Complete Introduction to C Programming

Overview

• Introduction to C programming: basics, easy-to-understand examples
• Role of programming in interacting with computers
• Comparison with human languages (Hindi, English, etc.)

Tools and Setup

• Modern IDE: Visual Studio Code (VSCode)
  • Setup C compiler
  • Importance of not using discontinued compilers
  • Install VSCode from official website
  • Extensions: Code Runner, C/C++ IntelliSense

Program Execution

• C programs are plain text files with .c extension
• Compiler translates C to machine code
• Example: basic.c
• Compiling and running a C program with GCC
• User and workspace settings in VSCode

Basics of C Programming

Structure of a C Program

• Include directives (#include <stdio.h>, etc.)
• int main() function
  • Entry point for execution
  • Return value

Variables and Data Types

• Types: int, float, char, etc.
• Declaration and initialization of variables
• Constants: const keyword

Operators

• Arithmetic operators: +, -, *, /, %
• Relational operators: ==, !=, <, >, <=, >=
• Logical operators: &&, ||, !
• Assignment operators: =, +=, -=, etc.
• Bitwise operators: &, |, ^, <<, >>

User Input

• scanf function for reading input
• Format specifiers: %d, %f, %c, etc.
• Example: reading and printing user input

Type Casting

• Converting between different data types
• Example: converting integers to float for division

Decision Making in C

Conditional Statements

• if, else if, else
  • Conditions and logical flow
• Switch statement (not covered in-depth)
• Ternary operator (? :)

Loops

Types of loops

• while loop
• for loop
• do-while loop
• Infinite loops and loop control

Functions

• Defining and using functions
• Syntax: return type, function name, parameters
• Example: sum and average functions
• Local vs. global variables
• Parameter passing by reference and value

Pointers

• Basics and importance
• Declaring and initializing pointers
• Dereferencing pointers
• Pointer arithmetic (briefly mentioned)
• Common use cases: dynamic memory allocation, reference passing

Strings

• Strings as character arrays ending with null character (\0)
• Common string functions: strcpy, strcat, strcmp, strlen
• Examples and use cases

Structures

• Defining and using structures
  • Combining different data types
• Example: structure for books (name, author, price)
• Passing structures to functions

Conclusion

• Summary of topics covered
• Encouraging practice and exploration
• Mention of future videos and deeper dives into advanced topics

Resources

• Recommended book: C Programming Language by Dennis Ritchie