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809 lines
28 KiB
C
809 lines
28 KiB
C
---
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language: c
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filename: learnc.c
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contributors:
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- ["Adam Bard", "http://adambard.com/"]
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- ["Árpád Goretity", "http://twitter.com/H2CO3_iOS"]
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- ["Jakub Trzebiatowski", "http://cbs.stgn.pl"]
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- ["Marco Scannadinari", "https://marcoms.github.io"]
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- ["Zachary Ferguson", "https://github.io/zfergus2"]
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- ["himanshu", "https://github.com/himanshu81494"]
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- ["Joshua Li", "https://github.com/JoshuaRLi"]
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---
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Ah, C. Still **the** language of modern high-performance computing.
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C is the lowest-level language most programmers will ever use, but
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it more than makes up for it with raw speed. Just be aware of its manual
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memory management and C will take you as far as you need to go.
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> **About compiler flags**
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>
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> By default, gcc and clang are pretty quiet about compilation warnings and
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> errors, which can be very useful information. Explicitly using stricter
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> compiler flags is recommended. Here are some recommended defaults:
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>
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> `-Wall -Wextra -Werror -O2 -std=c99 -pedantic`
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>
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> For information on what these flags do as well as other flags, consult the man page for your C compiler (e.g. `man 1 gcc`) or just search online.
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```c
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// Single-line comments start with // - only available in C99 and later.
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/*
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Multi-line comments look like this. They work in C89 as well.
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*/
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/*
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Multi-line comments don't nest /* Be careful */ // comment ends on this line...
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*/ // ...not this one!
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// Constants: #define <keyword>
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// Constants are written in all-caps out of convention, not requirement
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#define DAYS_IN_YEAR 365
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// Enumeration constants are also ways to declare constants.
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// All statements must end with a semicolon
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enum days {SUN = 1, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT};
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// MON gets 2 automatically, TUE gets 3, etc.
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// Import headers with #include
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#include <stdlib.h>
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#include <stdio.h>
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#include <string.h>
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// (File names between <angle brackets> are headers from the C standard library.)
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// For your own headers, use double quotes instead of angle brackets:
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//#include "my_header.h"
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// Declare function signatures in advance in a .h file, or at the top of
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// your .c file.
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void function_1();
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int function_2(void);
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// Must declare a 'function prototype' before main() when functions occur after
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// your main() function.
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int add_two_ints(int x1, int x2); // function prototype
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// although `int add_two_ints(int, int);` is also valid (no need to name the args),
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// it is recommended to name arguments in the prototype as well for easier inspection
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// Your program's entry point is a function called
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// main with an integer return type.
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int main(void) {
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// your program
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}
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// The command line arguments used to run your program are also passed to main
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// argc being the number of arguments - your program's name counts as 1
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// argv is an array of character arrays - containing the arguments themselves
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// argv[0] = name of your program, argv[1] = first argument, etc.
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int main (int argc, char** argv)
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{
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// print output using printf, for "print formatted"
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// %d is an integer, \n is a newline
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printf("%d\n", 0); // => Prints 0
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// Types
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// All variables MUST be declared at the top of the current block scope
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// we declare them dynamically along the code for the sake of the tutorial
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// ints are usually 4 bytes
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int x_int = 0;
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// shorts are usually 2 bytes
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short x_short = 0;
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// chars are guaranteed to be 1 byte
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char x_char = 0;
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char y_char = 'y'; // Char literals are quoted with ''
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// longs are often 4 to 8 bytes; long longs are guaranteed to be at least
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// 64 bits
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long x_long = 0;
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long long x_long_long = 0;
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// floats are usually 32-bit floating point numbers
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float x_float = 0.0f; // 'f' suffix here denotes floating point literal
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// doubles are usually 64-bit floating-point numbers
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double x_double = 0.0; // real numbers without any suffix are doubles
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// integer types may be unsigned (greater than or equal to zero)
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unsigned short ux_short;
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unsigned int ux_int;
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unsigned long long ux_long_long;
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// chars inside single quotes are integers in machine's character set.
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'0'; // => 48 in the ASCII character set.
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'A'; // => 65 in the ASCII character set.
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// sizeof(T) gives you the size of a variable with type T in bytes
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// sizeof(obj) yields the size of the expression (variable, literal, etc.).
