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Running Hello, World!

Computer programming is about learning how to solve problems with a computer – about how to get a computer to do all the tedious work for us. The basic development cycle, or process of writing a computer program, is to determine the steps that are necessary to solve the problem at hand and then tell the computer to perform those steps. Our first problem, as we learn this process, is to learn how to write, build, run, and verify a minimal C program.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

Writing your first C program
Understanding the program development cycle
Creating, typing into a text editor, and saving your C program
Compiling your first C program
Running your program, verifying its result, and, if necessary, fixing it
Exploring different commenting styles and using them
Employing guided chaos, followed by careful observation for deeper learning

Let's get started!

Writing your first C program

We will begin with one of the simplest, most useful programs that can be created in C. This program was first used to introduce C by its creators, Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie, in their now-classic work, The C Programming Language, published in 1978. The program prints a single line of output – the greeting Hello, world! – on the computer screen.

This simple program is important for a number of reasons. First, it gives us a flavor of what a C program is like, but more importantly, it proves that the necessary pieces of the development environment – the Operating System (OS), text editor, command-line interface, and compiler – are installed and working correctly. Finally, it gives us the first taste of the basic programming development cycle. In the process of learning to program and, later, actually solving real problems with programming, you will repeat this cycle often. It is essential that you become both familiar and comfortable with this cycle.

This program is useful because it prints something out to the Terminal, also known as the console, telling us that it actually did something – it displays a message to us. We could write shorter programs in C but they would not be of much use. We would be able to build and run them but would have little evidence that anything actually happened. So, here is your first C program. Throughout this book, and during the entirety of your programming experience, obtaining evidence of what actually happened is essential.

Since Kernighan and Ritchie introduced the Hello, world! program over 40 years ago, this simple program has been reused to introduce many programming languages and used in various settings. You can find variations of this program in Java, C++, Objective-C, Python, Ruby, and many others. GitHub, an online source code repository, even introduces their website and its functions with a Hello World beginner's guide.

Key benefits

Learn essential C concepts such as variables, data structures, functions, loops, arrays, and pointers

Get to grips with the core programming aspects that form the base of many modern programming languages

Explore the expressiveness and versatility of the C language with the help of sample programs

Description

C is a powerful general-purpose programming language that is excellent for beginners to learn. This book will introduce you to computer programming and software development using C. If you're an experienced developer, this book will help you to become familiar with the C programming language. This C programming book takes you through basic programming concepts and shows you how to implement them in C. Throughout the book, you'll create and run programs that make use of one or more C concepts, such as program structure with functions, data types, and conditional statements. You'll also see how to use looping and iteration, arrays, pointers, and strings. As you make progress, you'll cover code documentation, testing and validation methods, basic input/output, and how to write complete programs in C. By the end of the book, you'll have developed basic programming skills in C, that you can apply to other programming languages and will develop a solid foundation for you to advance as a programmer.

Who is this book for?

This book is written for two very diverse audiences. If you're an absolute beginner who only has basic familiarity with operating a computer, this book will help you learn the most fundamental concepts and practices you need to know to become a successful C programmer. If you're an experienced programmer, you'll find the full range of C syntax as well as common C idioms. You can skim through the explanations and focus primarily on the source code provided.

What you will learn

Understand fundamental programming concepts and implement them in C

Write working programs with an emphasis on code indentation and readability

Break existing programs intentionally and learn how to debug code

Adopt good coding practices and develop a clean coding style

Explore general programming concepts that are applicable to more advanced projects

Discover how you can use building blocks to make more complex and interesting programs

Use C Standard Library functions and understand why doing this is desirable

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Terrell Aug 12, 2020

I am pretty new to programming; I just started down the development journey in September of 2019. I completed two boot camps for Python as well as Java. Meanwhile learning JavaScript as well. I had an interest in C because it looks very similar to Java and that may be an easy language to pick up. This is also the first book I have picked up on C.This book is outstanding. I like the fact that C is a procedural, low level, and compiled language, like JavaScript but looks very similar to Java. The book was written in a way that helped me understand some other concepts that I have been struggling with.This book is the perfect blend of reference material and practical knowledge. There wasn't a single word is wasted in writing this. This book is great for all programmers, even if you never write a line of C, Jeff Szuhay really helps you understand the code that is being written and why. Beginner or experienced, it's worth having this book.

