A Little C Primer

This document is a quick introduction to

the C programming language. It is written
by a novice, and is intended for use by a
novice. However, it does assume
familiarity with a programming language.

The C programming language is a "middle-

level" language. It provides low-level
programming capability at the expense of
some user-friendliness. Cynics tend to
claim that C combines the flexibility and
power of assembly language with the
user-friendliness of assembly language,
but experienced programmers find that the
limited set of keywords and the use of
pointers allows for fast and elegant
programming solutions. C first rose to
popularity with the growth of UNIX, and
has been used creating the Windows
operating system from its earliest
versions. It is also used in microcontrollers
and super-computers.

The original implementations of C were

defined as described in the classic
reference, THE C PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE, authored by Brian Kernighan
and Dennis Ritchie. This definition left a
few things to be desired, and the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI)
formed a group in the 1980s to create a
complete specification. The result was
"ANSI C", which is the focus of this
document.

Tools For Programming

If you are new to programming then there

are certain "tools" you need. The good
news is that these tools are readily
available for free and can be downloaded
immediately. One of the major obstacles
for beginners is the idea of using a
compiler. A compiler is a program that
takes your "code" (which is the technical
term for the lines of programming
language that you will write) and
"compiles" it into an executable (every
time you click an *.exe to install a program
you are essentially running code that has
been compiled and is ready to install or
use on your computer).

When most people start to program in C,

the first question they ask is along the
lines of "Where are the windows that I see
in MS Word?" It's only natural in a graphics
dominated computer world to want to
create a graphical interface for your
program. The easiest way to write a
Windows "style" program in C is by
downloading Visual C++ (from Microsoft).
This IDE (Integrated Development
Environment) allows you to easily call
Microsoft's GUI (Graphical User Interface)
where all the buttons, windows, dialog
boxes, etc are already designed and ready
for use in your program. If you are just
starting out then Microsoft provides a free
version of Visual C++ with features and
functionality that almost matches the
professional version.

Though the programming examples given

in this book are not GUI based you can still
use Visual C++ to compile them. It's also a
good idea to learn to create simple,
command-line programs before moving on
to GUIs. Please note that there are many
free C and C++ compilers and coding tools
offered by companies other than
Microsoft. If you wish to try another IDE,
forums and freeware sites are ideal places
to find out about these.

Table of Contents

Introduction to C; Functions; Control

Constructs

An Introductory C Program
 C Functions in Detail
C Control Constructs

C Variables, Operators &

Preprocessor Directives

C Variables, Declarations and Constants

C Operators
C Preprocessor Directives

C Input & Output

C Console IO
C File-IO Through Library Functions
C File-IO Through System Calls
C Library Functions & Other
Comments

C Math Library
C Standard Utility Library & Time Library
The C sprintf Function
C String Function Library
C Character Class Test Library
C Command Line Arguments
Pointers to C Functions
C Dynamic Memory Allocation &
Deallocation
Common Programming Problems in C
C Quick Reference

C Quick Reference

Comments and Revision History

Comments and Revision History

Resources and Licensing

Resources
Licensing

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