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printf("%zu\n", sizeof(int)); // => 4 (on most machines with 4-byte words)
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// If the argument of the `sizeof` operator is an expression, then its argument
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// is not evaluated (except VLAs (see below)).
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// The value it yields in this case is a compile-time constant.
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int a = 1;
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// size_t is an unsigned integer type of at least 2 bytes used to represent
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// the size of an object.
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size_t size = sizeof(a++); // a++ is not evaluated
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printf("sizeof(a++) = %zu where a = %d\n", size, a);
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// prints "sizeof(a++) = 4 where a = 1" (on a 32-bit architecture)
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// Arrays must be initialized with a concrete size.
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char my_char_array[20]; // This array occupies 1 * 20 = 20 bytes
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int my_int_array[20]; // This array occupies 4 * 20 = 80 bytes
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// (assuming 4-byte words)
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// You can initialize an array to 0 thusly:
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char my_array[20] = {0};
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// Indexing an array is like other languages -- or,
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// rather, other languages are like C
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my_array[0]; // => 0
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// Arrays are mutable; it's just memory!
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my_array[1] = 2;
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printf("%d\n", my_array[1]); // => 2
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// In C99 (and as an optional feature in C11), variable-length arrays (VLAs)
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// can be declared as well. The size of such an array need not be a compile
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// time constant:
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printf("Enter the array size: "); // ask the user for an array size
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int array_size;
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fscanf(stdin, "%d", &array_size);
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int var_length_array[array_size]; // declare the VLA
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printf("sizeof array = %zu\n", sizeof var_length_array);
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// Example:
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// > Enter the array size: 10
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// > sizeof array = 40
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// Strings are just arrays of chars terminated by a NULL (0x00) byte,
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// represented in strings as the special character '\0'.
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// (We don't have to include the NULL byte in string literals; the compiler
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// inserts it at the end of the array for us.)
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char a_string[20] = "This is a string";
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printf("%s\n", a_string); // %s formats a string
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printf("%d\n", a_string[16]); // => 0
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// i.e., byte #17 is 0 (as are 18, 19, and 20)
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// If we have characters between single quotes, that's a character literal.
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// It's of type `int`, and *not* `char` (for historical reasons).
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int cha = 'a'; // fine
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char chb = 'a'; // fine too (implicit conversion from int to char)
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// Multi-dimensional arrays:
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int multi_array[2][5] = {
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{1, 2, 3, 4, 5},
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{6, 7, 8, 9, 0}
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};
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// access elements:
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int array_int = multi_array[0][2]; // => 3
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// Operators
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// Shorthands for multiple declarations:
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int i1 = 1, i2 = 2;
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float f1 = 1.0, f2 = 2.0;
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int b, c;
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b = c = 0;
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// Arithmetic is straightforward
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i1 + i2; // => 3
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i2 - i1; // => 1
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i2 * i1; // => 2
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i1 / i2; // => 0 (0.5, but truncated towards 0)
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// You need to cast at least one integer to float to get a floating-point result
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(float)i1 / i2; // => 0.5f
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i1 / (double)i2; // => 0.5 // Same with double
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f1 / f2; // => 0.5, plus or minus epsilon
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// Floating-point numbers and calculations are not exact
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// Modulo is there as well
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11 % 3; // => 2
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// Comparison operators are probably familiar, but
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// there is no Boolean type in C. We use ints instead.
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// (Or _Bool or bool in C99.)
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// 0 is false, anything else is true. (The comparison
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// operators always yield 0 or 1.)
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3 == 2; // => 0 (false)
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3 != 2; // => 1 (true)
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3 > 2; // => 1
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3 < 2; // => 0
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2 <= 2; // => 1
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2 >= 2; // => 1
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// C is not Python - comparisons don't chain.
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// Warning: The line below will compile, but it means `(0 < a) < 2`.
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// This expression is always true, because (0 < a) could be either 1 or 0.
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// In this case it's 1, because (0 < 1).
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int between_0_and_2 = 0 < a < 2;
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// Instead use:
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int between_0_and_2 = 0 < a && a < 2;
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// Logic works on ints
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!3; // => 0 (Logical not)
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!0; // => 1
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1 && 1; // => 1 (Logical and)
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0 && 1; // => 0
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0 || 1; // => 1 (Logical or)
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0 || 0; // => 0
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// Conditional ternary expression ( ? : )
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int e = 5;
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int f = 10;
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int z;
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z = (e > f) ? e : f; // => 10 "if e > f return e, else return f."
