Programming · Ebook

C: Programming Close to the Machine

by Shriira Press

C is fifty years old and still runs the world — operating systems, databases, embedded devices, and the interpreters of newer languages. This free, example-driven book teaches it from first principles: compiling and running programs, the type system and operators, control flow and functions, and then the heart of C — pointers and manual memory management, the stack and the heap — followed by arrays and strings, structs, the preprocessor and multi-file builds, the standard library, and the undefined behaviour every C programmer must respect. Eleven focused chapters with standard, compilable code and clear diagrams. Learn C and you don't just learn a language — you learn how computers actually work.

Contents

1. 1Preface
2. 2Chapter 1 — What C Is and Why It Endures
3. 3Chapter 2 — Compiling and Running C
4. 4Chapter 3 — Variables, Types, and Operators
5. 5Chapter 4 — Control Flow
6. 6Chapter 5 — Functions
7. 7Chapter 6 — Pointers: The Heart of C
8. 8Chapter 7 — Arrays and Strings
9. 9Chapter 8 — Memory: The Stack, the Heap, and malloc
10. 10Chapter 9 — Structs, Unions, and Enums
11. 11Chapter 10 — The Preprocessor and Multi-file Programs
12. 12Chapter 11 — Undefined Behaviour, Pitfalls, and Good Practice