Other Directions

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In this book, we've covered the essential features of C, but we've only touched upon the library. The ANSI C library contains scores of useful functions. Most implementations also offer extensive libraries of functions specific to particular systems. DOS compilers offer functions to facilitate hardware control, keyboard input, and the generation of graphics for IBM PCs and clones . Windows-based compilers support the Windows graphic interface. Macintosh C compilers provide functions to access the Macintosh toolbox to facilitate producing programs with the standard Macintosh interface. Take the time to explore what your system has to offer. If it doesn't have what you want, make your own functions. That's part of C. If you think you can do a better job on, say, an input function, do it! And as you refine and polish your programming technique, you will go from C to shining C.

If you've found the concepts of lists, queues, and trees exciting and useful, you might want to read a book or take a course on advanced programming techniques. Computer scientists have invested a lot of energy and talent into developing and analyzing algorithms and ways of representing data. You may find that someone has already developed exactly the tool you need.

After you are comfortable with C, you might want to investigate C++, Objective C, or Java. These object-oriented languages have their roots in C. C already has data objects ranging in complexity from a simple char variable to large and intricate structures. Object-oriented languages carry the idea of the object even further. For instance, the properties of an object include not only what kinds of information it can hold, but also what kinds of operations can be performed on it. The ADTs in this chapter follow that pattern. Also, objects can inherit properties from other objects. OOP carries modularizing to a higher level of abstraction than does C, and it facilitates writing large programs.

You might want to check out the bibliography in Appendix A, "Additional Reading," for books that might further your interests.

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