[Wolves] Programming
Mo Awkati
mawkati at yahoo.co.uk
Sun Dec 14 15:34:06 GMT 2003
Hi Jono & Trog
Trog, I am sorry but you have lost me, I am not that advanced yet!
Jono thanks for the offer, unfortunately I am unable to be there Wednesday because of prior arrangement, I joined the LUG a bit late to alter things. But rest assured that I am definitly a Linux fan and will do my level best to come to future meetings!!
I will have a go at C++ as it seems pretty close to what I know so my learning curve is not too steep. And from what you say Qt and kDevelop will satisfy my coding curiosity and interest.
As far as working with Linux command line what sort of skills do I need to learn?
Mo
Jono Bacon <jonobacon at yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi Mo,
If you want to write C++ apps, you will need to use a
C++ compiler (g++ from the gcc suite) and you will
probably want to learn some build tools such as
automake and autoconf - these tools manage which
source code files are built in which order by the
compiler and are used by most open source projects.
In terms of actually coding, usually you will edit
your source code files and then use the compile to
convert this file into a runnable program. When you
use lots of source files you usually use the compiler
to convert each file into what is called 'object code
(a .o file) and then these object code files are stuck
together by a tool called a linker to form your final
program.
If you use KDevelop, much of this underlying process
is hidden from you. KDevelop will let you create a new
project and compile it and then edit the code it has
generated. It is certainly a helpful tool and works
very well.
If you can make it down to the LUG meet on wednesday
we can discuss it face to face in more detail - I will
also be bringing my laptop, so I can show you some Qt
stuff.
Jono
--- Mo Awkati wrote:
> Hi
>
> Thanks James and Jono
>
> Your advice is most helpful. I don't intend to do
> web programming so this rules out the likes of
> Python, PERL etc. My aim is to do apps for Linux.
> Therefore I will go with C++. I have done some
> programming with VB6 and can get my head around
> variables, loops, etc. and I am quite good a picking
> info from books, tutorials etc. Where I think I will
> get stuck is in getting to know how to code and make
> use of some of the advanced functions in C++.
>
> As far as programming Linux itself, do I need that
> expertise? What I mean is if I want to trouble shoot
> a hardware configuration problem, or if I want to
> tweak functionalities will I need to know C?
> Another angle is that for me to understand and use
> the command line and get the most out of Linux do I
> need to know C? Or is it just a case of getting to
> know the command line syntax?
>
> Cheers
>
> Mo
>
>
> Jono Bacon wrote:
> Heya,
>
> Great well reasoned response James.
>
> I think the choice of language is largely dependent
> on
> what you want to do and how much you know. If you
> are
> new to programming, I recommend that you don't go
> feet
> first at C or C++. You can do, and if you are up for
> the challenge it can be worthwhile, but for a
> beginner
> they are quite heavy going. Python is certainly a
> popular choice as a higher level language and you
> can
> find out more about Python from Aq.
>
> >From my understanding, you are interested in
> writing
> KDE and Qt apps. Firstly, I can wholehearted
> recommend
> Qt as a GUI toolkit, and KDE does add some useful
> extensions that merge your application into the KDE
> desktop. If this is the route you want to take, C++
> is
> the language of choice. Like James said, C and C++
> are
> quite similar but very different. I don't recommend
> learning C and then C++ second as you will have to
> "unlearn" a lot of stuff. If Qt/KDE apps are your
> aim,
> C++ is a good starting block as Qt and KDE are coded
> in C++ (although there are some other bindings fore
> languages, C++ is by far the most commonly used and
> officially supported language).
>
> If you want to do web programming, there are a
> number
> of options. I recommend PHP as it is simple and
> productive and works very well. Python can also be
> used, as can Perl and countless others.
>
> There are plenty of tutorials out there for all of
> these languages. Good luck.
>
> Jono
>
> --- James Turner wrote:
> > On Sat, 13 Dec 2003, Mo Awkati wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Folk
> > >
> > > Before I go and spend my hard earned money at
> > Waterstones on a book
> > > to read over Xmas, I could with some advice
> > please.
> > >
> > > I want to start learning to programme under
> Linux.
> > They way I
> > > understand it is that if I want to programme
> Linux
> > itself so that it
> > > runs tasks, then I need to know C?