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J4ck J3ff3rson Jan 17, 2022

I am very tired as I write this review but, this book has shown me the beauty of the C programming language. There isn't a single thing I would disregard when reading this book. They really help you build your foundations and there is even a fun game you build! Overall, a great book and a very trusty publisher I assure you.

Matthew Darnell Mar 18, 2022

I just ended chapter 5. I've enjoyed the periodic humor and the content. Jeff has done well at providing good detail with some examples but not filling the entire book with code. He allows you the opportunity to get the concept and then go out and mess around with it. Let me be honest I think this book is hitting home with me as it has tied many concepts to Javascript that I had no idea also are in C. Thanks Jeff! A note to the book company, I had to return the first book because the spine broke in the first week but I'm not going to put a negative for that.

-TMcN- Jul 07, 2020

If you already are an expert at C, and could only keep one book on programming in C, you will of course choose K&R.Everyone else should get K&R and this book. Get this book first if you're learning C; you can get K&R later. If you're already a C developer, you probably still want this book, for the examples, references and trouble-shooting explanations.K&R is the "bible". It was written in 1978. On a wood-burning typewriter, in pencil.Jeff Szuhay's "Learn C Programming" is more up-to-date, easier to read, more complete, has example code with outputs, explains data structures that K&R never even touched and covers troubleshooting tips and topics that even old dogs will benefit from having handy.I've never seen a more complete development book; it's up there with Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography in thoroughness and style.* It covers pretty much every topic in C you could need to know.* Exceptionally well organized; topics build upon previous topics.* Consistent. Each section has examples including a section on pre-requisites.* Topics are covered in-depth, including pitfalls and trouble-shooting.The book is broken into major conceptual sections - Fundamentals, Complex Data Types, Memory Manipulation, etc., and each section is further broken into chapters introducing the concepts, going into their complexities (e.g. Heap vs Stack, Pointers to Functions, etc.), with those further broken into the requirements and prerequisites for the chapter, the conceptual introductions and sometimes a quick refresher on the previous relevant material.For example, the file input/output chapter starts by reviewing the streams concepts introduced gently in the Formatted Input section, which ties printf, sprintf and fprintf together nicely without dwelling on them, and does the same with stdin, stdout and stderr. The expert, looking to use this just as a reference, can glance at and skip over the beginning of each chapter, while new students or those needing a refresher has all of the necessary context immediately available, without having to search for it.The author even covers typical gotchas, such as that (in this example), file streams are generally buffered (which of course is explained) and this may result in unexpected behavior. He even provides a short program using a sleep() to demonstrate.That's another strength of this book: The author provides a ton of clear, concise, short examples, instructions on how to build and run them, the output you should receive and what it means.Looking at "memory leaks" in the index (which is found not just under "M" for "Memory Leaks" but also under "H" for "Heap Memory Management - Memory Leaks"), he again provides examples of leaks and how to detect them, including some less-obvious ones such as in linked lists.My coding is no longer primarily in C. This book will serve as a perfect refresher to knock the rust off when needed. My K&R will continue to gather dust.

Alan Quantz Dec 01, 2020

I have an intermediate skill of C programming. I purchased this book to get a better understanding of C to write better programs for the embedded boards I design with at my job. I was pleased to see how well this is written. The explanations are very clear and easy to understand. One extra note is, I don't feel this is for starting from scratch. This starts at about the "Advanced Beginner" level. This is a great book after the Basic C book.

Learn C Programming: A beginner's guide to learning C programming the easy and disciplined way

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