C Programming Basics: Flow Control, Variables, and Pointers

Course details

Released in 1973, C is still at the center of it all. In this course, get a quick introduction to the vocabulary and basics of programming in C, the language that inspired C++, Objective-C, and many others. Instructor Dan Gookin covers flow control, variables, and other basic topics, but also introduces advanced concepts such as pointers and memory allocation. Plus, he provides challenges that allow you to test your learning along the way.

Learning objectives
Recognize how to obtain a compiler and IDE.
Determine the basics of C code.
Identify how to add comments to the code.
Break down how to work with escape sequences.
Examine when is the best time to introduce variables.
Recognize when the components of working with strings.
Evaluate how to make calculations.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Programming foundations in C

1. Hello World

02 - Understanding the process
03 - Obtaining a compiler and IDE
04 - Compiling a sample program
05 - Reviewing the C language

2. The Basics

06 - Introducing C code
07 - Sending text to output
08 - Challenge - Add a puts() statement
09 - Solution - Add a puts() statement
10 - Adding comments to the code
11 - Exploring the printf() function
12 - Challenge - Add a new line
13 - Solution - Add a new line
14 - Working with escape sequences
15 - Challenge - Use escape sequences
16 - Solution - Use escape sequences
17 - Working with values and placeholders
18 - Introducing variables
19 - Experimenting with variables
20 - Using character I O
21 - Exploring the scanf() function
22 - Working with strings
23 - Understanding arithmetic in C
24 - Doing math
25 - Making more calculations
26 - Challenge - Math quiz
27 - Solution - Math quiz

3. Flow Control

28 - Making a decision with if
29 - Making multiple decisions
30 - Challenge - Make a decision
31 - Solution - Make a decision
32 - Looping with while
33 - Repeating chunks of code with for
34 - Challenge - Output a series of numbers
35 - Solution - Output a series of numbers
36 - Nested loops
37 - Understanding functions
38 - Adding a function
39 - Passing values to a function
40 - Challenge - Evaluate a number
41 - Solution - Evaluate a number
42 - Returning a value from a function

4. Intermediate Concepts

43 - Manipulating single characters
44 - Using logical operators
45 - Manipulating strings
46 - Challenge - Build a string
47 - Solution - Build a string
48 - Exploring constant expressions
49 - Understanding arrays
50 - Creating multidimensional arrays
51 - Challenge - Add a dimension to an array
52 - Solution - Add a dimension to an array
53 - Understanding structures

5. Advanced Concepts

54 - Exploring variables
55 - Understanding pointers
56 - Using pointers
57 - Challenge - Create a char pointer
58 - Solution - Create a char pointer
59 - Accessing arrays with pointers
60 - Creating pointer functions
61 - Working with pointer arrays
62 - Allocating memory
63 - Challenge - Write a Hello program
64 - Solution - Write a Hello program

Conclusion

65 - Continue exploring C programming

C Programming Basics: Flow Control, Variables, and Pointers

Authors

Dan Gookin