> >
> > Not necessarily - there are lots of programming
> > languages available on
> > Linux. C is still the prefered language for
> writing
> > low-level code such as
> > the kernel or server applications, but you may
> find
> > a higher level
> > language less heavy going and more productive. Do
> > you have any previous
> > programming experience?
> >
> > (cue recommendations by the various language
> > advocates on the list)
> >
> > > I got a book out of the library
> > > called Programming Linux in 24 Hours (in my case
> > 12 months) by SAMS.
> > > This particular book uses Red Hat. From my very
> > little knowledge it uses
> > > gcc. Is this a Gentoo thing?
> >
> > gcc stands for GNU Compiler Collection, a set of
> > compilers including C,
> > C++, Objective C, ADA, Fortran, Java, etc. The
> term
> > is also used to refer
> > specifically to the GNU C Compiler, which is
> invoked
> > using the command
> > gcc. The GNU Compiler Collection should be
> available
> > for most/all Linux
> > distributions.
> >
> > > Do I need to look for another book if I use KDE
> as
> > I will probably
> > > migrate to SUSE?
> >
> > Well, does "Programming Linux in 24 Hours" include
> > material on KDE at a
> > level you find understandable, in conjunction with
> a
> > programming language
> > you would like to learn/use? For KDE development
> it
> > shouldn't matter what
> > distro you use.
> >
> > > I think I am clear that if I want to creat
> > applications that will run
> > > under Linux I can use KDevelop and Qt.For this I
> > will need to learn to
> > > programme with C++.
> >
> > You may like to have a go at developing with Qt
> > Designer, which lets you
> > implement the user interface using a fairly
> > streightforward "point and
> > click" interface, then add C++ code to turn it
> into
> > a working application.
> >
> > > Top save myself the headache, I know that C and
> > C++ are related but
> > > there are differences, do I need to learn both C
> > and C++?
> >
> > C++ was originally a set of extensions to C,
> > introduced primarily to
> > provide better support for object oriented
> > programming (OOP). The language
> > also introduced several other non-OOP features,
> many
> > of which were later
> > added to C.
> >
> > Which of these you learn (if any) depends on what
> > sort of programming you
> > would like to do. The object-oriented features of
> > C++ make it the more
> > suitable for writing GUI applications such as
> those
> > commonly found on KDE
> > or GNOME desktops, while C may be more appropriate
> > for writing
> > certain low-level utilities, tools or contributing
> > to the kernel.
> >
> > With several minor exceptions, all the features of
> C
> > are also available in
> > C++, so if you have cause to learn C first you can
> > then continue to C++
> > more easily. However, neither are particularly
> easy
> > "first languages" if
> > you're just starting to learn how to program.
> >
> > I also suggest taking a look at Python, or (if
> > you're interested in
> > server-side web programming) PHP.
> >
> > Does anyone else on the list have any suggestions?
> >
> > James
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Wolves LUG mailing list
> > Homepage: http://www.wolveslug.org.uk/
> > Mailing list: Wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk
> > Mailing list home:
> http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/wolves
>
> =====
> Jono Bacon - http://www.jonobacon.org/
> Professional Writer / Web Developer / Musician
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing.
> http://photos.yahoo.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Wolves LUG mailing list
> Homepage: http://www.wolveslug.org.uk/
> Mailing list: Wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk
> Mailing list home:
> http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/wolves
>
> ---------------------------------
> BT Yahoo! Broadband - Save £80 when you order
> online today. Hurry! Offer ends 21st December 2003.
> The way the internet was meant to be. >
_______________________________________________
> Wolves LUG mailing list
> Homepage: http://www.wolveslug.org.uk/
> Mailing list: Wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk
> Mailing list home: http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/wolves
=====
Jono Bacon - http://www.jonobacon.org/
Professional Writer / Web Developer / Musician
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing.
http://photos.yahoo.com/
_______________________________________________
Wolves LUG mailing list
Homepage: http://www.wolveslug.org.uk/
Mailing list: Wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk
Mailing list home: http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/wolves
---------------------------------
BT Yahoo! Broadband - Save £80 when you order online today. Hurry! Offer ends 21st December 2003. The way the internet was meant to be.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.lug.org.uk/pipermail/wolves/attachments/20031214/63957d3a/attachment-0001.html
More information about the Wolves
mailing list