Modern C for Absolute Beginners

Learn the basics of C, the C standard library, and modern C standards. Complete with modern, up-to-date examples and screenshots, this new edition is fully updated and reworked with the latest C23 standards and features.

C is a language that is as popular today as it was decades ago. It can be used to program a microcontroller or to develop an entire operating system. Author Slobodan Dmitrović takes you on a journey through the C programming language, the standard library, and the C standards basics. Each chapter is the right balance of theory and code examples.

Written in a concise and easy-to-follow manner, this book will provide you all the essentials needed to start programming in modern C.

What You Will Learn

• Understand C programming language and C standard library fundamentals
• Work with new C standards features
• Study the basics of types, operators, statements, arrays, functions, and structs
• Review the fundamentals of pointers, memory allocation, and memory manipulation
• Take advantage of best practices in C

Who This Book Is For

Beginner or novice programmers who wish to learn the C programming language. No prior programming experience is required.

Table of Contents

Part I: The C Programming Language

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Our First Program

Chapter 3: Types and Declarations

Chapter 4: Exercises

Chapter 5: Operators

Chapter 6: Expressions

Chapter 7: Statements

Chapter 8: Exercises

Chapter 9: Arrays

Chapter 10: Pointers

Chapter 11: Command-Line Arguments

Chapter 12: Exercises

Chapter 13: Functions

Chapter 14: Exercises

Chapter 15: Structures

Chapter 16: Unions

Chapter 17: Conditional Expression

Chapter 18: Typedef

Chapter 19: Const Qualifier

Chapter 20: Enumerations

Chapter 21: Function Pointers

Chapter 22: Exercises

Chapter 23: Preprocessor

Chapter 24: Exercises

Chapter 25: Dynamic Memory Allocation

Chapter 26: Storage and Scope

Chapter 27: Exercises

Chapter 28: Standard Input and Output

Chapter 29: File Input and Output

Chapter 30: Exercises

Chapter 31: Header and Source Files

Part II: The C Standard Library

Chapter 32: Introduction to C Standard Library

Part Ill: Modern C Standards

Chapter 33: Introduction to C11 Standard

Chapter 34: The C17 Standard

Chapter 35: The Upcoming C23 Standard

Part IV: Dos and Don’ts

Chapter 36: Do Not Use the gets Function

Chapter 37: Initialize Variables Before Using Them

Chapter 38: Do Not Read Out of Bounds

Chapter 39: Do Not Free the Allocated Memory Twice

Chapter 40: Do Not Cast the Result of malloc

Chapter 41: Do Not Overflow a Signed Integer

Chapter 42: Cast a Pointer to void* When Printing Through printf

Chapter 43: Do Not Divide by Zero

Chapter 44: Where to Use Pointers?

Chapter 45: Prefer Functions to Function-Like Macros

Chapter 46: static Global Names

Chapter 47: What to Put in Header Files?

Part V: Appendices

Appendix A: Linkage

Appendix B: Time and Date

Appendix C: Bitwise Operators

Appendix D: Numeric Limits

Appendix E: Summary and Advice

About the Author

Slobodan Dmitrović is a software consultant, trainer, and entrepreneur. He is the CEO and founder of “Clear Programming Paradigm”, an LLC that provides outsourcing and training services. Slobodan’s ability to summarize complex topics and provide insightful training made him a sought after consultant for the automotive, fintech, and other industries. Slobodan has a strong interest in C, C++, software architecture, training, and R&D.