Course outline

• Introduction to compiling and software development
• Basic scalar data types and their operators
• Flow control
• Complex data types: arrays, structures and pointers
• Structuring the code: functions and modules
• Preprocessing source code

Chapters: Absolute basics

• languages: natural and artificial
• machine languages
• high-level programming languages
• obtaining the machine code: compilation process
• recommended readings
• your first program
• variable – why?
• integer values in real life and in “C”, integer literals

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: absolute basics

Flow control

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

Arrays

• switch: different faces of ‘if’
• arrays (vectors) – why do you need them?
• sorting in real life and in a computer memory
• initiators: a simple way to set an array
• pointers: another kind of data in “C”
• 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: basics
• basic functions dedicated to string manipulation

Memory management and structures

• the meaning of 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 – why?
• declaring, using and initializing structures
• pointers to structures and arrays of structures
• basics of recursive data collections

Functions

• functions – why?
• 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

Files and streams

• files vs. streams: where does the difference lie?
• 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

Preprocessor and complex declarations

• preprocessor – why?
• #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 – why?
• pointers to functions
• analyzing and creating complex declarations

Duration : 5 Days

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