C Programming

Course Summary

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Absolute basics

• languages: natural and artificial
• machine languages
• high-level programming languages
• obtaining the machine code: compilation process
• writing simple programs
• variables
• integer values in real life and in C
• integer literals

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Data types

• floating point values in real life and in C
• float literals
• arithmetic operators
• priority and binding
• post- and pre-incrementation and decrementation
• operators of type op=
• char type and ASCII code
• char literals
• equivalence of int and char data
• comparison operators
• conditional execution and if keyword
• printf() and scanf() functions

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Flow control

• conditional execution: the “else” branch
• integer and float types
• conversions
• typecast and its operators
• loops – while, do and for
• controlling the loop execution – break and continue
• logical and bitwise operators

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Arrays

• switch: different faces of ‘if’
• arrays (vectors)
• sorting in real life and in a computer memory
• initiators
• pointers
• an address, a reference, a dereference and the sizeof operator
• simple pointer and pointer to nothing (NULL)
• & operator
• pointers arithmetic
• pointers vs. arrays: different forms of the same phenomenon
• using strings
• basic functions dedicated to string manipulation

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Memory management and structures

• array indexing
• the usage of pointers: perils and disadvantages
• void type
• arrays of arrays and multidimensional arrays
• memory allocation and deallocation: malloc() and free() functions
• arrays of pointers vs. multidimensional arrays
• structures
• declaring, using and initializing structures
• pointers to structures and arrays of structures
• basics of recursive data collections

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Functions

• functions
• how to declare, define and invoke a function
• variables’ scope, local variables and function parameters
• pointers, arrays and structures as function parameters
• function result and return statement
• void as a parameter, pointer and result
• parameterizing the main function
• external function and the extern declarator
• header files and their role

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Files and streams

• files vs. streams
• header files needed for stream operations
• FILE structure
• opening and closing a stream, open modes, errno variable
• reading and writing to/from a stream
• predefined streams: stdin, stdout and stderr
• stream manipulation: fgetc(), fputc(), fgets() and fputs() functions
• raw input/output: fread() and fwrite() functions

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Preprocessor and complex declarations

• preprocessor
• #include: how to make use of a header file
• #define: simple and parameterized macros
• #undef directive
• predefined preprocessor symbols
• macrooperators: # and ##
• conditional compilation: #if and #ifdef directives
• avoiding multiple compilations of the same header files
• scopes of declarations, storage classes
• user –defined types
• pointers to functions
• analyzing and creating complex declarations

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Total: 90 Hours (approx. 30 Classes)