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// Increment and decrement operators:
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int j = 0;
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int s = j++; // Return j THEN increase j. (s = 0, j = 1)
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s = ++j; // Increase j THEN return j. (s = 2, j = 2)
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// same with j-- and --j
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// Bitwise operators!
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~0x0F; // => 0xFFFFFFF0 (bitwise negation, "1's complement", example result for 32-bit int)
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0x0F & 0xF0; // => 0x00 (bitwise AND)
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0x0F | 0xF0; // => 0xFF (bitwise OR)
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0x04 ^ 0x0F; // => 0x0B (bitwise XOR)
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0x01 << 1; // => 0x02 (bitwise left shift (by 1))
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0x02 >> 1; // => 0x01 (bitwise right shift (by 1))
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// Be careful when shifting signed integers - the following are undefined:
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// - shifting into the sign bit of a signed integer (int a = 1 << 31)
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// - left-shifting a negative number (int a = -1 << 2)
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// - shifting by an offset which is >= the width of the type of the LHS:
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// int a = 1 << 32; // UB if int is 32 bits wide
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// Control Structures
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///////////////////////////////////////
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if (0) {
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printf("I am never run\n");
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} else if (0) {
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printf("I am also never run\n");
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} else {
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printf("I print\n");
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}
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// While loops exist
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int ii = 0;
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while (ii < 10) { //ANY value less than ten is true.
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printf("%d, ", ii++); // ii++ increments ii AFTER using its current value.
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} // => prints "0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, "
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printf("\n");
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int kk = 0;
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do {
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printf("%d, ", kk);
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} while (++kk < 10); // ++kk increments kk BEFORE using its current value.
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// => prints "0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, "
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printf("\n");
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// For loops too
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int jj;
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for (jj=0; jj < 10; jj++) {
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printf("%d, ", jj);
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} // => prints "0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, "
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printf("\n");
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// *****NOTES*****:
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// Loops and Functions MUST have a body. If no body is needed:
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int i;
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for (i = 0; i <= 5; i++) {
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; // use semicolon to act as the body (null statement)
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}
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// Or
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for (i = 0; i <= 5; i++);
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// branching with multiple choices: switch()
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switch (a) {
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case 0: // labels need to be integral *constant* expressions (such as enums)
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printf("Hey, 'a' equals 0!\n");
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break; // if you don't break, control flow falls over labels
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case 1:
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printf("Huh, 'a' equals 1!\n");
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break;
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// Be careful - without a "break", execution continues until the
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// next "break" is reached.
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case 3:
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case 4:
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printf("Look at that.. 'a' is either 3, or 4\n");
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break;
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default:
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// if `some_integral_expression` didn't match any of the labels
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fputs("Error!\n", stderr);
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exit(-1);
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break;
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}
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/*
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using "goto" in C
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*/
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typedef enum { false, true } bool;
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// for C don't have bool as data type before C99 :(
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bool disaster = false;
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int i, j;
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for(i=0;i<100;++i)
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for(j=0;j<100;++j)
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{
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if((i + j) >= 150)
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disaster = true;
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if(disaster)
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goto error;
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}
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error :
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printf("Error occurred at i = %d & j = %d.\n", i, j);
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/*
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https://ideone.com/GuPhd6
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this will print out "Error occurred at i = 51 & j = 99."
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*/
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// Typecasting
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// Every value in C has a type, but you can cast one value into another type
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// if you want (with some constraints).
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int x_hex = 0x01; // You can assign vars with hex literals
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// Casting between types will attempt to preserve their numeric values
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printf("%d\n", x_hex); // => Prints 1
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printf("%d\n", (short) x_hex); // => Prints 1
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printf("%d\n", (char) x_hex); // => Prints 1
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// Types will overflow without warning
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printf("%d\n", (unsigned char) 257); // => 1 (Max char = 255 if char is 8 bits long)
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// For determining the max value of a `char`, a `signed char` and an `unsigned char`,
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// respectively, use the CHAR_MAX, SCHAR_MAX and UCHAR_MAX macros from <limits.h>
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// Integral types can be cast to floating-point types, and vice-versa.
