It has to be converted to code that the computer can run. Source code cannot be understood and run by a computer in this state. You learn the C language to write source code. The compiler is the last step in turning your code into a program that runs on your computer. If you are relatively new to the Mac, you can develop your skills with a course on getting started with a Mac. What the heck is that? We’ll explain this and help you to get a C compiler for Mac up and running on your computer. This is exciting! You think you are all set, and then it hits: they want you to have a compiler. You’ve registered for a course, you have your texts and manuals, and you’ve fired up your trusty Mac. O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.You have finally made the move to become a programmer. Get Beginning, Mac OS® X Snow Leopard™ Programming now with the O’Reilly learning platform. In this chapter, you learn the basics of C, which will serve you well whether or not you continue.

If you already know C, you are well on your way to mastering Objective-C and Cocoa development (which you learn about in Chapter 8). Objective-C is a superset of C, meaning it has everything that C has and a bit more. And more than half that battle is learning C. Half the battle of learning to program new applications on Mac OS X is learning to program in Objective-C, which you learn about in Chapter 7. Objective-C is the core language for the Cocoa frameworks, which you learn about in Chapter 8.

Let's face it, apart from the fact that it is still very much in use today, C is the Latin of computer languages.Ĭ also forms the basis of Objective-C, which is a more modern variant used for most new application development on Mac OS X. Popular languages, such as Java, also take much of their syntax from C. Operating systems, such as Mac OS X, are invariably written in C, and most applications make use of one or more frameworks that are entirely written in C. Whether you realize it or not, most of the software you use daily has something to thank C for. How to write C programs using the structured programming style used in the Mac OS X C frameworks, including Core Foundation, Quartz 2D, Core Audio, and OpenGLĬ is probably the most successful programming language that there has ever been. How to write programs in the C programming language

C programming in macbook