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C Programming Absolute Beginner's Guide, 3rd edition

Published by Que Publishing (August 7, 2013) © 2014

  • Greg Perry
  • Dean Miller

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C Programming Absolute Beginner’s Guide is the fastest way to get comfortable and productive with C11. This friendly, practical book will help the reader do exactly what they want, one incredibly clear and easy step at a time. World-renowned tech tutorial author Greg Perry reveals C11’s power, and helps the reader quickly take advantage of it. He provides step-by-step instructions for every task requiring more than one step, many code samples, and screenshots guiding through complex processes. This guide including how to organize a program, store and display data, and work with variables, operators, I/O, pointers, arrays, and functions. Perry presents updated information on the latest C compilers for Windows, OS X, and Linux, as well as valuable new material on C programming for mobile and game development.

  • The classic entry-level guide to C programming, now revamped and better than ever
  • Covers all the basics: program structure, storage, math, expressions, operators, program control, values, strings, lists, data, arrays, pointers, functions, and more
  • Reflects the newest C compilers for Windows, OS X, and Linux, and adds new material on C programming for mobile and game platforms
  • By Greg Perry, one of the world’s most experienced and successful authors of introductory C tutorials

C Programming Absolute Beginner's Guide, Third Edition

Updated for C11


PART I: JUMPING RIGHT IN

1 What Is C Programming, and Why Should I Care?

2 Writing Your First C Program

3 What Does This Do? Clarifying Your Code with Comments

4 Your World Premiere—Putting Your Program’s Results

5 Adding Variables to Your Programs
6 Adding Words to Your Programs
7 Making Your Programs More Powerful with #include and #define

8 Interacting with Users


PART II: PUTTING C TO WORK FOR YOU

9 Crunching the Numbers—Letting C Handle Math for You

10 Powering Up Your Variables with Assignments and Expressions

11 The Fork in the Road—Testing Data to Pick a Path

12 Juggling Several Choices with Logical Operators

13 A Bigger Bag of Tricks–Some More Operators for Your Programs


PART III: FLESHING OUT YOUR PROGRAMS

14 Code Repeat—Using Loops to Save Time and Effort

15 Looking for Another Way to Create Loops

16 Breaking in and out of Looped Code

17 Making the case for the switch Statement

18 Increasing Your Program’s Output (and Input)

19 Getting More from Your Strings

20 Advanced Math (for the Computer, Not You!) .


PART IV: MANAGING DATA WITH YOUR C PROGRAMS

21 Dealing with Arrays

22 Searching Arrays

23 Alphabetizing and Arranging Your Data

24 Solving the Mystery of Pointers

25 Arrays and Pointers

26 Maximizing Your Computer’s Memory

27 Setting Up Your Data with Structures


PART V: FILES AND FUNCTIONS

28 Saving Sequential Files to Your Computer

29 Saving Random Files to Your Computer

30 Organizing Your Programs with Functions

31 Passing Variables to Your Functions

32 Returning Data from Your Functions


APPENDIXES

A The ASCII Table

B The Draw Poker Program


Greg Perry is a speaker and writer in both the programming and applications sides of computing. He is known for bringing programming topics down to the beginner’s level. Perry has been a programmer and trainer for two decades. He received his first degree in computer science and then earned a Master’s degree in corporate finance. Besides writing, he consults and lectures across the country, including at the acclaimed Software Development programming conferences. Perry is the author of more than 75 other computer books. In his spare time, he gives lectures on traveling in Italy, his second favorite place to be.

Dean Miller is a writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience in both the publishing and licensed consumer product businesses. Over the years, he has created or helped shape a number of bestselling books and series, including Teach Yourself in 21 Days, Teach Yourself in 24 Hours, and the Unleashed series, all from Sams Publishing.

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