Cheatsheets / Learn C: Introduction
Learn C: Introduction
Syntax in C
The rules that dictate the correct format of code for a // Statements must end in a semicolon (;)
specific programming language are known as syntax.
// correct
Examples of syntax in C are:
• All statements must end with a semicolon, ; printf("Hello World!");
• Keywords and other code elements are case-
sensitive
// error
When compiling C code, an error will occur when the
syntax of the code is incorrect. printf("Hello World!")
// Code elements are case sensitive
// correct
printf("Hello World!");
// error
PRINTF("Hello World!");
Escape Sequences
In C, an escape sequence is a non-visual character used // \n acts as a newline in a string
within a string.
printf("Hello\nWorld!"); // Outputs: Hello
\n is an escape sequence that adds a newline to a
string. \t is an escape sequence that adds a tab of //
spaces to a string. World!
// \t acts as a tab in a string
printf("Hello\tWorld!"); // Outputs: Hello
World!
Comments in C
In C, comments are text within code that will be ignored // Comments
by the compiler. They are used to document code.
Line comments begin with a double forward slash, // .
All text after // will be part of the comment until a new /* This review content is
line is reached. about comments and how they
Block comments begin with a forward slash and asterisk,
can be used to document code */
/* and end with an asterisk and forward slash, */ .
Block comments can span multiple lines as new lines are
part of the comment. // This is a line comment
/* This is a
block comment */
Compiling C Code with gcc
gcc is an application used to compile C programs into gcc script.c
an executable that can run on the target computer.
gcc script.c -o myProgram
gcc stands for GNU Compiler Collection.
gcc compiles C code using the code file as an
unflagged command-line argument. The output
executable file will be called a.out . The -o flag
followed by some text can be used to designate the name
of the output executable file.
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