Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/12/31/12:32:40
neal kingcade wrote:
>
> I am a new guy to programming. I was directed to the DJGPP web page by
> another news group ( comp.lang.c ). Some of the folks in the group have
> suggested that I pose my usage of the DJGPP apps questions in this
> group. I am interested in leaning "C" for some database procedures I
> would like to write. I guess this is the place where I should explain my
> level of knowledge. I have never written a "C" program. Twenty years ago
> I took a FORTRAN class because I needed it for the sheepskin. I'm now a
> very serious student, looking for direction. I will tell you that all my
> downloads from DJGPP seem to be working fine. ( But, would I recognize a
> malfunction.). In any event, please tell me if these applications can be
> used by a new guy. Thanks in advance.
Of course DJGPP can be used by somebody new to programming. It's just
like any other compiler; it compiles standard ANSI C. The things that
confuse people most are more related to the way you set up and use DJGPP
as opposed to how you write code for it. All you need is basic
knowledge of MS-DOS and how to invoke programs from the command line.
In fact, DJGPP gives you more choices than most other compilers. There
are two fully-developed and supported IDEs available: RHIDE, which will
be familiar to Borland/Turbo C users, and Emacs, which is beloved of the
Unixy crowd. You can also write code in any text editor. DJGPP comes
with complete online documentation and a complete set of library
references, as well as unparalleled support in the form of this
newsgroup/mailing list.
The only major difficulties that people experience are related to the
fact that DJGPP is so standard that it doesn't support a lot of the
extensions and hacks used by other DOS compilers. Most books out there
teach some flavor of C, such as Turbo/Borland/Watcom C or MSVC. Many of
their extensions won't work with DJGPP, and it can be confusing for
programmers who are used to only one way of doing things. Another
tricky issue is graphics and hardware interface, which doesn't work the
same way in protected mode as in real mode. Again, you have the choice
of doing things manually (and there are a fair number of resources to
help you with this), or using one of the contributed graphics libraries
such as GRX (familiar to BGI users) or the hugely popular Allegro.
The only thing that DJGPP does not do is teach you C. You'll have to
find other sources, such as classes or books, and these are not always
designed to teach you standard C. If you ask, I'm sure many people here
(including me) can give you recommendations on what books might be best.
hth!
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| aka Fighteer I | there is no way to get a new truth |
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