C Programming Language - Complete C Tutorial For Beginners

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This c programming tutorial talks about how to learn C Programming language, a language made by Dennis Ritchie in the 1970s, praising its simplicity and efficiency. It explains C language basics and how C is widely used for various tasks like system programming and applications due to its versatility. 

The guide covers important elements like data types and control statements with simple examples. It also highlights the importance of comments and directives for organizing code. In conclusion, it emphasizes the value of C Programming courses for both beginners and experienced developers.

History of C Programming

Dennis Ritchie made C Programming language in the early 1970s at Bell Labs. In addition, It's a basic language for making computer systems and software. However, People like it because it's simple, works well, and can be used on different types of computers. Other programming languages were influenced by it.

Benefits of C Programming Language

C is a general-purpose programming language that has been widely used. Here are some key features of the C programming language:

• Many developers use C a lot because it's a very popular programming language today.
• C programming is strong because it has lots of helpful functions and different ways to do things, making it easy for programmers to create complex programs.
• It is fast and efficient, This is because C uses a powerful set of data types and operators.
• C combines the power and capability of assembly language with the user-friendly features of a high-level language.
• As well as It also continues to go strong while older programming languages such as BASIC and COBOL have been virtually forgotten.
• C is very portable, so if you write a program in C on one machine, you can use it on other machines without having to change anything.
• In C programming, a program has different functions from the C library. You can even make your function and include it in the C library.

Characteristics of C Language

Developers commonly use C, a versatile programming language, to create various types of software, including applications, and embedded systems. Therefore, Here are some key characteristics of the C programming language:
 

• Procedural Language:

C is a type of programming language that solves problems by following a step-by-step procedure or a set of instructions.
 

• Structured Language:

C helps programmers organize their code by allowing them to use functions, making it easier to understand and read.
 

• Highly Portable:

C programs can easily move from one computer system to another with little changes, making it a language that can work on many different systems.
 

• Efficient and Fast:

C is famous for being fast and efficient because it lets you control hardware directly and access memory at a low level.
 

• Static Typing:

C requires you to declare what type of information a variable will hold before using it, which helps find mistakes before running the program.
 

• Efficient Memory Management:

Programmers can control the usage of computer memory in C using functions like malloc() and free(), enabling them to determine when to allocate and release memory.
 

• Preprocessor Directives:

C has a preprocessor that helps organize code by allowing the inclusion of files, definitions, and conditional instructions, making the code more organized and flexible.

C is a strong and flexible language, but it lacks some safety features found in newer languages. Programmers using C must be careful about memory and other technical details.

C Programming Uses

C programming language is a strong and flexible language that's been used for many things since it was made in the 1970s. Here are some common uses of C programming:

• System Programming: C is commonly used to write important computer parts like operating systems and system software, such as kernels and device drivers.
• Application Development: C is used to make different types of programs like computer apps, games, and things with pictures and buttons (GUIs). Big software like Adobe Photoshop and MySQL have parts made in C.
• Embedded Systems: C is often used in small computers inside things like appliances and gadgets. It works well in these places because it's good at using fewer resources and handling low-level tasks.
• Compilers and Interpreters: People use C to create tools that understand and run other languages. While C is usually turned into a computer's language, it's also used to build programs with different languages.
• Networking Software: C is used to make things like internet programs and protocols (like TCP/IP). Its ability to work with low-level details makes it good for creating networking software.
• Databases: C programming language is chosen to build important parts of databases, such as SQLite because it's good at managing memory and being efficient.
• Utilities and Tools: C is used to create different tools and programs for computers, like ones you type commands for or tools that help with files and the overall system.
• Game Development: People often use C to make video games because it's fast and can work closely with the computer's hardware.
• Real-time Systems: C is good for systems that need to control things precisely and manage hardware quickly, like in airplanes, cars, and factories.
• Libraries and Frameworks: C creates helpful tools that other languages, like Python, can use to work faster and better.

Meaning of Compiler and Interpreter

The compiler and interpreter transform high-level language into machine-level language. The source program, written in a high-level language, becomes the object program in the corresponding machine-level language. Both compiler and interpreter perform the same task but their working is different. 

The compiler reads the program time searches the errors and lists them. If the program has no errors, it becomes an object program. When the program is large, people prefer using a compiler.  Whereas the interpreter reads only one line of the source code and converts it to object code. If it checks errors, statement by statement and hence of takes more time.

