--- Welcome to comp.lang.c! Please read this first.

Billy Chambless

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Dec 22, 1998, 3:00:00 AM12/22/98

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Welcome to comp.lang.c!

This post is intended to give the new reader an introduction to reading
and posting in this newsgroup. We respectfully request that you read
all the way through this post, as it helps make for a more pleasant
and useful group for everyone.

First of all, please keep in mind that comp.lang.c is a group for discussion
of general issues of the C programming language, as defined by the ANSI/ISO
language standard. If you have a problem that is specific to a particular
system or compiler, you are much more likely to get complete and accurate
answers in a group that specializes in your platform. Some common ones are:

Languages and Programming
-------------------------
comp.lang.c++ The C++ Programming Language
comp.lang.asm.x86 x86 assembly language programming
comp.programming Non-language specific programming
comp.graphics.algorithms Issues of computer graphics

Compilers
---------
gnu.gcc The gcc free C compiler
comp.os.msdos.djgpp MS-DOS version of the free gcc C compiler

Operating Systems
-----------------
comp.os.msdos.programmer DOS, BIOS, Memory Models, interrupts,
screen handling, hardware
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc MS/Windows: Mice, DLLs, hardware
comp.os.os2.programmer.misc OS/2 Programming
comp.sys.mac.programmer.misc Macintosh Programming
comp.unix.programmer General Unix: processes, pipes, POSIX,
curses, sockets
comp.unix.[vendor] Various Unix vendors

The FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) list has a wealth of information for
both the new and veteran C programmer. No matter what your experience
level, you are encouraged to read the entire list, if only to familiarize
yourself with what answers are available to minimize redundant replies.
The list may be ftp'd from rtfm.mit.edu, or an online version is available
at "http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html". A handy list of subjects
with HTML links is available at the end of this post.

If the FAQ list does not help, then many regular readers of this group
are happy to assist with problems of standard C. We have only a few
requests that we ask be adhered to, for the benefit of all:

* Please put a short summary in the subject line. Descriptions such as
"HELP!!!!!!" are not helpful, and many regular posters ignore such
requests. A good example is, "Problem with pointers and arrays."

* State the question or the problem clearly and concisely. Describe what
you are trying to do, and the problem you are running into. Include all
relevant error messages.

* Include the smallest, complete and compilable program that exhibits your
problem. As a rule, posters in comp.lang.c will not do homework, but will
give helpful hints if you have shown some willingness to try a solution.

* comp.lang.c is forum for discussion, and as such some regular posters do
not give E-mail replies. Very often follow-ups to postings have corrections,
so plan on taking part in the discussion if you post a question. If you
do receieve e-mail replies, it is considered polite to post a summary.

A note on comp.lang.c etiquette: Accuracy is valued very highly in this
newsgroup; therefore posts are frequently corrected, sometimes perhaps
too harshly, and often to the annoyance of new posters who consider the
correction trivial. Do not take it personally; the best way to fit in
with comp.lang.c is to express gratitude for the correction, move on,
and be more careful next time.

This is a very busy group, so these requests are designed to make it as
pleasant and efficient an experience as possible. We hope it proves
a valuable commodity to you.

Feedback on this post is always welcome. Please send it to

Billy Chambless Tim Behrendsen
bi...@cast.msstate.edu t...@a-sis.com

------ OTHER RESOURCES

In addition to comp.lang.c, there is a great deal of information about C
programming available on the World Wide Web.

Probably the definitive list of C resources on the web is Lysator Computer
Society's Hotlinks to C Resoures:

http://www.lysator.liu.se/c/c-www.html

Smaller than Lysator, but less busy is my own small C Resources page:

http://www.cast.msstate.edu/~billy/c-prog.html

Many code snippits (algorithms) are available from the "snippets" collection
by Bob Stout. It's available from http://www.brokersys.com/snippets, or
alternatively via ftp from ftp.cdrom.com in /pub/algorithms.

Web searches can often turn up source code more efficently than asking for
it. Try "http://www.altavista.digital.com", or "http://www.hotbot.com".

Deja News allows efficient searching of Usenet. It is possible your
query was covered recently, and the answer is only a search away. Try
"http://www.dejanews.com".

------ The comp.lang.c Frequently Asked Question subject list

The FAQ list is maintained by Steve Summit (s...@eskimo.com). An excellent,
much-expanded book version is also available; "C Programming FAQs",
published by Addison-Wesley.

The HTML version is located at "http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html".
It may be ftp'd from "rtfm.mit.edu" in the directory /pub/usenet.

The individual sections may be conveniently reached directly by using
the following links:

----- Other FAQs on related topics:

UNIX Programming FAQ http://www.erlenstar.demon.co.uk/unix/faq_toc.html
Unix Socket FAQ http://kipper.york.ac.uk/~vic/sock-faq/

Billy Chambless

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Dec 26, 1998, 3:00:00 AM12/26/98

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Billy Chambless

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Dec 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM12/29/98

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