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printf("%f\n", (float)100); // %f formats a float
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printf("%lf\n", (double)100); // %lf formats a double
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printf("%d\n", (char)100.0);
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// Pointers
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///////////////////////////////////////
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// A pointer is a variable declared to store a memory address. Its declaration will
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// also tell you the type of data it points to. You can retrieve the memory address
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// of your variables, then mess with them.
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int x = 0;
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printf("%p\n", (void *)&x); // Use & to retrieve the address of a variable
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// (%p formats an object pointer of type void *)
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// => Prints some address in memory;
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// Pointers start with * in their declaration
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int *px, not_a_pointer; // px is a pointer to an int
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px = &x; // Stores the address of x in px
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printf("%p\n", (void *)px); // => Prints some address in memory
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printf("%zu, %zu\n", sizeof(px), sizeof(not_a_pointer));
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// => Prints "8, 4" on a typical 64-bit system
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// To retrieve the value at the address a pointer is pointing to,
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// put * in front to dereference it.
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// Note: yes, it may be confusing that '*' is used for _both_ declaring a
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// pointer and dereferencing it.
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printf("%d\n", *px); // => Prints 0, the value of x
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// You can also change the value the pointer is pointing to.
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// We'll have to wrap the dereference in parenthesis because
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// ++ has a higher precedence than *.
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(*px)++; // Increment the value px is pointing to by 1
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printf("%d\n", *px); // => Prints 1
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printf("%d\n", x); // => Prints 1
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// Arrays are a good way to allocate a contiguous block of memory
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int x_array[20]; //declares array of size 20 (cannot change size)
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int xx;
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for (xx = 0; xx < 20; xx++) {
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x_array[xx] = 20 - xx;
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} // Initialize x_array to 20, 19, 18,... 2, 1
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// Declare a pointer of type int and initialize it to point to x_array
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int* x_ptr = x_array;
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// x_ptr now points to the first element in the array (the integer 20).
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// This works because arrays often decay into pointers to their first element.
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// For example, when an array is passed to a function or is assigned to a pointer,
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// it decays into (implicitly converted to) a pointer.
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// Exceptions: when the array is the argument of the `&` (address-of) operator:
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int arr[10];
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int (*ptr_to_arr)[10] = &arr; // &arr is NOT of type `int *`!
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// It's of type "pointer to array" (of ten `int`s).
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// or when the array is a string literal used for initializing a char array:
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char otherarr[] = "foobarbazquirk";
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// or when it's the argument of the `sizeof` or `alignof` operator:
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int arraythethird[10];
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int *ptr = arraythethird; // equivalent with int *ptr = &arr[0];
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printf("%zu, %zu\n", sizeof arraythethird, sizeof ptr);
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// probably prints "40, 4" or "40, 8"
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// Pointers are incremented and decremented based on their type
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// (this is called pointer arithmetic)
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printf("%d\n", *(x_ptr + 1)); // => Prints 19
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printf("%d\n", x_array[1]); // => Prints 19
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// You can also dynamically allocate contiguous blocks of memory with the
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// standard library function malloc, which takes one argument of type size_t
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// representing the number of bytes to allocate (usually from the heap, although this
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// may not be true on e.g. embedded systems - the C standard says nothing about it).
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int *my_ptr = malloc(sizeof(*my_ptr) * 20);
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for (xx = 0; xx < 20; xx++) {
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*(my_ptr + xx) = 20 - xx; // my_ptr[xx] = 20-xx
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} // Initialize memory to 20, 19, 18, 17... 2, 1 (as ints)
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// Be careful passing user-provided values to malloc! If you want
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// to be safe, you can use calloc instead (which, unlike malloc, also zeros out the memory)
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int* my_other_ptr = calloc(20, sizeof(int));
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// Note that there is no standard way to get the length of a
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// dynamically allocated array in C. Because of this, if your arrays are
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// going to be passed around your program a lot, you need another variable
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// to keep track of the number of elements (size) of an array. See the
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// functions section for more info.
