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C Programming

Attend face-to-face, remote-live or via on-demand training

C Programming

Duration: 5 Days (Face-to-Face or Remote-Live), or 35 hours of coursework with personal facilitation over a four week span (On-Demand)

US Price: $2495 (Face-to-Face or Remote-Live), or $1495 (On-Demand)

Delivery Options: Attend face-to-face in the classroom, remote-live or via on-demand training

Registration: Click here to view upcoming schedules and register for face-to-face sessions, click here to register for live remote attendance sessions, or click here to register for on-demand training with a start date that is convenient for you.

Schedule View the course schedule

Description

This hands on C programming course provides a comprehensive introduction to the ANSI C language, emphasizing portability and structured design. Students are introduced to all major language elements including fundamental data types, flow control, and standard function libraries. Thorough treatment is given to the topics of string and character manipulation, dynamic memory allocation, standard I/O, macro definition, and the C runtime library. The course explains the use of aggregate structures, unions, and pointers early on so the students can practice extensively in the hands on labs. Structured programming constructs and varargs functions are also covered. Emphasis is given to the processing of command line arguments and environment variables so students will be able to write flexible, user-friendly programs. The course also includes coverage of portability tips drawn from experienced programmers working in production environments. Comprehensive hands on exercises are integrated throughout to reinforce learning and develop real competency.

Prerequisites

Understanding of fundamental programming concepts.

Course Overview

Overview of C
  • Operating System Independence
  • Design Goals and Capabilities
  • Flavors of C
Compiler Directives and the C Preprocessor
  • Compile-Time Directives
  • Use of typedef
  • C Preprocessor Syntax
Fundamental Data Types, Storage Classes, and Scope
  • Fundamental Data Types and Qualifiers
  • Constants and Strings
  • Storage Classes
  • Scope and Block Structure
  • Scope and Data Hiding
  • Data Initialization
Pointers and Dynamic Allocation
  • Advantages of Pointers
  • User of Pointers
  • Pointer and Address Arithmetic
  • Dynamic Storage Allocation
  • sizeof Operator
  • Double Indirection
Macros
  • Functions vs. Inlining
  • Purpose of Macros
  • Use of Macros
    • Making Code More Readable
    • Auto Adjustment of Compile Time Values
    • Conditional Compilation
    • Making Code Portable
    • Simplifying Complex Access Calculations
  • Advanced Micro Design Tips
  • Using Macros to Help Write Portable Programs
  • When to Use a Macro instead of a Function
  • Using Macros for Debugging
Arrays
  • Purpose of Arrays
  • Declaring an Array
  • Initializing an Array
  • Addressing Elements
  • Stepping Through an Array
  • Variable Size Arrays
  • Arrays of Pointers
  • Arrays of Strings
  • Passing an Array to a Function
  • Dynamic Memory Allocation
  • Multidimensional Arrays
Basic Formatted I/O
  • Standard I/O Library
  • Character Set Encoding
  • Standard Input and Output
  • Character I/O Functions
  • Formatted I/O Functions
  • String Constants
Program Debugging
  • Problem Analysis
  • Instrumenting with printif
  • Instrumenting with ctrace
  • The Purpose of Debuggers
  • How Not to Use Debuggers
  • Symbolic Debuggers
Operators and Expressions
  • Arithmetic, Logical, and Bit Operators
  • Precedence and Associativity
  • Assignment and Casting
  • The Conditional Operator
Flow Control Constructs
  • Conditional Constructs: if, switch
  • Looping Constructs: while, do, for
  • Programming Style
Functions (Subroutines)
  • Purpose of Functions
  • Functions vs. Inlining
  • Automatic Variables
  • The Argument Stack
  • Passing By Value
  • Passing By Reference
  • Declaring External Functions
  • Function Prototyping
  • ANSI Prototyping
  • The _NO_PROTO Compiler Symbol
  • Varargs Functions
  • Passing a Function as an Argument
  • Designing Functions for Reusability
  • Calling a Function from Another Language
  • Returning a Dynamically Allocated Value Using Double Indirection
  • Casting the Return Value of a Function
  • Recursion and Reentrancy
Structures
  • Purpose of Structures
  • Defining and Declaring Structures
  • Accessing Members
  • Pointers to Structures
  • Dynamic Memory Allocation
  • Passing a Structure to a Function
    • As a Pointer
    • Passing the Actual Structure
Advanced Structures and Unions
  • Nested Structures
  • Arrays of Structures
  • Bit Fields
  • Unions
  • Linked Lists
C Runtime Library Standard Functions
  • Character I/O
  • Unformatted File I/O
  • Formatted File I/O
  • Math Functions
  • Miscellaneous Functions
Strings and Character Manipulation
  • Strings as Character Arrays
  • String Library Functions
  • Reading and Writing Strings
Accessing Command Line Arguments and Environment Symbols
  • argc and argv
  • Parsing Command Line Options
  • Accessing the Environment Array
Structured Programming
  • Structuring Code for Quality, Reliability, Maintainability
  • Designing for Modularity and Reusability
Advanced Programming Consideration
  • Writing Portable Code
  • Use of Macros
  • ANSI C Limits
  • Feature Test Macros
  • Client/Server Design
  • Performance Considerations

Related Training

Course
C++ Programming for C Programmers
C++ Programming for Non-C Programmers

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