I will be frequenting that wiki. Thanks.

with all due respect because i know it is hard and confusing to make sense of new stuff

but start as you mean to go on - if you want to make a 3ds tracker you'll be doing something no one else has done before. no one is going to have the answers because if they did there'd be your 3ds tracker already. you need to learn how to read documentation and figure stuff out from there

here is the code blocks user manual http://www.codeblocks.org/user-manual

here is the code blocks wiki with links called things like "how do i create a new project" http://wiki.codeblocks.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

good luck

i start making a program, and its different than the guy im learning from in youtube. when starting a new project, it shows no workspace in the little manager window off to the left. ideas? update. this guy is running version 10.05. im just going to keep going with this anyways. not having a workspace is stopping me from running anything.

The GNU toolkit will include pretty much anything you need for preprocessing, compiling, linking, debugging, etc.

i will get started then. thank you to everyone.

gcc is enough, I compile DefleMask with it everyday.

so there is only one compiler (gnu gcc) that works in code blocks? what if i need more than that? is that compiler just c? there is a long drop down list. which one would be c?

just found out about the website codeacademy.org
It has lots of free exercises and stuff and I'm really enjoying it so far because it's all very clear and there's lots of information :-)

tru, I dev in windows because thats what work requires. and big ups to codeblox, once I got that running with SDL, it all started coming together.

The hurdle of learning a compiled language like c++ or java is enormous, especially if there is no prior experience. The first language I learned was Python.Here's a [install guide] and here is a great [book] to get you started. One of Pythons advantages is that it's an interpreted language, as opposed to compiled. Interpreted means you'll have the ability to screw around and try out things and seeing the results immediately. or more elegantly put

Once coding feels comfortable, start reading about git. It's how you keep track of changes in code and share it with others. If you have a project idea, chances are that someone might have something similar on github.

wish ya the best, making a tracker sounds like a fun

I think the reason some people might recommend you learn within a *nix environment is because of the ease of interfacing with other elements of the operating system and/or hardware compared to Windows.

I highly recommend using an IDE like CodeBlocks, especially when you're starting out; it will actively mark your errors before you compile, and having everything integrated makes it easier to code/run/rinse/repeat. Linux and OS X are just "more convenient" because they come with C/C++ compilers built in, but as Delek said, you can also download Windows compilers.

yoyz2k and Vellain are right. C++ "contains" C plus more (hence the name), particularly classes and other goodies. I think C++ is easier to learn with (C can be a bit unwieldy at times), but for any low-level programming, especially trackers, C is the language to use. The good thing is that since so many languages were influenced by C, they're all pretty similar. Personally I think the best thing is to learn the techniques and algorithms that you need, then it's not too hard to pick up other languages.

I thought SDL was a library written in C++?

btw Ritchie is the man when it comes to C, good find

I am trying the virtual machine, but ubuntu gives me an empty desktop. While i reinstall the iso i will try code blocks. update.twice i have installed ubuntu in virtualbox. my desktop is empty. so i am scrapping the idea of using virtual box. looks like code blocks is where its at.

Why a virtual machine to start learning C?, simply download CodeBlocks IDE and MinGW compiler run a "Hello world!" program to check everything and done!

Here is a package with compiler+IDE bundled together:
http://www.codeblocks.org/downloads/26

I recommend CodeBlocks because it is cross-platform.

I recommend setting up a Linux VM. If you aren't familiar with what a Virtual Machine is, think of it as a computer inside a computer. The 2 best freeware virtualization software are Virtualbox and VMware Player. As for what Linux distribution to go with, Ubuntu is pretty friendly to new users. As for compiling C programs, in Linux you use GCC (GNU C Compiler). By typing gcc --help in the terminal, you should be able to go from there.

or make something in PetitComputer !
http://petitcomputer.wikia.com/wiki/Petit_Computer_Wiki