C / C++

I've been programming in C and C++ for a number of years now and I have always found it really fun, which is probably very sad :-) Still, I'm sure that there will be many others who find it fun too and so I hope the information which I've provided here will be of use to some of them!

Reference Charts

• Precedence Chart
  It's always useful to have a chart of operator precedence at hand, especially when you're trying to read someone else's convoluted code! This one covers all the operators in the C and C++ languages and you can download it in Word 6 Document format.

• ASCII Chart
  Another useful chart to have, matching each character of the ASCII character set with its respective number in decimal, hex and octal. Again this chart is available for download in Word 6 Document format.

Programming Contests And Games

If you enjoy programming like I do (sad isn't it!) then I seriously surgest you check out some of these programming contests and games. They give you a chance to pit your programming skills against others and they are a lot of fun!

• Robot Auto Racing Simulation (RARS)
  In this game programmers compete to write programs which control robot cars. The cars race around many different circuits and can be controlled in many complex ways.

  The robot programs can be written using either C or C++ and the base software is available for several platforms including Windows 95 and UNIX. As well as racing against the robot programs provided with the software there is quite a good group of people running competitions on the internet so you can have a real challenge!

  If you are interested you should check out the RARS website which contains lots of useful information such as where to download the software from and how to join the internet mailing list.

• Programmer Of The Month
  Contrary to it's name, the Programmer Of The Month contest is not run every month, but actually once every few months, typically three to four contests per year.

  The contests are run pretty much by email and consist of a problem given out by the "POTM Master". The candidates must write a program to solve the problem and criteria are given for judging the results. Candidates submit newer versions of their program and the current rankings are sent out each week until the deadline when the final versions will be ranked.

  Take a look at the POTM Website for more information on the contest and how to joing the mailing list where the contests are announced.