[Sderby] RE: C lessons

[David Jolley]

* mike (mike@mikelinton.co.uk) wrote:
> I was expecting to do a C course and then follow on with the C++
> one,

There's a C++ one?  Who does that? It would make sens for the 2 course
maintainers to talk to each other I reckon. Yes, I know C++ is a
different language, but they are similar enough...  If there isn't a
C++ "course" I'm quite happy to extend my remit - I've done a fair bit
of C++ in my time, too :)

> I would like to use one of the C/C++ programs with Linux SuSE 8.2 ,
> and there seems to be a lot of docs on the SuSE disc ,and the C/C++
> program ,But I am not sure which is the best one to go for maybe we
> could all use the same version and do some of the lessons at home
> and use a website as a base, like Andre  suggests .
>
Do you mean the C/C++ compilers that come with SuSE?
I would certainly intend that any C course to have exercises that
would be done for "homework" :)
The main differences between versions of the compilers wouldn't be
ebough to mean that we'd all have to go and install the same version
of the compiler - that's somewhat overkill.  Even the big C++ breakage
between gcc versions is only the ABI change - the source langauge is
still the same.
As for which language is best, the jury is still out - it's horses for
courses.  If you wanted a generalisation, I'd say that Bigger projects
tend to benefit more from the object-oriented approach of C++, and C
is "better" for smaller projects.  However, there will be exceptions
to any rule-of-thumb.

Putting the lessons on a webiste is not a problem; I hadn't
entertained the thought of *not* putting them on the web; I was just
thinking that doing the lessons in DocBook (or similar) would mean
that students could take course notes rendered from the same source as
the main material (basically easier for me to maintain).
A wiki is a good idea, and will probably be the final destination,
it's just that I've recently got a bee in my bonnet about DocBook :)

> Would there be a copyright problem using the linux C/C++ program
> and the documentation ??.
> 
Again, if you mean the compilers, then no, there are no copyright
problems - as I understand it the "problem" with the copyright on the
"old" C course was that Dave C didn't have the copyright to all of
them. The problem was not the compiler that generated the binaries.
The documentation is possibly also not all Dave C's, I envisage using
the same basic structure as he used, but over time, re-doing those
bits which either need replacing now, or get to the point where they
need replacing in the future.

Cheers,

Dave.

-- 
  Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters;
  united with her, she is the mother of the arts.
     -- Goya.