Hello! I'm Bruce Eckel, and I have worked with Chuck Allison to bring you this CD ROM, which is being published by my company, MindView, Inc. Thank you for purchasing this CD ROM Learning Experience. We believe it will provide you with a great value on your educational journey. Although it is designed for people who want to learn enough C to move into C++ or Java, you'll find it useful even if you would just like an introduction to C. Please note that we are assuming that you have already written at least a few small programs in some language; you might still get some value from the CD even if you've never programmed before but that could require some extra effort at first. You'll know by the end of the first lecture and exercises. All the lectures on the CD are quite self-explanatory, and the first one describes what to expect throughout the course. The installation process should be easy and straightforward. Please read the following instructions carefully to ensure a pleasant experience in the installation and use of your new training course. Note:if you encounter a problem you can't solve, you may find a more recent solution on the MindView, Inc. Web site at http://www.MindView.net/ThinkingInC-CD/FAQ.html The installation procedure has the following steps: Install the RealNetworks RealPlayer  Verify that the RealPlayer is working correctly Begin playing the lectures(You can go directly to this step if you already have a working RealPlayer) You may also find some answers in the Frequently-Asked Questions section

1.Install the RealNetworks RealPlayer  This CD Rom has self-contained RealPlayer installation packages for the more common operating environments. However, just because you don't see your platform in one of the links below does not mean that it is not supported. In that case you must go to http://www.RealNetworks.com and follow the instructions there to find and install the correct RealPlayer for your system (you only need the free RealPlayer; the payware one is optional). Install the G2 player for Windows 95/98/NT Install the RealPlayer 5 for Windows 95/98/NT Install the RealPlayer for Windows 3.X Install the RealPlayer for Macintosh If you have a platform other than the above, the RealNetworks web site has support for the following: Mac OS 7.x/8.x Windows 3.1x on OS/2 Linux - a.out Linux - ELF RedHat Linux 5.x Solaris 2.4 SPARC Solaris 2.5/2.6 SPARC Solaris 2.5/2.6 x86 Solaris 2.5/2.6 UltraSPARC SunOS 4.1.x SCO UnixWare 7 Irix 5.3 Irix 6.2/6.3 FreeBSD (Static Link) FreeBSD (Dynamic Link)

2.Verify that the RealPlayer is working correctly  At the end of the installation process, the RealPlayer will start up and play a sound. You should hear something when this plays. In addition, click on this link to verify that you can see and hear RealMedia.

3.Begin playing the lectures  Home.html is the home page for the lectures, which you can start from hereafter. It is the jumping-off point for all of the lectures on the CD, and contains brief descriptions of each lecture and what you can expect to learn from each one. If you become familiar with some of the features of the RealPlayer, you'll find that your experience can be enhanced. In particular, under the "View" menu, experiment with "Normal," "Compact" and "Auto Size" (The effect of "Auto Size" only shows up when you move the mouse off the window — at that point the window reduces to a plain frame). Also try the magnifying-glass icon on the left column of the RealPlayer screen (note that not all the RealPlayers for every platform may have all the latest features).

4.Frequently-Asked Questions  If the solution you're looking for is not listed here, you may find a more recent solution on the MindView, Inc. Web site at http://www.MindView.net/ThinkingInC-CD/FAQ.html. If this does not solve your problem, then go to the support site at http://www.FreshSources.com. How do I compile the example/exercise/solution code on the CD? This CD Rom does not include any compilation tools for C, C++ or Java. It is your responsibility to acquire and install the tool of your choice. However, there are a number of different C and C++ compilers that are freely-available on the internet; you should go to your favorite Web search engine (http://www.yahoo.com, http://www.altavista.com, http://www.hotbot.com, http://www.snap.com, etc.) and look for "Free C++ Compilers" or something similar (you know, the usual thing you do when searching for something on the Internet...). There are several freely-available Java compilers but you might as well start with the free JDK from http://java.sun.com. It's the standard and it has lots of documentation with it, in HTML form.