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size_t size = 10;
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int *my_arr = calloc(size, sizeof(int));
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// Add an element to the array
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size++;
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my_arr = realloc(my_arr, sizeof(int) * size);
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if (my_arr == NULL) {
|
|
//Remember to check for realloc failure!
|
|
return
|
|
}
|
|
my_arr[10] = 5;
|
|
|
|
// Dereferencing memory that you haven't allocated gives
|
|
// "unpredictable results" - the program is said to invoke "undefined behavior"
|
|
printf("%d\n", *(my_ptr + 21)); // => Prints who-knows-what? It may even crash.
|
|
|
|
// When you're done with a malloc'd block of memory, you need to free it,
|
|
// or else no one else can use it until your program terminates
|
|
// (this is called a "memory leak"):
|
|
free(my_ptr);
|
|
|
|
// Strings are arrays of char, but they are usually represented as a
|
|
// pointer-to-char (which is a pointer to the first element of the array).
|
|
// It's good practice to use `const char *' when referring to a string literal,
|
|
// since string literals shall not be modified (i.e. "foo"[0] = 'a' is ILLEGAL.)
|
|
const char *my_str = "This is my very own string literal";
|
|
printf("%c\n", *my_str); // => 'T'
|
|
|
|
// This is not the case if the string is an array
|
|
// (potentially initialized with a string literal)
|
|
// that resides in writable memory, as in:
|
|
char foo[] = "foo";
|
|
foo[0] = 'a'; // this is legal, foo now contains "aoo"
|
|
|
|
function_1();
|
|
} // end main function
|
|
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
// Functions
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
|
|
// Function declaration syntax:
|
|
// <return type> <function name>(<args>)
|
|
|
|
int add_two_ints(int x1, int x2)
|
|
{
|
|
return x1 + x2; // Use return to return a value
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
/*
|
|
Functions are call by value. When a function is called, the arguments passed to
|
|
the function are copies of the original arguments (except arrays). Anything you
|
|
do to the arguments in the function do not change the value of the original
|
|
argument where the function was called.
|
|
|
|
Use pointers if you need to edit the original argument values.
|
|
|
|
Example: in-place string reversal
|
|
*/
|
|
|
|
// A void function returns no value
|
|
void str_reverse(char *str_in)
|
|
{
|
|
char tmp;
|
|
int ii = 0;
|
|
size_t len = strlen(str_in); // `strlen()` is part of the c standard library
|
|
for (ii = 0; ii < len / 2; ii++) {
|
|
tmp = str_in[ii];
|
|
str_in[ii] = str_in[len - ii - 1]; // ii-th char from end
|
|
str_in[len - ii - 1] = tmp;
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
//NOTE: string.h header file needs to be included to use strlen()
|
|
|
|
/*
|
|
char c[] = "This is a test.";
|
|
str_reverse(c);
|
|
printf("%s\n", c); // => ".tset a si sihT"
|
|
*/
|
|
/*
|
|
as we can return only one variable
|
|
to change values of more than one variables we use call by reference
|
|
*/
|
|
void swapTwoNumbers(int *a, int *b)
|
|
{
|
|
int temp = *a;
|
|
*a = *b;
|
|
*b = temp;
|
|
}
|
|
/*
|
|
int first = 10;
|
|
int second = 20;
|
|
printf("first: %d\nsecond: %d\n", first, second);
|
|
swapTwoNumbers(&first, &second);
|
|
printf("first: %d\nsecond: %d\n", first, second);
|
|
// values will be swapped
|
|
*/
|
|
|
|
/*
|
|
With regards to arrays, they will always be passed to functions
|
|
as pointers. Even if you statically allocate an array like `arr[10]`,
|
|
it still gets passed as a pointer to the first element in any function calls.
|
|
Again, there is no standard way to get the size of a dynamically allocated
|
|
array in C.
|
|
*/
|
|
// Size must be passed!
|
|
// Otherwise, this function has no way of knowing how big the array is.
|
|
void printIntArray(int *arr, size_t size) {
|
|
int i;
|
|
for (i = 0; i < size; i++) {
|
|
printf("arr[%d] is: %d\n", i, arr[i]);
|
|
}
|
|
}
|
|
/*
|
|
int my_arr[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 };
|
|
int size = 10;
|
|
printIntArray(my_arr, size);
|
|
// will print "arr[0] is: 1" etc
|
|
*/
|
|
|
|
// if referring to external variables outside function, you should use the extern keyword.
