Tag: C Programming: A Modern Approach

Introduction to C Programming: A Modern Approach

C programming language is one of the most popular programming languages used to write high-performance applications and embedded systems. This programming language was originally developed for operating systems and kernel space.

The C language has two different types of data: 1) Integral data, and 2) Real data. The integral data includes the number, character, string, and boolean data type. In the case of real data, it includes floating-point numbers and complex numbers.

C is a statically typed language, and unlike Java, C does not require any typing for variables. Instead, the compiler checks the types of variables as the program is being compiled.

C uses variable declaration to define the type of a variable. The variable declaration must be placed before their usage.

In C, there are two ways of declaring a variable: 1) Direct declaration, and 2) Indirect declaration. In a direct declaration, the variable name and type are defined in the same line.

Indirect declaration involves the use of the ‘typedef’ keyword to specify the variable type.

In C, the following data types are used:

1) Boolean data type: A Boolean type is used to represent true or false. This data type is either true or false.

2) Character data type: This is used to store alphabets, punctuation marks, and numbers.

3) Integer data type: This is used to store integers and is also called an integer data type.

4) Floating-point numbers: This is used to store real numbers.

5) Complex numbers: This is used to store the real and imaginary parts of a complex number.

6) Pointer: This is used to access memory locations.

7) Array: An array is a collection of related data elements of the same type. It is a flexible data structure and has a fixed size.

8) Structure: A structure is a set of variables that can be used to store data and procedures.

9) Union: This data type combines two or more other data types.

10) Enumeration: Enumeration is used to define a set of constants that are used to define a range of values.

11) Type: In C, there are three types:

a) Data type: This is a primitive data type and is one of the most important data types.

b) Function type: This is a data type that represents a function.

c) Struct type: This is a data type that represents a structure.

12) Variable: This is a data type that is used to store the values of a named entity.

We will start by discussing the syntax of C, then move on to the structure of the C language, then move on to how to write C code. Finally, we will discuss how to use the C language in different fields.

Syntax

The syntax of C is quite similar to that of C++. It is also called as C dialect, as it uses a variant of the C++ programming language. The main differences between the two languages are the syntax and the type of variables.

Let us now see how the syntax of C differs from C++:

Variables

The data types and the variable names are the same in C and C++. The difference lies in the number of modifiers and the scope of variables.

Type

Unlike C++, the C language doesn’t allow the declaration of primitive data types like int, double, char, etc. These data types are automatically defined by the compiler.

Modifiers

In C, you cannot define the function outside of the main() function, whereas in C++ you can do it.

Scope

In C, you can only declare a variable within the scope of a function. In C++, you can declare a variable globally or inside a class.

Basic Statements

In C, you can only write a statement and a semicolon to terminate a statement. In C++, you can also write an expression to terminate the statement.

Structures

In C, you can only define a structure within the main() function. In C++, you can define a structure anywhere you want.

Functions

In C, you can only write a function and a semicolon to end the function. In C++, you can also write a return statement.

Operators

In C, you can only define an arithmetic operator (+, -, *, /, %). In C++, you can also define a relational operator (==,!=, <, >, <=, >=, &&, ||).

Blocks

In C, you can only write a curly bracket to group the statements. In C++, you can also write a block to group the statements.

Statements

In C, you can only write a statement and a semicolon to terminate a statement. In C++, you can also write a return statement, a break statement, an if statement, a while loop, and a for a loop.

Preprocessor

In C, you can use the preprocessor to include a header file in your program. You can also use the preprocessor to create macros.

Conditional

In C, you can only write a conditional statement.