Learn C the Hard Way: A Clear & Direct Introduction to Modern C Programming

You Will Learn C! Zed Shaw has perfected the world's best system for learning C. Follow it and you will succeed-just like the hundreds of thousands of programmers Zed has taught to date! You bring discipline, commitment, persistence, and experience with any programming language; the author supplies everything else. In Learn C the Hard Way, you'll learn C by working through 52 brilliantly crafted exercises. Watch Zed Shaw's teaching video. Type his code precisely. (No copying and pasting!) Fix your mistakes. Watch the programs run. As you do, you'll learn what good modern C programs look like, how to think more effectively about code, and how to find and fix mistakes far more efficiently. Most importantly, you'll master rigorous defensive programming techniques, so you can use any language to create software that defends itself from malicious activity and defects. Shaw teaches all the key skills you need to start writing excellent C software: Planning and attention to detail Setting up a C environment Basic syntax and idioms Compilation, make files, and linkers Operators, variables, and data types Program control Arrays and strings Functions, pointers, and structs Memory allocation I/O and files Libraries Data structures, including linked lists, sort, and search Stacks and queues Debugging, defensive coding, and automated testing Fixing stack overflows, illegal memory access, and more It'll Be Hard At First. But Soon, You'll Just Get It-And That Will Feel Great! This tutorial will reward you for every minute you put into it. Soon, you'll know one of the world's most powerful programming languages. You'll be a C programmer. Watch Zed first! The accompanying DVD contains 5+ hours of passionate, powerful teaching to jumpstart your learning of each key skill: a complete C video course! This is the Rough Cut version of the printed book. Need to learn C? Now you can! Forget old-fashioned C programming books that assume you're a computer hardware expert and teach frustrating, old-fashioned coding styles. If you know any language at all, Zed A. Shaw's Learn C the Hard Way can help you get started fast with modern C programming. This book/CD package is called "The Hard Way," but it's really quite easy: it just requires discipline, practice, and persistence. Shaw teaches how to write modern, clean, clear C code through dozens of brilliantly-crafted exercises, most on two pages. You simply read each exercise, type in its sample code precisely (no copy-and-paste!), and make the programs run. As you read, type, fix your mistakes, and watch the results, you learn how C works... what good modern C programs look like... how to read, write, and "see" code... how to spot crucial differences that change or break programs... all the essentials of C logic, I/O, variables, and functions... and the attention to detail that is indispensable to successful C programming. At first, yes, it can be difficult. But it gets easier. And Shaw offers plenty of extra help through 5+ full hours of CD-based teaching video. Nothing important comes without discipline, practice, and persistence. But, with this package, if you bring those qualities, you will master C... and you will reap the very real personal and career rewards that go with C programming expertise! Need to learn C? Now you can! Forget old-fashioned C programming books that assume you're a computer hardware expert and teach frustrating, old-fashioned coding styles. If you know any language at all, Zed A. Shaw's Learn C the Hard Way can help you get started fast with modern C programming. This book/CD package is called The Hard Way, but it's really quite easy: it just requires discipline, practice, and persistence. Shaw teaches how to write modern, clean, clear C code through dozens of brilliantly-crafted exercises, none longer than two pages. You simply read each exercise, type in its sample code precisely (no copy-and-paste!), and make the programs run. As you read, type, fix your mistakes, and watch the results, you learn how C works...what good modern C programs look like...how to read, write, and see code...how to spot crucial differences that change or break programs...all the essentials of C logic, I/O, variables, and functions...and the attention to detail that is indispensable to successful C programming. At first, yes, it can be difficult. But it gets easier. And Shaw offers plenty of extra help through 5 full hours of CD-based teaching video. Nothing important comes without discipline, practice, and persistence. But, with this package, if you bring those qualities, you will master C...and you will reap the very real personal and career rewards that go with C programming expertise! Contents 6 Acknowledgments 15 This Book Is Not Really about C 16 The Undefined Behaviorists 17 C Is a Pretty and Ugly Language 18 What You Will Learn 19 How to Read This Book 19 The Videos 20 The Core Competencies 20 Reading and Writing 20 Attention to Detail 21 Spotting Differences 21 Planning and Debugging 21 Exercise 1 Dust Off That Compiler 23 Breaking It Down 23 What You Should See 24 How to Break It 25 Extra Credit 25 Exercise 2 Using Makefiles to Build 27 Using Make 27 What You Should See 28 How to Break It 29 Extra Credit 29 Index 31 A 32 B 33 C 33 D 34 E 36 F 36 G 37 H 37 I 38 J 38 K 38 L 38 M 39 N 40 O 40 P 40 Q 41 R 41 S 42 T 44 U 44 V 44 W 44