C Programming

Lesson 2: Introduction to C

Programming Language Structure

All programming languages follow a certain structure in the way that they are conceived, and the features that they offer. By and large, programs exist to push information around a system. All programs can be broken down into information and the manipulation of that information to achieve a specific result.

There are a number of features that all programming languages share – things that without, they would not be able to provide a way for the programmer to describe the solution to a given problem.

Firstly, whatever the language, there are built in definitions for various pieces of information, and we call these definitions ‘data types’. There are types for numbers, characters, and collections, or arrays.

All languages also have a way to identify the entry point to the program. This tells the machine where to begin executing it. Unlike a book, this is not necessarily at the beginning of the program. Since in C, programs can also consist of multiple files, the problem is compounded. So the entry point needs to be clearly marked.

The final feature that programming languages share is the ability to extend the language, by creating new commands. Each of these new commands (functions) can then be used in place of the code that they represent.

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