|
|
int i = 0;
|
|
void testFunc() {
|
|
extern int i; //i here is now using external variable i
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
// make external variables private to source file with static:
|
|
static int j = 0; //other files using testFunc2() cannot access variable j
|
|
void testFunc2() {
|
|
extern int j;
|
|
}
|
|
//**You may also declare functions as static to make them private**
|
|
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
// User-defined types and structs
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
|
|
// Typedefs can be used to create type aliases
|
|
typedef int my_type;
|
|
my_type my_type_var = 0;
|
|
|
|
// Structs are just collections of data, the members are allocated sequentially,
|
|
// in the order they are written:
|
|
struct rectangle {
|
|
int width;
|
|
int height;
|
|
};
|
|
|
|
// It's not generally true that
|
|
// sizeof(struct rectangle) == sizeof(int) + sizeof(int)
|
|
// due to potential padding between the structure members (this is for alignment
|
|
// reasons). [1]
|
|
|
|
void function_1()
|
|
{
|
|
struct rectangle my_rec;
|
|
|
|
// Access struct members with .
|
|
my_rec.width = 10;
|
|
my_rec.height = 20;
|
|
|
|
// You can declare pointers to structs
|
|
struct rectangle *my_rec_ptr = &my_rec;
|
|
|
|
// Use dereferencing to set struct pointer members...
|
|
(*my_rec_ptr).width = 30;
|
|
|
|
// ... or even better: prefer the -> shorthand for the sake of readability
|
|
my_rec_ptr->height = 10; // Same as (*my_rec_ptr).height = 10;
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
// You can apply a typedef to a struct for convenience
|
|
typedef struct rectangle rect;
|
|
|
|
int area(rect r)
|
|
{
|
|
return r.width * r.height;
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
// if you have large structs, you can pass them "by pointer" to avoid copying
|
|
// the whole struct:
|
|
int areaptr(const rect *r)
|
|
{
|
|
return r->width * r->height;
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
// Function pointers
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
/*
|
|
At run time, functions are located at known memory addresses. Function pointers are
|
|
much like any other pointer (they just store a memory address), but can be used
|
|
to invoke functions directly, and to pass handlers (or callback functions) around.
|
|
However, definition syntax may be initially confusing.
|
|
|
|
Example: use str_reverse from a pointer
|
|
*/
|
|
void str_reverse_through_pointer(char *str_in) {
|
|
// Define a function pointer variable, named f.
|
|
void (*f)(char *); // Signature should exactly match the target function.
|
|
f = &str_reverse; // Assign the address for the actual function (determined at run time)
|
|
// f = str_reverse; would work as well - functions decay into pointers, similar to arrays
|
|
(*f)(str_in); // Just calling the function through the pointer
|
|
// f(str_in); // That's an alternative but equally valid syntax for calling it.
|
|
}
|
|
|
|
/*
|
|
As long as function signatures match, you can assign any function to the same pointer.
|
|
Function pointers are usually typedef'd for simplicity and readability, as follows:
|
|
*/
|
|
|
|
typedef void (*my_fnp_type)(char *);
|
|
|
|
// Then used when declaring the actual pointer variable:
|
|
// ...
|
|
// my_fnp_type f;
|
|
|
|
|
|
//Special characters:
|
|
/*
|
|
'\a'; // alert (bell) character
|
|
'\n'; // newline character
|
|
'\t'; // tab character (left justifies text)
|
|
'\v'; // vertical tab
|
|
'\f'; // new page (form feed)
|
|
'\r'; // carriage return
|
|
'\b'; // backspace character
|
|
'\0'; // NULL character. Usually put at end of strings in C.
|
|
// hello\n\0. \0 used by convention to mark end of string.
