dias Diaz
Computer Science Adventures

C Programming Barriers to Entry

Posted by Alejandro Diaz on September 12, 2020

C is one of the oldest programming languages still in use today. It’s attributed success comes from its “simplicity.” Weird to hear that when the likes of Python exisits.

But it’s true, C for its time was one of the easier, and more robust languages available for developers. This grandpappy of language originates from 1972. It picked up steam from IBM’s decision to support it on its PC line of consumer computers.

Then K & R (Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie) published what came to be known as the “C Bible”, The C Programming Language in 1978. This book was so influential that it became the pseudo standard of the language.

Sounds great and dandy, right? Well here we come to…

The Difficulties of C

barriers of C is an alternative title. This language is so old and so influential. It’s had nearly 50 years to develop, build a community, improve access, and so on.

Yet, it is so difficult as a beginner to find the resources for learning this language. And this is coming from a guy who has been in the programming world for a while. I thought, “Java is no big deal, neither is Python so C should be OK.”

Those languages do not prepare you for the novelty of handling memory in C. So, who do I turn to?

Why Google!

Reading Materials

After some Google Fu I am recommended K. N. King’s A Modern Approach. I get a copy of the PDF (There’s no E-book format available) and load it onto my Kindle.

I remember coming in King references K & R’s 1988 book. The it dawns on me. C has a scarcity problem of material to learn from.

It’s the opposite of a language like JavaScript or Python where there’s people on every corner of YouTube peddling their material for you to buy.

What I am saying is that C only has a handful of “eh” to good quality material to learn from.

The Takeaway

I’ve documented the materials I dedicated to before moving on below. If you’re looking to learn C (it really is a simple language, even if a little inaccessible) just skip my dancing around and jump to Beej’s guide. His stuff is funny, simple, and in depth enough to understand what’s really going on.

If you want it in E-Book format, save the html page and plug it into a “html to mobi” converters online.