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Comment and Preprocessor Directive

C Comments:

It indicates the purpose of the program. It is represented as /*…..*/ Comment line is used for increasing the readability of the program. It is useful in explaining the program and is generally used for documentation. It is enclosed within the decimeters. Comment lines can be single or multiple lines but should not be nested. Generally, It can be anywhere in the program except inside the string constant & character constant.

Preprocessor Directive:

#include tells the compiler to include information about the standard input/output library. It is also used in symbolic constants such as #define PI 3.14(value). The stdio.h (standard input output header file) contains the definition &declaration of system-defined functions such as print( ), scanf( ), pow( ), etc. Generally, printf() function is used to display, and

scanf() function is used to read value.

C Programming Example

Here is a basic C-Program structure to print the value of ‘a’.

Main function is the entry point of any C Program. It is the point from where the execution of the program is started

Syntax of Main Function in C
 

In the above syntax:

• void: is a keyword in C programming language, void means nothing, whenever we use void as a function return type then that function nothing return. Here main() function does not return any value.
• In place of the void we can also use the int return type of the main() function, at that time main() returns an integer type value.
• main: is the name of the function which is a predefined function in the C library.

Data type in C

Data type Ranges
 

Keywords in C Language
 

Keywords in C programming Languages:

1. Keywords are those words whose meaning is already defined by the Compiler.
2. Cannot be used as a Variable Name
3. There are 32 Keywords in C
4. C Keywords are also called Reserved words.

Operators in C

C-Variables

In C programming language, a variable is like a storage box in your computer's memory. Generally, It keeps a value and can change that value as your program runs. Just like in algebra, where a variable can represent different numbers. However, C-variable can hold different values at different times.
 

Rules to construct a valid variable name:
 

1. A variable name may consist of letters, digits, and the underscore (__) characters.
2. A variable name must begin with a letter. Some system allows to start of the variable name with an underscore as the first character.
3. ANSI standard recognizes a length of 31 characters for a variable name. However, the length should not be normally more than any combination of eight alphabets, digits, and underscores.
4. Uppercase and lowercase are significant. That is the variable Totamt is not the same as totamt and TOTAMT.
5. In C, you can't use a variable name that is a reserved word (keyword)

Control Statement

If-Statement

Syntax of if-statement:
 

Example:

If else Statement

Syntax of if-else statement
 

Example:
 

If-else if Statement
 

Syntax of if…else if…else statement:
 

Example:

C-Program to find if a number is negative, positive or zero.
 

Switch Statement
 

In C programming language, a switch statement helps organize code by checking a variable for different values. It's like a menu where each option (case) does something specific. In addition,  It makes code clearer and easier to follow when dealing with many possibilities.

Example:
 

Output:

Looping Statements
 

In computer programming, a loop is a sequence of instructions that is repeated until a certain condition is reached.

There are mainly two types of loops:
 

• Entry Controlled loops: In this type of loops the test condition is tested before entering the loop body. For-loop and While-Loops are entry-controlled loops.
• Exit Controlled loops: In this type of loops the test condition is tested or evaluated at the end of the loop body. Therefore, the loop body will execute at least once, irrespective of whether the condition is true or false. Do-while loop is exit controlled loop.

For Loop

Syntax of for loop in C programming language:

Flowchart of for loop:

Example:

// Print numbers from 1 to 10

Output

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 

While Loop

Syntax of while loop in C programming language:

Flowchart of While loop

Example:

When the above code is compiled and executed, The output will be:

value of a 10.

value of a: 11

value of a: 12

value of a: 13

value of a: 14

value of a: 15

value of a: 16

value of a: 17

value of a: 18

value of a: 19

Do-While Loop
 

Syntax of do…while loop

Flowchart of Do…while loop

Example:

When the above code is compiled and executed, The output will be:

value of a 10.

value of a: 11

value of a: 12

value of a: 13

value of a: 14

value of a: 15

value of a: 16

value of a: 17

value of a: 18

value of a: 19

Conclusion

In conclusion, C programming language, created by Dennis Ritchie in the 1970s, is a key language for building computer systems. It's valued for its simplicity, efficiency, and adaptability across different computers. Despite lacking some safety features, its direct hardware control and memory efficiency make it widely used in system programming, applications, embedded systems, and more. 

Learning C, with its basics like variables, control statements, and loops, provides a strong foundation in computer science, making it valuable for both beginners and experienced developers in various industries.

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