Talk:An introduction to programming in C

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Revision as of 13:42, 4 May 2012 by Marcus (talk | contribs) (Why start with the C language? Who shall we aim this course at? Other complementary courses we could run.)
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The choice of programming language

C is not an ideal language for beginners, but many hackspace members are interested in C programming for Arduino and other low-level stuff. This course could be very useful to members if it ties in with the Arduino workshops at the hackspace.

Intended target for this course

  • People who have limited time for self-study and want subjects laid out in a structured way so they can learn faster.
  • People willing to teach programming, with the idea that "the best way to learn is to teach" (Oppenheimer).

This course will be most useful to people who have some aptitude/intuition for programming and want to quickly develop their skills. Maybe it's best to start with a weekend of taster-sessions that offers the chance to try some programming exercises, so people can decide whether to continue with the full course, or not.

Suggested complementary courses

  • A gentle introduction to programming in Python -- Could be more appealing to a wider audience, as python is better as a teaching language.
  • A course based on SICP (or similar) that would give us a strong foundation in programming as a discipline, with more concepts and less emphasis on practical projects.