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C programming Lecture 1

The document provides an introduction to computer programming using the C language, detailing its history, features, and classification as a mother, system, procedural, structured, and mid-level programming language. It outlines the course schedule, assessment methods, and installation instructions for the CodeBlocks compiler. Key features of C include its simplicity, portability, structured approach, rich library, and support for dynamic memory management and pointers.

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Kalule Cyprian
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7 views

C programming Lecture 1

The document provides an introduction to computer programming using the C language, detailing its history, features, and classification as a mother, system, procedural, structured, and mid-level programming language. It outlines the course schedule, assessment methods, and installation instructions for the CodeBlocks compiler. Key features of C include its simplicity, portability, structured approach, rich library, and support for dynamic memory management and pointers.

Uploaded by

Kalule Cyprian
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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NIWENYESIGA EMMANUEL

Mob: 0779538344
Email:
[email protected]
INTRODUCTION TO
COMPUTER
PROGRAMMING – C

EEE, BME, CVE, PEEM


Meeting days
Monday 2:00pm to 4:00pm
EEE 1:2
BME 1:2

Tuesday 11:00am to 1:00pm


CVE 1:2
PEEM 1:2
Where??
Physical and LMS (Online)
FAST Computer Lab
Elearning.must.ac.ug
Assessment
Course work 1
Test 1
Course Work 2 (Optional)
Test 2 (Optional)
What do you need?
Install CodeBlocks (latest Version)
Introduction to computer programming –C
The C Language was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972 at Bell
Laboratories for creating system applications that directly interact
with the hardware devices such as drivers, kernels, etc.
C was originally developed to create utilities for the Unix operating
system
C programming is considered as the base for other programming
languages, that is why it is known as mother language.
It can be defined by the following ways:

Mother language
System programming language
Procedure-oriented programming
language
Structured programming language
Mid-level programming language
1) C as a mother language
C language is considered as the mother language of all
the modern programming languages because most of the
compilers, JVMs, Kernels, etc. are written in C language,
and most of the programming languages follow C syntax,
for example, C++, Java, C#, etc.
It provides the core concepts like the array, strings,
functions, file handling, etc. that are being used in many
languages like C++, Java, C#, etc.
2) C as a system programming language
A system programming language is used to create system
software. C language is a system programming language
because it can be used to do low-level programming (for
example driver and kernel). It is generally used to create
hardware devices, OS, drivers, kernels, etc. For example,
Linux kernel is written in C.
It can't be used for internet programming like Java, .Net,
PHP, etc.
3) C as a procedural language
A procedure is known as a function, method, routine, subroutine,
etc. A procedural language specifies a series of steps for the
program to solve the problem.
A procedural language breaks the program into functions, data
structures, etc.
C is a procedural language. In C, variables and function
prototypes must be declared before being used.
4) C as a structured programming language
A structured programming language is a subset of the
procedural language. Structure means to break a program
into parts or blocks so that it may be easy to understand.
In the C language, we break the program into parts using
functions. It makes the program easier to understand and
modify.
5) C as a mid-level programming language
C is considered as a middle-level language because it supports the
feature of both low-level and high-level languages. C language program
is converted into assembly code, it supports pointer arithmetic (low-
level), but it is machine independent (a feature of high-level).
A Low-level language is specific to one machine, i.e., machine
dependent. It is machine dependent, fast to run. But it is not easy to
understand.
A High-Level language is not specific to one machine, i.e., machine
independent. It is easy to understand.
Features of C Language
1) Simple

C is a simple language in the sense that it provides


a structured approach (to break the problem into parts), the
rich set of library functions, data types, etc.
2) Machine Independent or Portable

Unlike assembly language, c programs can be


executed on different machines with some machine
specific changes. Therefore, C is a machine independent
language.
3). Mid-level programming language

Although, C is intended to do low-level programming.


It is used to develop system applications such as kernel,
driver, etc. It also supports the features of a high-level
language. That is why it is known as mid-level language.
4) Structured programming language

C is a structured programming language in the sense


that we can break the program into parts using
functions. So, it is easy to understand and modify.
Functions also provide code reusability.
5) Rich Library

C provides a lot of inbuilt functions that make


the development fast.
6) Memory Management

It supports the feature of dynamic memory allocation.


In C language, we can free the allocated memory at any
time by calling the free() function.
7) Speed

The compilation and execution time of C language


is fast since there are lesser inbuilt functions and
hence the lesser overhead.
8) Pointer

C provides the feature of pointers. We can directly


interact with the memory by using the pointers.
We can use pointers for memory, structures,
functions, array, etc.
9) Recursion

In C, we can call the function within the


function. It provides code reusability for every
function. Recursion enables us to use the
approach of backtracking.
10) Extensible

C language is extensible because it can easily


adopt new features.
How to install C
There are many compilers available for C and C++.
You need to download any one. Here, we are going
to use codeblocks. It will work for both C and C++.
To install the Codeblocks software, click
http://www.codeblocks.org
Choose the file according to the environment you
are working from. E.g. Windows, Linux etc.

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