> > Thanks for the advice, i don't kid myself. I know html isn't a programming
> > language and i have always wanted to learn C anything but i never knew a good
> > way to start, i started doing tutorials online one day and then got
> sidetracked
> > and never went back.
> >
> > You recommend a good program to start with? my issue was there are a million C
> > compilers out there that i don't know what to use.
>
> Programming is programming, it doesn't matter where you learn the theory so long
> as you do it. If you want to make sure your app works on every system, use this
> compiler, which is essentially GCC for Windows. It's a well known compiler used
> by many popular software applications and games, for computers, consoles, and
> embedded platforms. You can get libraries to work on DS games with this if you
> wanted to.
>
> If you want to start programming graphics and games, try libsdl which will
> provide you with a simple interface to get started. DirectX takes a ton of code
> just to initialize and it can be all very confusing, this just gets down to what
> you want to do, and again it will work on all systems. There are some good
> examples on there and tutorials as well, but your best bet is to start modifying
> examples and see how they work. SDL is under the LGPL which means you can link
> to it (i.e. use it in your program) and you don't have to release your program
> as open source.
>
> If you want to start programming applications, wxWidgets is a simple way to
> start building interfaces. It is under the LGPL.
>
> Later on if you want to get more complex (but really, put it way off because
> getting the basics down is hard enough): GTK (LGPL) is a more robust option
> which is a bit more complex, but also has a lot of third party tools that let
> you design GUIs graphically. There is also QT which is more robust and has
> fancier tools to help you develop, but you have to release your program as open
> source. If you want to close it up you have to purchase a commercial license.
>
> The best thing you can do, is program a simple game like Space Invaders, or
> Tetris. They're one screen games, not a lot going on, and they let you practice
> basic things such as key grabbing, collision detection, and simple moving
> shapes. Plus you don't have to worry a lot about doing art which takes a really
> long time.
>
> If you want to start programming applications, then start off by making a front
> end to simple commands you want to accomplish, such as making an interface that
> lets you rename a whole folder of files based on wildcard matching, or making a
> sticky notes application, or an alarm clock program that launches an MP3 of the
> user's choice, etc.
>
> Look for examples you can modify, just start pasting blocks of code together to
> get what you want done if you have to, and get something to work, then start
> building on that. Try and program utilities that would make your life simpler
> on your computer. If you're working on games, try cloning Super Mario Bros
> next, and then move on to 1942 or Contra.
>
> Don't start buying books, just get something to work first, and look at all the
> tutorials you can find. They're not all good and the more you see, the more you
> can find something more suited to you.
>

one can never destroy the power of evil