Advanced C Programming: Optimize Performance and Efficiency

Course details

Once you've mastered the basics of programming in C, you can concentrate on writing more efficient, more functional code. In this course, Dan Gookin offers some tips to help you extend your C programming skills. Learn how to read and write main function arguments, build more useful variables, and work with arrays and structures. Plus, get tips on generating pointers, and take the practice challenges to test your learning along the way.

Learning objectives
Using assignment operators
Working with arguments in the main function
Setting up global variables
Using static variables
Sorting an array
Building an array of structures
Working with the ampersand (&) and asterisk (*) pointer operators

Concepts

Introduction

Go beyond the basics of C programming
What you should know
Using the exercise files

Programming - Weird-Symbol Roundup

Assignment operators
Challenge - Use an assignment operator
Solution - Use an assignment operator
Understand the ternary operator
Challenge - A ternary-operator decision
Solution - A ternary-operator decision

Main Function Arguments

Work with arguments in the main() function
Challenge - Reading command-line arguments
Solution - Reading the command line

Beyond Basic Variables

Set up an external variable
Typecast variables
Challenge - Specifying a cast
Solution - Specifying a cast
Take advantage of static variables
Challenge - Setting up a static variable
Solution - Setting up a static variable

Arrays and Structures

Sort an array
Challenge - Sort a string
Solution - Sort a string
Work with arrays and functions
Challenge - An array-modification function
Solution - An array-modification function
Send a structure to a function
Challenge - Create a structure function
Solution - Create a structure function
Build an array of structures
Challenge - Sort an array of structures
Solution - Sort an array of structures

Pointer Tips

When to use the ampersand operator
How to bind the asterisk operator
Challenge - Incrementing a pointer
Solution - Incrementing a pointer
Understanding arrays and pointers
Challenge - Displaying an array
Solution - Displaying an array
Obeying the order of precedence

Conclusion

Next steps