Teach Yourself C by Herbert Schildt, McGraw-Hill, 1990
Teach Yourself C in 21 Days by Peter Aitken and Bradley Jones, SAMS Publishing, 1994
In order to enter C programs into the computer one needs software called an EDITOR as well as the software called a COMPILER to compile it (turn source code into object code as defined below) and to RUN the program.
Dr. Mehta, teacher for <[email protected]> has given us the following web site where a free Turbo C Compiler can be downloaded:
<http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,20841,00.htm>
The downloaded Turbo C 2.01 Compiler is in "compressed" form so it has to be "unzipped". To do so, go to the following web site and follow downloading instructions for the Winzip program and use it according to instructions to "unzip" tc201. Again, ask if you have any difficulty:
<http://download.com.com/3000-2250-10161502.html>
Both Schildt and A&J credit the C language to Dennis Ritchie (Bell Telephone Laboratories, 1972). Both have high praise for it.
Schildt gives little detail on any of this except to say that "...you need to follow these steps to create and compile a program:
1.Create your program using an editor.
2.Compile the program.
3.Execute your program."
(page 10)
A&J call this the Program Development Cycle. "In the first step, you use an editor to create a disk file containing your source code. In the second step, you compile the source code to create an object file."
(page 6). In the 3rd step (according to Schildt above) you "...run the program to see whether it works as originally planned" (page 7).
"A computer requires digital, or binary, instructions in what is called machine language. Before your C program can run on a computer, it must be translated from source code to machine language. This translation, the second step in program development, is performed by a program called a compiler. The compiler takes your source code file as input and produces a disk file containing the machine language instructions that correspond to your source code code statements. The machine language instructions created by the compiler are called object code, and the disk file containing them is called an object file." (page 8).
Thus the C program is typed in the EDITOR in C language and that is called the SOURCE CODE, stored in a SOURCE FILE. It is then compiled using the COMPILER to create OBJECT FILE in OBJECT CODE or MACHINE LANGUAGE. Then it can be RUN by you as "end user".
The steps for all of the above adhere perfectly to "maze logic". From downloading to editing to compiling to running the program, there are SIGNS along the way which tell us what path to take next in the maze. It is just like following a road map. Our streets, roads and building corridors are all mazes as well. As long as the signs are 100% clear, we will make NO ERRORS in getting to our destination, the goal of the maze. This is ONE-TRIAL LEARNING and with no frustration or errors, it is 100% POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT.
The foundation of maze logic is the two-choice situation in a simple T or Y maze. It is conceptually the same as the binary logic which underlies the computer. The machine requires all of its data files and program files to be in binary form. A human learner can learn with perfect clarity when given binary choices as in a well designed maze. This "automates" the courseware or teaching, ie it is "made automatic" for the student. If you as student have made incorrect turns in following the maze so far, tell us. In automated education, "THE STUDENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT". If you haven't followed the maze in an error-free manner so far, squeak up!