Beginning programming with C for dummies

489 Pages·2013·3.96 MB·English

by  Dan Gookin

Beginning Programming with C For Dummies®
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013948031
ISBN 978-1-11873763-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-73765-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-
1-118-73762-0 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Beginning Programming with C For
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Is the C Language Relevant?
The C Programming For Dummies Approach
How This Book Works
Icons Used in This Book
Parting Thoughts
Part I: Getting Started with C Programming
Chapter 1: A Quick Start for the Impatient
What You Need in Order to Program
Obtaining programming tools
Acquiring an Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
Behold the Code::Blocks IDE
Installing Code::Blocks
Touring the Code::Blocks workspace
Your First Project
Creating a new project
Examining the source code
Building and running the project
Saving and closing
Chapter 2: The Programming Thing
The History of Programming
Reviewing early programming history
Introducing the C language
The Programming Process
Understanding programming
Writing source code
Compiling to object code
Linking in the C library
Running and testing
Chapter 3: Anatomy of C
Parts of the C Language
Keywords
Functions
Operators
Variables and values
Statements and structure
Comments
Behold the Typical C Program
Understanding C program structure
Setting the main() function
Returning something to the operating system
Adding a function
Part II: C Programming 101
Chapter 4: Trials and Errors
Display Stuff on the Screen
Displaying a humorous message
Introducing the puts() function
Adding more text
Commenting out a statement
Goofing up on purpose
More Display Nonsense
Displaying text with printf()
Introducing the printf() function
Understanding the newline
Employing escape sequences
Goofing up on purpose again
Chapter 5: Values and Constants
A Venue for Various Values
Understanding values
Displaying values with printf()
Minding the extra zeroes
The Computer Does the Math
Doing simple arithmetic
Reviewing the float-integer thing
Always the Same
Using the same value over and over
Introducing constants
Putting constants to use
Chapter 6: A Place to Put Stuff
Values That Vary
Setting up a quick example
Introducing the variable types
Using variables
Variable Madness!
Using more-specific variable types
Creating multiple variables
Assigning a value upon creation
Reusing variables
Chapter 7: Input and Output
Character I/O
Understanding input and output devices
Fetching characters with getchar()
Using the putchar() function
Working with character variables
Text I/O, but Mostly I
Storing strings
Introducing the scanf() function
Reading a string with scanf()
Reading values with scanf()
Using fgets() for text input
Chapter 8: Decision Making
If What?
Making a simple comparison
Introducing the if keyword
Comparing values in various ways
Knowing the difference between = and ==
Forgetting where to put the semicolon
Multiple Decisions
Making more-complex decisions
Adding a third option
Multiple Comparisons with Logic
Building a logical comparison
Adding some logical operators
The Old Switch Case Trick
Making a multiple-choice selection
Understanding the switch-case structure
Taking no breaks
The Weird ?: Decision Thing
Chapter 9: Loops, Loops, Loops
A Little Déjà Vu
The Thrill of for Loops
Doing something x number of times
Introducing the for loop
Counting with the for statement
Looping letters
Nesting for loops
The Joy of the while Loop
Structuring a while loop
Using the do-while loop