C

C is an old programming language. It’s an important starting language in computer engineering since:

• The language interacts so closely with hardware.
• It introduces concepts in the context of memory.
• It requires us to implement functions by hand.

It lacks things like objects and classes, but it does introduce finer control of memory and hardware components. Not to be confused with C++ — which is not a superset of C but closely related.

C versions are expressed by the year of release. The most common versions are C89, C99, and C11.

Language features

• Data types
  • struct
  • typedef
• Qualifiers
  • Type qualifier
    • Atomics
  • Storage-class specifier
  • Inline function
• Memory access
  • Pointer
  • Dynamic memory allocation
  • Segmentation fault
• Preprocessor
  • Header file
  • Macros

Libraries

• stdio.h
• stdlib.h
• string.h
• gmp.h

Tools

• GCC
• GDB
• Valgrind
• CLion

Resources

• Jorengarenar’s blog, for applications and some tips
• For an introduction to the language:
  • Beej’s Guide to C Programming, by Brian Hall (2023)
  • Modern C, by Jens Gustedt (2021)

Courses

• APS105 — Computer Fundamentals, for introductory C
• ECE243 — Computer Organization, for embedded C
• ECE344 — Operating Systems, for systems C