|
|
'\\'; // backslash
|
|
'\?'; // question mark
|
|
'\''; // single quote
|
|
'\"'; // double quote
|
|
'\xhh'; // hexadecimal number. Example: '\xb' = vertical tab character
|
|
'\0oo'; // octal number. Example: '\013' = vertical tab character
|
|
|
|
//print formatting:
|
|
"%d"; // integer
|
|
"%3d"; // integer with minimum of length 3 digits (right justifies text)
|
|
"%s"; // string
|
|
"%f"; // float
|
|
"%ld"; // long
|
|
"%3.2f"; // minimum 3 digits left and 2 digits right decimal float
|
|
"%7.4s"; // (can do with strings too)
|
|
"%c"; // char
|
|
"%p"; // pointer
|
|
"%x"; // hexadecimal
|
|
"%o"; // octal
|
|
"%%"; // prints %
|
|
*/
|
|
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
// Order of Evaluation
|
|
///////////////////////////////////////
|
|
|
|
//---------------------------------------------------//
|
|
// Operators | Associativity //
|
|
//---------------------------------------------------//
|
|
// () [] -> . | left to right //
|
|
// ! ~ ++ -- + = *(type)sizeof | right to left //
|
|
// * / % | left to right //
|
|
// + - | left to right //
|
|
// << >> | left to right //
|
|
// < <= > >= | left to right //
|
|
// == != | left to right //
|
|
// & | left to right //
|
|
// ^ | left to right //
|
|
// | | left to right //
|
|
// && | left to right //
|
|
// || | left to right //
|
|
// ?: | right to left //
|
|
// = += -= *= /= %= &= ^= |= <<= >>= | right to left //
|
|
// , | left to right //
|
|
//---------------------------------------------------//
|
|
|
|
/******************************* Header Files **********************************
|
|
|
|
Header files are an important part of C as they allow for the connection of C
|
|
source files and can simplify code and definitions by separating them into
|
|
separate files.
|
|
|
|
Header files are syntactically similar to C source files but reside in ".h"
|
|
files. They can be included in your C source file by using the precompiler
|
|
command #include "example.h", given that example.h exists in the same directory
|
|
as the C file.
|
|
*/
|
|
|
|
/* A safe guard to prevent the header from being defined too many times. This */
|
|
/* happens in the case of circle dependency, the contents of the header is */
|
|
/* already defined. */
|
|
#ifndef EXAMPLE_H /* if EXAMPLE_H is not yet defined. */
|
|
#define EXAMPLE_H /* Define the macro EXAMPLE_H. */
|
|
|
|
/* Other headers can be included in headers and therefore transitively */
|
|
/* included into files that include this header. */
|
|
#include <string.h>
|
|
|
|
/* Like c source files macros can be defined in headers and used in files */
|
|
/* that include this header file. */
|
|
#define EXAMPLE_NAME "Dennis Ritchie"
|
|
|
|
/* Function macros can also be defined. */
|
|
#define ADD(a, b) ((a) + (b))
|
|
|
|
/* Notice the parenthesis surrounding the arguments -- this is important to */
|
|
/* ensure that a and b don't get expanded in an unexpected way (e.g. consider */
|
|
/* MUL(x, y) (x * y); MUL(1 + 2, 3) would expand to (1 + 2 * 3), yielding an */
|
|
/* incorrect result) */
|
|
|
|
/* Structs and typedefs can be used for consistency between files. */
|
|
typedef struct Node
|
|
{
|
|
int val;
|
|
struct Node *next;
|
|
} Node;
|
|
|
|
/* So can enumerations. */
|
|
enum traffic_light_state {GREEN, YELLOW, RED};
|
|
|
|
/* Function prototypes can also be defined here for use in multiple files, */
|
|
/* but it is bad practice to define the function in the header. Definitions */
|
|
/* should instead be put in a C file. */
|
|
Node createLinkedList(int *vals, int len);
|
|
|
|
/* Beyond the above elements, other definitions should be left to a C source */
|
|
/* file. Excessive includes or definitions should, also not be contained in */
|
|
/* a header file but instead put into separate headers or a C file. */
|
|
|
|
#endif /* End of the if precompiler directive. */
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
## Further Reading
|
|
|
|
Best to find yourself a copy of [K&R, aka "The C Programming Language"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language)
|
|
It is *the* book about C, written by Dennis Ritchie, the creator of C, and Brian Kernighan. Be careful, though - it's ancient and it contains some
|
|
inaccuracies (well, ideas that are not considered good anymore) or now-changed practices.
|
|
|
|
Another good resource is [Learn C The Hard Way](http://c.learncodethehardway.org/book/).
|
|
|
|
If you have a question, read the [compl.lang.c Frequently Asked Questions](http://c-faq.com).
|
|
|
|
It's very important to use proper spacing, indentation and to be consistent with your coding style in general.
|
|
Readable code is better than clever code and fast code. For a good, sane coding style to adopt, see the
|
|
[Linux kernel coding style](https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/process/coding-style.rst).
|
|
|
|
Other than that, Google is your friend.
|
|
|
|
[1] [Why isn't sizeof for a struct equal to the sum of sizeof of each member?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/119123/why-isnt-sizeof-for-a-struct-equal-to-the-sum-of-sizeof-of-each-member)
|