Language Concepts

This section covers the C programming language at its core. It explains why the language is built the way it is, what the most basic concepts are in particular with reference to the compilation behind them, the usefulness for the programmer and the consequences for the program design.

Semantics of the Language

The C Programming Language

Classification of the language in the IT world

Values and Type System

Typing of values

Variables and Functions

Changeable values

Statements and Control Structures

Executing elements

Scopes and Files

Hierarchy of related elements

Code-Style-Guides and Code Analyzers

Better readability and conformity (Incomplete)

Syntactic Elements

Symbols

Custom Names

Keywords, Directives

Predefined names built into the language

Characters

Which characters are used where

Fixed Values, Literals

Values directly written in the source code

Whitespaces

Spaces, tabs, line breaks

Comments // /* */

Single-line and bracketed comments

Data Organization and Process Flow

Compiler, Linker

Translation of the source code

Runtime-System

Support of the application flow at runtime

Memory, Heap, Stack, Loader

The usage of memory

Call-Stack

Growing and shrinking the stack for function calls

Structs

Data arrangement within information units

Zeros and Ones

Logic

Logical combinations

Number Systems

Decimal, Binary, Hexadecimal

Bits, Bytes, msb, Endianness

Arrangements of bits and bytes

Integer, Two's complement

Encoding of positive and negative integers

Real Number, Floating Point

Encoding of numbers with a decimal point

Integer Arithmetics

The basic operations at bit level

ASCII and UTF-8

American Standard Code for Information Interchange