Code::Blocks or Dev-C++ in C Language courses

[Flichtschein]

Hi, everybody

If I may input my 2 cents worth ...

My schooling was pre-computer age and therefore I am still struggling with the subject of programming.
However, during a lengthy stint at a now defunct sawmill machinery manufacturer, I had to teach myself the programming aspects of 8080 assembly programming. The only way I could accomplish this task was by seeing (literally) what was happening as I wrote and ran some assembly routines. Book learning and the antiseptic environment of classroom training only, simply did not inspire me at all. So I hooked up my cpu-board to switches for inputs and all kinds of lights and motors for outputs. I guess, nowadays, one would call this approach goal oriented. Since then, I have found that this works well with the younger generation as well.

While there is no longer a record of my previous endeavours, I have come across this little movie clip, which demonstrates well what the end result could be like. If one sets a particular goal, which everybody finds interesting, learning becomes so much more enjoyable. 

Wow! You do that kind of programming? That really looks like fun. Timing is a problem, though, but I get the idea.

Regards,

Fernando

[Flichtschein]

I miss the help facility in Borland, but I guess I will find the way to do this in this forum.

Documentation of what do you want? The C language? A library?

Both, the C languange functions and the standard library, as the help (was it F1 or <ctl>F1) in the Borland compiler.
The glibc documentation is overwhelming for a newbie. A Spanish version would help.

I could also use better documentation regarding Win32 functions, or libraries with which I could turn bits in the parallel port on and off.

It's not good to call Win32 functions directly to access the parallel port, because they are different between Win9X and Windows 2000/XP.
It is advised to use instead a library like inpout32.dll: http://www.logix4u.net/inpout32.htm

I don't know any multiplatform library to access the parallel port, so your students can write the exactly same code to access it regardless what OS is their favorite (Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc). Anyone knows here?

But I do know a multiplatform library to access the serial port (in any case you need it), and it's easy to use. It's called wxCTB, you can find it here: https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=51305&package_id=45182&release_id=347488

[Michael]

My suggestion, Fernando, is instead to teach pure C, to teach the C subset of C++ (see http://www.research.att.com/~bs/bs_faq.html#prerequisite). IMHO this would be better and also give the student an intro of C++.

C++ is not used for programming microcontrollers (for the first courses) because it's more abstract than C.
C is more low-level and closer to Assembly, which is better when you have to interface hardware directly.

Hello,

Sorry for the late reply, but you can not do in C subset of C++ what you can do in C? I have always understood that you can use C subset of C++ whererever you use C.
Anyway, I am not sure that C subset of C++ is more abastract that C (C++ of course). But, may be, I am too much a C++ fan .

Best wishes,
Michael