> The C Programming Language Documentation <

About The C Programming Language :

• C was created by Dennis M. Ritchie in 1972 at Bell Laboratories to develop the UNIX operating system. It combines low-level memory control with high-level programming features, making it ideal for systems programming and portable across hardware. C laid the foundation for many modern languages like C++, Java, and C#.

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Chapter : 1. Introduction

1.1 Getting Started :

• The first C program
• Program structure
• Compilation and execution

1.2 Variables and Arithmetic Expressions :

• Variables
• Arithmetic operators
• Comments
• The while loop

1.3 The for Statement :

• Structure of the for loop
• Comparison between for and while

1.4 Symbolic Constants :

• Defining constants using #define

1.5 Character Input and Output :

• getchar
• putchar

1.6 Arrays :

• Array declaration
• Frequency counting examples

1.7 Functions :

• Function definitions
• Return values

1.8 Arguments – Call by Value :

• Value passing mechanism
• Difference between values and pointers

1.9 Character Arrays :

• Strings
• Null-terminated character arrays

1.10 External Variables and Scope :

• External variables
• Scope rules
• Storage duration

Chapter : 2. Types, Operators, and Expressions

2.1 Variable Names :

• Naming rules and conventions

2.2 Data Types and Sizes :

• char
• int
• float
• double
• short and long

2.3 Constants :

• Integer constants
• Floating-point constants
• Character constants

2.4 Declarations :

• Variable declarations
• Initialization

2.5 Arithmetic Operators :

• + - - / %

2.6 Relational and Logical Operators :

• < > <= >= == !=
• && || !

2.7 Type Conversions :

• Implicit conversions
• Explicit casting

2.8 Increment and Decrement Operators :

• ++ and --

2.9 Bitwise Operators :

• & | ^ ~ << >>

2.10 Assignment Operators and Expressions :

• Assignment operator =
• Compound assignments (+=, -=, *=, /=)

2.11 Conditional Expressions :

• The ternary operator ?:

2.12 Precedence and Order of Evaluation :

• Operator precedence
• Order of evaluation

Chapter : 3. Control Flow

3.1 Statements and Blocks :

• Compound statements
• Braces {}

3.2 If–Else :

• Conditional execution

3.3 Else–If :

• Multi-way decision chains

3.4 Switch :

• switch statement
• case labels
• default case

3.5 Loops – While and For :

• while
• for

3.6 Do–While :

• Differences from while

3.7 Break and Continue :

• Loop control statements

3.8 Goto and Labels :

• Unconditional branching
• Restricted use cases

Chapter : 4. Functions and Program Structure

4.1 Basics of Functions :

• Function definition
• Return values

4.2 Functions Returning Non-integers :

• Functions returning float and double

4.3 External Variables :

• Shared global variables

4.4 Scope Rules :

• Local vs. global scope

4.5 Header Files :

• Organization of declarations

4.6 Static Variables :

• Static local variables
• Static global variables

4.7 Register Variables :

• Performance hints

4.8 Block Structure :

• Variables inside blocks

4.9 Initialization :

• Variable initialization rules

4.10 Recursion :

• Recursive function calls

Chapter : 5. Pointers and Arrays

5.1 Pointers and Addresses :

• Address concept
• & and * operators

5.2 Pointers and Function Arguments :

• Call by reference

5.3 Pointers and Arrays :

• Fundamental relationship

5.4 Address Arithmetic :

• Pointer arithmetic

5.5 Character Pointers and Functions :

• String handling

5.6 Pointer Arrays; Pointers to Pointers :

• Arrays of pointers
• Double pointers

5.7 Multi-dimensional Arrays :

• Two-dimensional and higher arrays

5.8 Initialization of Pointer Arrays :

• String tables

5.9 Pointers vs. Multi-dimensional Arrays :

• Conceptual and practical differences

5.10 Command-line Arguments :

• argc
• argv

5.11 Pointers to Functions :

• Function pointers
• Callback mechanisms

Chapter : 6. Structures

6.1 Basics of Structures :

• struct definition
• Member access

6.2 Structures and Functions :

• Passing structures to functions

6.3 Arrays of Structures :

• Structured data collections

6.4 Pointers to Structures :

• The -> operator

6.5 Self-referential Structures :

• Linked lists

6.6 Table Lookup :

• Practical examples

6.7 Typedef :

• Type aliasing

6.8 Unions :

• Memory sharing

6.9 Bit-fields :

• Bit-level data representation

Chapter : 7. Input and Output

7.1 Standard Input and Output :

• stdin
• stdout

7.2 Formatted Output – printf :

• Format control

7.3 Variable-length Argument Lists :

• Internal mechanics of printf

7.4 Formatted Input – scanf :

• Data input

7.5 File Access :

• fopen
• fclose

7.6 Error Handling :

• Error detection and reporting

7.7 Line Input and Output :

• fgets
• fputs

7.8 Miscellaneous Functions :

• Supporting I/O utilities

Chapter : 8. The UNIX System Interface

8.1 File Descriptors :

• open
• close

8.2 Low-level I/O – Read and Write :

• read
• write

8.3 Open, Creat, Close, Unlink :

• File manipulation system calls

8.4 Random Access :

• lseek

8.5 Example – An Implementation of fseek :

• Low-level implementation example

Appendices

Appendix A – Reference Manual :

• Lexical structure
• Syntax
• Semantics

Appendix B – Standard Library :

• Standard I/O library
• String handling functions
• Mathematical functions
• Utility routines

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