C Essential Training

Course details

C is as essential as ever. This powerful language lies at the heart of JavaScript and Objective-C and is a popular language for developing embedded systems. This course teaches the fundamentals of programming in C, covering four introductory aspects: code structure, data, program flow, and functions. Instructor Dan Gookin dissects the anatomy of C, shows how data is stored in variables and values, and demonstrates how to use operators to perform math, modify variable values, evaluate expressions, and more. Then you can see how these basic elements fit together in control structures like loops—where the real logic comes into play. Finally, you can learn to use and write functions, the workhorse of the C language, which help accomplish basic and complex tasks in the code, eliminate repetition, and make code more readable. Make sure to take the challenges issued throughout the course to test your new programming skills and compare your solutions with the instructor's.

Topics include:
Writing your first C program
Working the C development cycle
Adding comments to code for clarity
C language data types
Declaring variables
Making new data types
Typecasting variables
Using math, assignment, and logical operators
Creating for and while loops
Nesting loops
Creating functions
Returning values from functions
Passing arguments to functions
Creating recursive functions

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Plunging into C
02 - Getting everything ready

1. The Fundamentals of C

03 - Coding your first program
04 - Challenge - Write your own code
05 - Solution - Write your own code
06 - Getting into the C language
07 - Reviewing code structure
08 - Working the C development cycle
09 - Challenge - Find and fix the bugs
10 - Solution - Find and fix the bugs
11 - Exploring the preprocessor
12 - Understanding header files and libraries
13 - Adding comments
14 - Challenge - Build the foundation
15 - Solution - Build the foundation

2. Variables and Values

16 - Understanding C language data types
17 - Declaring variables
18 - Working with variables
19 - Exploring the printf() function
20 - Using constants
21 - Challenge - Make variables and constants
22 - Solution - Make variables and constants
23 - Understanding variable scope
24 - Making new data types
25 - Specifying characters and strings
26 - Specifying integers and real numbers
27 - Typecasting a variable
28 - Challenge - Basic I O
29 - Solution - Basic I O

3. Operators and Math

30 - Working with math operators
31 - Challenge - Do some math
32 - Solution - Do some math
33 - Using assignment operators
34 - Obeying the order of precedence
35 - Challenge - Get the order correct
36 - Solution - Get the order correct
37 - Working with relational operators
38 - Using logical operators
39 - Understanding bitwise operators
40 - Shifting bits
41 - Exploring unary operators
42 - Challenge - Binary math
43 - Solution - Binary math

4. Decisions and Loops

44 - Making a decision
45 - Exploring the possibilities
46 - Using the ternary operator
47 - Working with the switch-case structure
48 - Challenge - Select an item
49 - Solution - Select an item
50 - Creating a for loop
51 - Setting up a while loop
52 - Challenge - Repeat some text
53 - Solution - Repeat some text
54 - Nesting loops
55 - Breaking out of a loop
56 - Avoiding the goto keyword
57 - Challenge - Work the grid
58 - Solution - Work the grid

5. Functions

59 - Understanding functions
60 - Creating a function
61 - Challenge - Writing a function
62 - Solution - Writing a function
63 - Returning a value from a function
64 - Challenge - Returning a value
65 - Solution - Returning a value
66 - Passing arguments to a function
67 - Challenge - Passing values
68 - Solution - Passing values
69 - Using the main() function's arguments
70 - Retaining values in a function
71 - Creating recursive functions
72 - Challenge - Complete the code
73 - Solution - Complete the code

Conclusion

74 - Next steps