| Index |
Introduction |
Next > |
Objectives:
- Introduction to computer programming.
- Explanation of the basic components of C -- syntax, program structure.
- Algorithm design (thought process), documentation.
- Creation of simple console programs.
- No advanced Windows programming.
Some useful definitions
- program/code
- Sequences of instructions in a programming language (C, Java, BASIC, Pascal, FORTRAN, etc) that perform a specified task.
- compiler
- A program/application that translates human-readable code (in a programming language) to machine code (executable); it displays errors & warnings if it encounters problems, e.g. syntax errors.
- syntax (grammar)
- The formal rules describing valid constructs in a language, e.g. parentheses must be matched.
A note on C vs. C++ : C and C++ share the same syntax and can often both be compiled by the same tools. C++ is basically just C with some additional features to handle some things that were cumbersome to do in C. C files us a ".c" suffix, while C++ files typically have a ".cpp" suffix. This tutorial covers C since that is what our FIRST Robotics team uses.
I recommend Microsoft Visual C++ Express, which is a free download from Microsoft's site. I do the install without the SQL option (since I'm not using it and that saves some disk space). After it's installed, I go to Tools/Options, select the Startup item in the Environment group, and set "At Startup" to "Show empty environment" and uncheck the "Download content" checkbox.
The free tools that come with Mac OS X and Linux will also work well.
As you follow along with the rest of this tutorial, take your time with each section, making the changes and doing the exercises suggested; that will help you really understand and remember each topic.
| Index | Next > |