Learning programming for the first time: Are these books good?

[mrat93]

I'm interested in learning how to create applications for OS X and iPhone. However, I have NO experience in programing whatsoever. From what I've researched, the first thing I should learn is C.

The first guide I tried was this (http://www.masters-of-the-void.com/home.htm), where I was utterly confused after step 1.

I found these three books on Amazon (Learn C (http://www.amazon.com/Learn-C-Mac-Dave-Mark/dp/1430218096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232350550&sr=1-1), Learn Objective-C (http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Objective-ndash-C-Mac/dp/1430218150/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b), and Beginning iPhone Development (http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-iPhone-Development-Exploring-SDK/dp/1430216263/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b).)

Do you think these books would be clear and helpful for me in learning the basics of Mac and iPhone programming? Any better ideas? Thanks.

[hoangluong]

I'm interested in learning how to create applications for OS X and iPhone. However, I have NO experience in programing whatsoever. From what I've researched, the first thing I should learn is C.

The first guide I tried was this (http://www.masters-of-the-void.com/home.htm), where I was utterly confused after step 1.

I found these three books on Amazon (Learn C (http://www.amazon.com/Learn-C-Mac-Dave-Mark/dp/1430218096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232350550&sr=1-1), Learn Objective-C (http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Objective-ndash-C-Mac/dp/1430218150/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b), and Beginning iPhone Development (http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-iPhone-Development-Exploring-SDK/dp/1430216263/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b).)

Do you think these books would be clear and helpful for me in learning the basics of Mac and iPhone programming? Any better ideas? Thanks.

I've browsed through the "Master of the Void". In my opinion, it's sketchy even for beginners. I'm also a beginner and I've never done any kind of programming before. I'm reading a C language book which I think is one of the best for any beginner. Its title is "Beginning C" by Ivor Horton. You can buy an ebook from www.apress.com.

If you want to have a quick look at C before deciding to dig deeper through some book, this tutorial provided by the University of Leicester is very useful: http://www.le.ac.uk/cc/tutorials/c/

BTW, since I notice that you're a Mac user, I think you should also check out a beginner's C book "Learning C on the Mac" by Dave Mark, available in pdf from www.apress.com. There's also a print version. This book is quite introductory and it doesn't cover as much depth as the book by Ivor Horton. It's specifically for the Mac, i.e. learning C using the Mac's pre-installed Xcode.

Happy Programming Learning!!!

[mrat93]

Thanks! I just ordered the three books on C, Objective-C, and iPhone development by Dave Mark. Wish me luck!