st edition.  This book assumes that the
    reader  has  some  basic  programming  knowledge.   So  if  you're just
    starting  to program and C is the first language, this might not be the
    ideal book.  This is one of THE  BEST books  on  C  and  a  must  have,
    especially if you're starting your own little programming library.

    A good book to go along with K&R's "The C Programming Language" is "The
    C Answer Book" by Clovis L.  Tondo and Scott E.  Gimpel, Prentice Hall,
    subtitled 'Solutions to the  Exercises  in  The C Programming Language,
    second  edition  by  Brian W.  Kernighan & Dennis  M.   Ritchie',  ISBN
    0-13-109653-2
    

[2] "Programming in ANSI C" (Revised edition: 1994)
    Kochan, Steven
    SAMS Publishing ISBN 0-672-30339-6

    This book by  Steve  Kochan  is  absolutely  the  best  book for anyone
    starting  out programming in C.  This is an excellent introductory text
    with frequent examples and good text.  This book makes  no  assumptions
    about the particular computer system or operating system on which the C
    language  is  implemented.   This  books  is  written  for  novices and
    experienced programmers alike.  I  love  this book as the comprehensive
    'teach by examples' book can help you master the unique features of the
    C  language.   There is complete coverage of program looping,  decision
    making, arrays,  strings,  pointers  and  bit  operations  and  helpful
    end-of-chapter  exercises.   This  is the book I used to learn C and it
    really is a great book.  The  K&R  book is really great as a reference,
    but not as the first book.


[3] "Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets"
    Peter Van Der Linden
    SunSoft Press. (ISBN 0-13-177429-8)


    Peter has written one of the  greatest  books  to hit the computer book
    stands  in a long time!  This is not your typical C book, but is rather
    a fun book to read.  As I told Peter,  most  C  programming  texts  are
    really boring as all they do is describe the functions, give a abstract
    example  and  then  move  onto something different.  This book is chock
    full of real world C stories and  folklore, including a story about the
    C  bug that brought down the AT&T network.  I found the tongue-in-cheek
    attitude and real world examples/stories very, very interesting.   Run,
    don't  walk,  down  to  your  local  store and buy this book.  I really
    really loved this book, and I read most of it in one sitting.  There is
    also a great introduction to C++  for  C  programmers that will get you
    started with C++ and Object-Oriented programming.  This book is not for
    beginners, but is a great second book on C.

    Expert C Programming is also ideal for  those C programmers who want to
    move  to C++.  According to the author, the book puts the "fun" back in
    "functions" :)



[4] "C: The Complete Reference" (2nd ed.) 

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