C Programming Language Tutorial

C is a general-purpose, procedural, and middle-level programming language developed by Dennis M. Ritchie at Bell Laboratories in 1972. It is also known as the "mother of all programming languages" as it influenced many modern programming languages like C++, Java, Python, and Go.

Why learn C?

The C language is a popular choice for system-level and application programming due to its powerful, efficient, and flexible nature. Below are some key features of C language that show the ability and power of the C language:

• Simple and Direct: C is a simple language with a small set of keywords due to which programmers have to take manual approach which provides a deeper understanding of how different concepts work at a low level.
• Fast Speed: C is a statically typed compiler-based language so it is faster that other languages such as Python.
• Memory Management: C provides direct access to lower-level memory management using pointers and functions like realloc(), free(), etc.
• Structure Similarity: Many programming languages have borrowed their syntax from C language, so it is easy to learn them if you already know C.

C Fundamentals

This section of the C Tutorial includes basic concepts that build the foundation for writing C programs. It teaches you how to store and output data, perform arithmetic and other operations, control the program flow, etc.

• Introduction
• Setting Up C Environment
• Compilation Process
• Identifiers
• Keywords
• Variables
• Data Types
• Quiz: C Basics | Variables | Data Types
• Input and Output
• Operators
• Quiz: Input and Output | Operators
• Conditional Statements
• Loops
• Quiz: Conditional Statements and Loops

C Functions

Functions are block of code that performs a specific task. They allows programmers to write modular and reusable code.

• Functions
• Parameter Passing Techniques
• Main Function
• Recursion
• Inline Function
• Nested Functions
• Quiz: Functions

Compound Data Types

Compound data types are created from primitive data types and provides a different way to use them according to our needs. This section of C tutorial teaches you about the compound data types and how to efficiently organize and process real world data.

• Arrays
• Pointers
• Strings
• Quiz: Array | Pointers | Strings
• Structures
• Unions
• Enumeration (or enum)
• Quiz: Structure & Union

Memory Management in C

This section covers the manual memory management in C using pointers. The dynamic memory management in C uses functions like malloc(), calloc(), realloc(), and free() to manually manage the memory while avoiding errors such as memory leak.

• Program's Memory Layout
• Dynamic Memory Allocation
• Memory Leaks
• Quiz: Memory Management

File Handling

This section teaches you how to work with files in C, including creating, reading, writing, manipulating and deleting files.

• Basics of File Handling
• Read a File
• Read/Write Structure From/to a File
• EOF, getc() and feof()
• Delete a File
• Quiz: File Handling

Error Handling

Unlike other programming languages that have automatic error handling, In C language error handling is to be manually done by the developers using error-handling methods, debugging strategies, and functions like perror(), strerror(), etc.

• Error Handling
• Exception Handling Using goto
• File Error Handling
• Divide by Zero Exception

Miscellaneous C Concepts

This section explores various essential of C language that do not fit into a single category but play a vital role in C programming and provide advanced functionality to your program.

• Preprocessors
• Macros
• Quiz: Preprocessors and Macros
• Header Files
• Date and Time
• Linkage
• Storage Classes
• Quiz: Storage Classes

Advanced C

This section teaches you high-level C programming techniques such as multi-threading, signal handling, socket programming, etc which are used in creating high-performance robust applications and systems.

• Variadic Functions
• Input-Output System Calls
• Signals
• Socket Programming
• _Generics Keyword
• Multithreading

C vs Other Programming Languages

Let's see where C language stands as compared to other popular programming languages:

Whats Next?

Now that you have a strong foundation in C langauge, you can explore more advanced topics such as Data structures and Algorithms in C. Keep challenging yourself with our collection of practice problems to further strengthen you understanding of the language:

• Fundamental Practice Problems
• Functions Practice Problems
• Compound Data Types Practice Problems

You can explore advanced topics such as Data structures and Algorithms in C to solve complex problems and you can also contribute to open-source projects, or even start preparing for competitive programming contests to and gain some hands-on experience.

Job Roles for C Programmers

C is worth learning in 2025 as it is still used for system programming, embedded systems, operating systems, game engines, networking, and high-performance computing. C programmers can work in roles such as:

• Embedded Systems Engineer: Engineers who develop embedded systems, that mainly concern on hardware and software integration for devices like IoT.
• Firmware Engineer: Create firmware for hardware devices to control their functionality and ensure proper operation of embedded systems.
• System Programmer: People who work on system-level software like operating systems, device drivers.
• Game Developer: Designs and creates video games ensuring smooth gameplay across platforms.
• Network Engineer: Configure create and manage computer networks (like LANs, WANs) to ensure efficient and secure communication across the network.

You can use our list of carefully selected interview questions based on C programming to prepare for your technical interviews:

• Top 50 C Programming Interview Questions and Answers
• Commonly Asked C Programming Interview Questions | Set 1
• Commonly Asked C Programming Interview Questions | Set 2
• Commonly Asked C Programming Interview Questions | Set 3

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• C Language
• Tutorials