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C Programming

How to Think Like a C Programmer

Budi Raharjo

This book is about thinking clearly in C. It teaches the mental habits behind safe memory use, careful pointer handling, robust error strategies, effective debugging, and clean interface design. It is written for programmers who want to write C code that remains correct, efficient, and understandable over time.

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About

About

About the Book

C Programming: How to Think Like a C Programmer is a focused guide to the mindset required for writing correct and reliable C programs. It explores memory discipline, pointer safety, error handling, debugging practices, performance awareness, and clean code organization as core principles rather than afterthoughts. This book is written for programmers who want to use C with clarity, confidence, and long-term maintainability across any domain where C is applied.

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Categories

Computers and ProgrammingC and C++Embedded SystemsOperating System Development

Author

About the Author

Budi Raharjo

Two decades of expertise in software engineering and technical training.

Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

  1. Part I. First Contact

Chapter 1. Why C Still Matters

  1. C as a Portable Assembly
  2. C and the Shape of Modern Software
  3. What You Can Build with C
  4. The Limits of C — and Why They Matter

Chapter 2. Setting Up the Environment

  1. Choosing a Compiler
  2. Command-Line Compilation
  3. Understanding the Build Process
  4. Your First C Program
  5. A Lightweight IDE for C: Geany
  6. How to Read Compiler Errors

Chapter 3. A First Mental Model

  1. Programs as Memory and Instructions
  2. Variables as Named Memory
  3. Statements as Steps in Time
  4. Part II. Core Language Foundations

Chapter 4. Basic Types and Values

  1. Integer Types and Their Ranges
  2. Floating-Point Reality
  3. Characters and Text
  4. Type Conversion Rules

Chapter 5. Expressions and Operators

  1. Expressions as Computations
  2. The Operator Landscape in C
  3. Increment and Decrement Operators
  4. Operator Precedence and Clarity
  5. Side Effects and Sequence Points
  6. The Ternary Operator (?:)
  7. Writing Predictable Expressions

Chapter 6. Control Flow

  1. Branching with if and switch
  2. Looping with while and for
  3. The do-while Loop
  4. Breaking and Continuing
  5. Structured Thinking in C

Chapter 7. Functions and Program Structure

  1. Functions as Units of Work
  2. Void Functions
  3. Parameters and Return Values
  4. Local Scope and Lifetime
  5. Organizing Multi-File Programs
  6. Part III. Memory and Data Representation

Chapter 8. Arrays and Strings

  1. Contiguous Memory
  2. Indexing and Bounds
  3. Strings as Character Arrays
  4. Common String Operations
  5. Common String Pitfalls

Chapter 9. Pointers and Addresses

  1. Memory Addresses as Values
  2. Pointer Types and Arithmetic
  3. Pointers and Arrays — The Deep Relationship
  4. Reading Pointer Declarations
  5. When and Why to Use Pointers
  6. Common Pointer Pitfalls

Chapter 10. Lifetime and Storage Duration

  1. Automatic Storage
  2. Static Storage
  3. Dynamic Allocation
  4. Why Lifetime Matters

Chapter 11. Dynamic Memory

  1. malloc and free
  2. Ownership of Allocated Memory
  3. Memory Leaks and Dangling Pointers
  4. Patterns for Safe Allocation
  5. Part IV. Structuring Data

Chapter 12. Structures

  1. Grouping Related Data
  2. Defining and Using struct
  3. Structures and Memory Layout
  4. Passing Structures to Functions
  5. Best Practices for Using Structures

Chapter 13. Unions and Bit-Level Representation

  1. Overlapping Storage
  2. When Unions Make Sense
  3. Bit Fields
  4. Low-Level Data Modeling

Chapter 14. Enumerations and Symbolic Meaning

  1. Named Integer Sets
  2. Enums for Readable Code
  3. Enums and Type Safety
  4. Part V. Working with the Outside World

Chapter 15. Input and Output

  1. Standard Streams
  2. Formatted Output
  3. Reading Input Safely
  4. File Streams

Chapter 16. Files and Persistence

  1. Opening and Closing Files
  2. Binary vs Text Files
  3. File Positioning
  4. Practical File Patterns

Chapter 17. The C Standard Library

  1. Headers and Interfaces
  2. String and Memory Utilities
  3. Mathematical Functions
  4. Error Reporting
  5. Part VI. The Preprocessor and Build Model

Chapter 18. The Preprocessor

  1. Macro Expansion Model
  2. Object-like and Function-like Macros
  3. Header Files and Include Guards
  4. When Not to Use Macros

Chapter 19. Separate Compilation

  1. Translation Units
  2. Header Design Principles
  3. Linking Multiple Files
  4. Managing Interfaces
  5. Part VII. Writing Robust C

Chapter 20. Undefined Behavior and Defensive Programming

  1. What Undefined Behavior Really Means
  2. Common Sources of Undefined Behavior
  3. Writing Predictable Programs

Chapter 21. Error Handling Strategies

  1. Return Codes
  2. errno
  3. Designing Error-Conscious APIs

Chapter 22. Testing and Debugging

  1. Using a Debugger
  2. Assertions
  3. Building Small Test Programs
  4. Part VIII. Thinking in C

Chapter 23. Performance and Cost Models

  1. What C Gives You
  2. Constant-Time Thinking
  3. Memory Access Patterns

Chapter 24. Abstraction in a Low-Level Language

  1. Abstraction Without Classes
  2. Opaque Structs
  3. Designing Clean Interfaces

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