Chapter 1: Getting started
This introduction frames C programming as giving a computer instructions to carry out specific tasks.
After this chapter you will be able to
- C as imperative programming. Explain why the introduction calls C programming imperative: a C program gives the computer orders to complete specific tasks.
- C as imperative language. Explain that a C program gives the computer orders about what to do, which is why C is called an imperative programming language.
- Formatted output with printf. Describe how the example calls printf to print lines on the terminal: quoted text supplies the output format, percent-prefixed specifiers mark where numbers go, and the following arguments supply those numbers.
- Compilation and platform portability. Explain why C source text must be compiled and how a correct C program can run across different platforms despite platform-dependent executable code.
- Diagnostics and clean compilation. Explain what the flawed example demonstrates about compiler diagnostics, warnings, and whether an executable is produced.
Section by section
Introduction
This introduction frames C programming as giving a computer instructions to carry out specific tasks.
- C as imperative programming: Explain why the introduction calls C programming imperative: a C program gives the computer orders to complete specific tasks.
Why it matters: This gives you a starting point for understanding what the first C program is doing.
Key terms: C program, imperative programming
1.1 Imperative programming
The section introduces C as a way to give a computer instructions and uses a printf call to show how a program produces formatted terminal output.
- C as imperative language: Explain that a C program gives the computer orders about what to do, which is why C is called an imperative programming language.
Why it matters: This gives you a way to interpret the program as instructions rather than just text on a page. - Formatted output with printf: Describe how the example calls printf to print lines on the terminal: quoted text supplies the output format, percent-prefixed specifiers mark where numbers go, and the following arguments supply those numbers.
Why it matters: It connects a visible line of program text to the output the reader sees on the terminal.
Key terms: imperative programming language, orders, statement, call, function, printf, arguments, string literal
1.2 Compiling and running
This section explains how C source text becomes an executable, why portability requires care, and how compiler diagnostics help identify flawed programs.
- Compilation and platform portability: Explain why C source text must be compiled and how a correct C program can run across different platforms despite platform-dependent executable code.
Why it matters: It explains both why you need a compiler and why one successful run is not proof that a program is portable. - Compile and run command: Describe the roles of the source file, compiler, output-file option, and warning option in the section’s example, and what happens after compilation succeeds.
Why it matters: These command parts let you tell the source program apart from the executable the compiler creates. - Diagnostics and clean compilation: Explain what the flawed example demonstrates about compiler diagnostics, warnings, and whether an executable is produced.
Why it matters: An executable is not evidence that the source is correct, so diagnostics deserve attention.
Key terms: compiler, binary code, executable, platform, portable, c17, -Wall, -o, source file, diagnostic
1.3 Summary
Where this is used later
- Statements (chapter 2) · The discussion of statements develops how programs express instructions.
- (chapter intro) (chapter 2) · The earlier C example identified as Listing 1.1.
- Formatted output (chapter 8) · The later treatment of formatted output builds on this introductory printf example.
- (chapter intro) (chapter 22) · Familiarity with compiling programs using a development toolchain
Concepts explained in this chapter
- C++C++ is a general-purpose compiled programming language with C compatibility and object-oriented, generic, and low-level programming features.
- command-line argumentA command-line argument is a string value supplied to a program when it is invoked from a command-line environment.
- compilerA compiler implementation is the concrete software realization of a compiler that translates source programs according to a language's rules.
- portabilityPortability is the ability of software to operate across different platforms or computer architectures with little or no change.
- imperative programmingA programming paradigm in which programs specify computations as ordered commands that change program state or direct execution.
- format stringA format string is a character sequence containing literal text and format specifiers that controls formatted output conversion.
- callA function call is an expression or statement that requests execution of a function with supplied arguments.
- string_literalstring_literal is a book-specific function-like macro that accepts a string literal by requiring adjacent empty string literals in its replacement.
- escape sequenceAn escape sequence is source-code notation beginning with a backslash that encodes a character or special value.
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