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First, the C language is certainly not obsolete. Certainly, languages like C++ and Java have moved it to a higher level. In my personal case, I learned several computer languages, Pascal, C, C++, BASIC, several assembler languages through online tutorials. It is important to first understand the art (or technique) of computer programming. Most books on computer languages today contain a CD-ROM. Also, with any computer language, if you do not use it, you will forget it. Some of the worst programs I ever worked with in my 30 years (with some time out as a military pilot) was programs written in one language that compiled in another. (There are a system I worked with once written by a FORTRAN programmer who hated COBOL. The program was a FORTRAN set of programs written in COBOL). The same applies to C vs. C++. C++ is an object oriented language. IMHO, it is important that C++ programmers know and understand C, but also that they write their code in good C++ style with properly developed classes and methods. Both C and C++ have their places in the progrmming lexicon. I also prefer programmers, when learning C++ to learn C++, not Visual C++ (or IDE based C++). IDE based languages are great time savers, but they also hide a lot of details. I think it is important to understand the fundamentals, that is why I think that before you learn C++, you should have a working knowledge of C and the concepts of OO. And, before you learn C, you should understand the properties of twos complement arithmetic as well as floating point. And, you should have an understanding of the things that can bite you in the ass. Another good C++ book is the C++ Primer. The most recent C++ compiler for Linux is GNU G++ 3.04. I believe that SuSE 7.3 uses G++ 2.95. I prefer using emacs, which is very C aware, but Kdevelop is a decent IDE for Linux if you want to use the assistance of the IDE. As I mentioned before Harvery Deitel and son's C/C++ How to Program is a good book, but may be a bit difficult. Some colleges, such as the University of Phoenix have online course offerings. I know that the University of Massachusetts in Lowell also used to have an online Java course. -- Jerry Feldman Portfolio Partner Engineering 508-467-4315 http://www.testdrive.compaq.com/linux/ Compaq Computer Corp. 200 Forest Street MRO1-3/F1 Marlboro, Ma. 01752