CS23 W'09 - resources

Class handouts and examples

An Introduction to the Linux operating system.
An Introduction to the C99 Programming Language.
Our calcmarks example, developed in class
Introduces the use of Makefiles through a number of examples.
Our datadict example, developed in class
Introduces the creation and use of a library of functions.
Homework coding guidelines.
Some sample solutions to homework questions - HW2, HW3, and HW4.
Version Control with Subversion - an online copy of the SVN book,
or you may like to download your own copy. The book also provides a High-Speed Tutorial.

Some online tutorials and reference documents on C

C Programming Notes, by Steve Summit (Experimental College, University of Washington)
- Introductory C Programming, chapters 1-14.
- Intermediate C Programming, chapters 15-25.
The C Standard Library.
A Tutorial on Pointers and Arrays in C, by Ted Jensen.
The Wikipedia entry for the C programming language.
The USENET discussion Why is C good???.
The Development of the C Language, an historical reflection, by Dennis M Richie.
WG14 N1124 (PDF, 550 pages)
The lastest publically available version of the standard is the combined C99+Technical Corrigendums 1 & 2, dated 2005-05-06. This is a WG14 working paper, but it reflects the consolidated standard at the time of issue.
C99RationaleV5.10 (PDF, 224 pages)
The rationale for the C99 standard.

Moving from Java to C?

The following web pages may be useful for those programmers who have previously used Java.

Learning C from Java, is about 20 pages, and may be enough for many students.
C for Java Programmers course, is much longer and is quite comprehensive (postscript notes and PDF slides).
A simplified chronology of selected programming languages.

Editing C and text files with vi/vim

Throughout this course you will be expected to edit programs and documents that you have created (or downloaded) in order to correct errors, add more material, and so on. There are several text editors available for the computers in the labs.

Which editor you choose is up to you, however, we recommend the use of the vi editor (or its cousin vim or its more graphical cousin gvim) - a general purpose editor used by a large proportion of the Unix community.

However (as is the case with most Unix-based editors), you will need to learn a number of keyboard-based commands to interact with the editor. Again, mastery takes time and practice - don't be afraid to try things!

Some vi tutorials you may find useful include:

Vimdoc: The Online Source For Vim Documentation (select the link "Vim User Manual -> HTML Format")
A vi quick reference sheet
What Is Vim (It's Easier than You Think)
Using the Vi Editor
The Vi Lovers Home Page