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Features of C Language

C is a widely used programming language that was developed by Dennis Ritchie to create system applications that directly interact with hardware. It is considered the base for many other languages. C programs are compiled into machine-independent object code that is linked and loaded for execution. The compilation process involves preprocessing, compiling, assembling, and linking source code files with library files to produce an executable program. A simple "Hello World" C program is provided as an example to demonstrate printing output using the printf() function.

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71 views

Features of C Language

C is a widely used programming language that was developed by Dennis Ritchie to create system applications that directly interact with hardware. It is considered the base for many other languages. C programs are compiled into machine-independent object code that is linked and loaded for execution. The compilation process involves preprocessing, compiling, assembling, and linking source code files with library files to produce an executable program. A simple "Hello World" C program is provided as an example to demonstrate printing output using the printf() function.

Uploaded by

vishnu damuluri
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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C language

C language Tutorial with programming approach for beginners and professionals,


helps you to understand the C language tutorial easily. Our C tutorial explains each
topic with programs.

The C Language is developed by Dennis Ritchie for creating system applications that
directly interact with the hardware devices such as drivers, kernels, etc.

C programming is considered as the base for other programming languages, that is


why it is known as mother language.

Features of C Language

C is the widely used language. It provides many features that are given below.

1. Simple

2. Machine Independent or Portable

3. Mid-level programming language

4. structured programming language

5. Rich Library

6. Memory Management

7. Fast Speed
8. Pointers

9. Recursion

10.Extensible

First C Program
Before starting the abcd of C language, you need to learn how to write, compile and
run the first c program.

To write the first c program, open the C console and write the following code:

1. #include <stdio.h>    
2. int main(){    
3. printf("Hello C Language");    
4. return 0;   
5. }  

#include <stdio.h> includes the standard input output library functions. The


printf() function is defined in stdio.h .

int main() The main() function is the entry point of every program in c


language.

printf() The printf() function is used to print data on the console.

return 0 The return 0 statement, returns execution status to the OS. The 0 value is
used for successful execution and 1 for unsuccessful execution.

Compilation process in c
What is a compilation?
The compilation is a process of converting the source code into object code. It is
done with the help of the compiler. The compiler checks the source code for the
syntactical or structural errors, and if the source code is error-free, then it generates
the object code.

The following are the phases through which our program passes before being
transformed into an executable form:

o Preprocessor

o Compiler

o Assembler
o Linker

Preprocessor
The source code is the code which is written in a text editor and the source code file
is given an extension ".c". This source code is first passed to the preprocessor, and
then the preprocessor expands this code. After expanding the code, the expanded
code is passed to the compiler.

Compiler
The code which is expanded by the preprocessor is passed to the compiler. The
compiler converts this code into assembly code. Or we can say that the C compiler
converts the pre-processed code into assembly code.

Assembler
The assembly code is converted into object code by using an assembler. The name
of the object file generated by the assembler is the same as the source file. The
extension of the object file in DOS is '.obj,' and in UNIX, the extension is 'o'. If the
name of the source file is 'hello.c', then the name of the object file would be
'hello.obj'.

Linker
Mainly, all the programs written in C use library functions. These library functions
are pre-compiled, and the object code of these library files is stored with '.lib' (or
'.a') extension. The main working of the linker is to combine the object code of
library files with the object code of our program. Sometimes the situation arises
when our program refers to the functions defined in other files; then linker plays a
very important role in this. It links the object code of these files to our program.
Therefore, we conclude that the job of the linker is to link the object code of our
program with the object code of the library files and other files. The output of the
linker is the executable file. The name of the executable file is the same as the
source file but differs only in their extensions. In DOS, the extension of the
executable file is '.exe', and in UNIX, the executable file can be named as 'a.out'. For
example, if we are using printf() function in a program, then the linker adds its
associated code in an output file.

Let's understand through an example.

hello.c

1. #include <stdio.h>  
2. int main()  
3. {  
4.     printf("Hello javaTpoint");  
5.     return 0;  
6. }  

Now, we will create a flow diagram of the above program:


In the above flow diagram, the following steps are taken to execute a
program:
o Firstly, the input file, i.e., hello.c, is passed to the preprocessor, and the
preprocessor converts the source code into expanded source code. The
extension of the expanded source code would be hello.i.
o The expanded source code is passed to the compiler, and the compiler
converts this expanded source code into assembly code. The extension of the
assembly code would be hello.s.
o This assembly code is then sent to the assembler, which converts the
assembly code into object code.
o After the creation of an object code, the linker creates the executable file. The
loader will then load the executable file for the execution.

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