Get started with writing simple programs in C while learning core programming concepts

Key Features

• •  Learn essential C concepts such as variables, data structures, functions, loops, and pointers
• •  Grasp the core programming aspects that form the base of many modern programming languages
• •  Work with updated code samples and cover array declaration and initialization in detail in this new edition

Book Description

The foundation for many modern programming languages such as C++, C#, JavaScript, and Go, C is widely used as a system programming language as well as for embedded systems and high-performance computing. With this book, you'll be able to get up to speed with C in no time.

The book takes you through basic programming concepts and shows you how to implement them in the C programming language. Throughout the book, you'll create and run programs that demonstrate essential C concepts, such as program structure with functions, control structures such as loops and conditional statements, and complex data structures. As you make progress, you'll get to grips with in-code documentation, testing, and validation methods. This new edition expands upon the use of enumerations, arrays, and additional C features, and provides two working programs based on the code used in the book. What's more, this book uses the method of intentional failure, where you'll develop a working program and then purposely break it to see what happens, thereby learning how to recognize possible mistakes when they happen.

By the end of this C programming book, you'll have developed basic programming skills in C that can be easily applied to other programming languages and have gained a solid foundation for you to build on as a programmer.

What you will learn

• •  Implement fundamental programming concepts through C programs
• •  Understand the importance of creating complex data types and the functions to manipulate them
• •  Develop good coding practices and learn to write clean code
• •  Validate your programs before developing them further
• •  Use the C Standard Library functions and understand why it is advantageous
• •  Build and run a multi-file program with Make
• •  Get an overview of how C has changed since its introduction and where it is going

Who this book is for

If you're an absolute beginner who has basic familiarity with operating a computer, this book will help you learn the most fundamental concepts and practices that you need to know to become a successful C programmer. If you're an experienced programmer, you'll find the full range of C syntax as well as common C idioms covered in the book useful.