Using the exercise files

- To create programs, you need something called a compiler. You also need a linker, which is important but not as memorable. And you need a text editor. All three of these tools and more are available through an integrated development environment, or IDE. For this course, I've chosen the Code::Blocks IDE, which is available free for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. If you don't have Code::Blocks, then a later movie explains how to find it, install it, and get it configured for use in this course. Additionally, I've provided exercise files.

These will save you a lot of typing time and they're easy to load. You can download a ZIP file of the exercise files from the course page. Extract all those files into your computer's mass storage system. You don't have to do it now, as a later movie describes the process in full detail. The exercise files are all plain text. They contain C language source code, and the file names all end with the .c file name extension. They're organized by chapter and movie number. Eventually you'll use the exercise files in various movies as you learn more about C.

And don't worry about altering the exercise files, because you will. That's part of my teaching process. If you need to keep a clean copy, then you can always download the ZIP file from the course page again.