Short Introduction to C

Here are some of the key differences between the syntax in C versus the syntax in Java:

1. Both C & Java use semicolons to end statements. However, Java also uses semicolons to indicate the end of declarations.
2. C has a preprocessor to handle macros, whereas Java doesn't have a preprocessor.
3. In the C programming language, you must declare all your variables at the beginning of the code block, whereas with Java, you can declare your variables anywhere within the block.
4. The C programming language allows pointers, while Java does not.
5. The syntax with C is simple, while the syntax with Java is complex.

If you are just getting started in computer science, we highly recommend you learn these 3 programming languages first.

> Java - A compiler language known for its ease-of-use & cross-platform functionality. Great for object-oriented programming, modular code & building command-line & GUI software.

> Python - An interpreter language known for its ease-of-use. This programming language is easier to learn than Python & the syntax is much more straightforward. This programming language is consulted in areas of machine learning & data science.

> JavaScript - A web-development front-end programming language. This programming language is essential for server-side web development & provides functionality for a webpage. There are copious frameworks available, but study JavaScript in general to get a gist of what it can do.

There are many reasons why I recommend everyone learns Python as their first programming language. Here are the top reasons:

1. Python has a simple & easy-to-learn syntax & reads like plain English, making it very understandable to the average reader.
2. It is open-source & has extensive documentation which is easy to access & it is easy to access. It's a community-based programming language.
3. It is extremely versatile. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different libraries you can use to extend the capabilities of it to build any application you want, from desktop applications to web applications to mobile applications to AI.

For those of you planning to take AP Computer Science Principles or AP Computer Science A, here are some programming concepts you can expect to learn throughout the course:

• Primitive data types & variables
• Control structures (conditional statements & loops)
• Arrays & ArrayLists
• Object-oriented programming concepts
  • Classes
  • Objects
  • Inheritance
  • Polymorphism
• Recursion
• Sorting & searching algorithms
• Linked lists & other data structures
• Exception handling
• Interfaces & abstract classes
• File input & output

Java is the most popular programming language throughout the AP Computer Science A course. I highly recommend learning as much Java as possible before taking the course so that you already have the basic foundation to learn the concepts more quickly when the course begins.

With most programming languages, there are two general types of loops:

 

> For Loop

> While Loop

 

The for loop has a starting point, a finish condition & a step, like the following generic syntax:

> for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) 

In the above for loop, using the C programming language, "int i = 0" is the starting point. The loop begins with "i" being set to 0. "i < 10" tells the loop to terminate when the value of "i" = 10. "i++" is shorthand form for telling the loop to increment by 1 each time. 

So inside the for loop, if we were to print "Hello" inside that for loop, it would print 10 times, like this:

Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

Hello

 

Conversely, the while loop can have any condition inside of it & any code running inside the while loop will run until the condition for that while loop is no longer met. 

Say we have a while loop which had the following condition: while (i < 10) & we had a printf("Hello") & "i++" inside the while loop. The code will continue to run repeatedly until "i" is 10, then the loop will stop. The while loop is preferred if you are unsure of how many times the code will run.