Introduction to C - A 5-day Course

 Open Public Course Closed In-House Course

Synopsis

This is an intensive introduction to ANSI C programming using the GNU C compiler. At the end of the course attendees should be reasonably confident in reading and writing C programs and have a good practical understanding of advanced topics such as the use of C pointers, the relationship between pointers and arrays, as well as dynamic memory allocation and memory management. In addition, they will be able to understand makefiles and version control using RCS and CVS.

Throughout, the course will emphasise a disciplined and structured approach to C programming. Debugging and code testing techniques will also be covered extensively, including the use of the GNU debugging tools. The course is not based on any particular Integrated Development Environment (IDE), and adopts a more traditional approach where files are created using a suitable editor (such as EMACS) and programs are compiled either by issuing commands at the commandline, or by invoking make on an appropriate makefile.

Suitable for

Attendees are expected to have some programming experience - e.g. Basic, Fortran or Pascal. The course is also suitable for recent engineering and computer science graduates who need to "cure" any bad (programming) habits they might have picked up at University.

Prerequisites

Drive and determination are important pre-requisites - the course aims to produce competent working programmers, as is a good sense of humour (vital when working under pressure). Good programmers think hard, but also have a strong obsessive streak .... a need to get a program fully debugged and working at all costs.

Key Skills

• Master the GNU C compiler
• Learn both the syntax and usage of C
• Enter the exotic world of dynamic data structures and algorithms
• Be able to save data to files and read data from files
• Understand the intricacies of makefiles and make
• Appreciate the need for version control and be able to work with RCS and CVS
• Master the techniques for writing well structured modular code in C
• Know how to usd the GNU debugger

Delivery

This is instructor-led C training. Each section of the material covered by the tutor is followed by hands-on practical exercises for which worked examples of the solutions are typically provided.

The course also includes numerous mini-challenges and code examples for private study, and to build on the skills acquired during the course.

• Compiling a simple C program
• Compiling an application containing several C modules (.c files)
• Creating data structures and applications that use them
• Traversing and processing information in one dimensional and multi-dimensional arrays
• Finding your way round the GNU documentation and help manuals
• Reading and writing text and binary files
• Creating and using indexed data structures

Scheduled and On-site Courses

Courses in this subject are scheduled on an 'ad-hoc' basis. We can arrange a course at our Carshalton centre or on customer site for any client wishing to send two or more delegates on the same course.

For courses at the Carshalton Centre the fee will be:

• £3500 + VAT for the first two delegates
• £1650 + VAT for the third delegate
• £1200 + VAT for the fourth delegate
• £400 + VAT for each additional delegate to a maximum of eight

On-site course fees are as above + expenses recharged at cost.

For a 1:1 course in Carshalton the fee is £2750 + VAT. For a 1:1 on-site course the fee is £2750 + VAT + expenses recharged at cost.

If there are any dates showing below this line, a course has been scheduled and places for individuals are available at £1750. Otherwise, no courses are currently scheduled and the above fees apply.

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