Learn C Programming

This C programming post will help you to learn C Programming language from basic. Beginners, with no previous knowledge of programming can start learning it now with the help of this post. So let’s start with the Overview of C.


C is a programming language. It is a popular computer programming language because it is a Structured High Level, machine Independent Language. Programmers need not worry about the hardware platform where they will be implemented.


Dennis Ritchie invented C language. Ken Thompson created a language-B which was based upon a language known as BCPL. B language was created in 1970, mainly for Unix operating systems Dennis Ritchie used ALGOL, BCPL and B as the basic reference language from which he created C.


C has many qualities which any programmer may desire. It contains the capability of assembly language(or machine language)with the features of high-level language which can be used for creating software packages, system software etc.

It provides the programmer a rich set of built-in functions and operators. C is highly portable, which means C programs written on one computer can run on any other computer without making any changes in the program source code. Structured programming concept is well supported in C, this helps in dividing the programs into function modules or code blocks.


Instructions in C language are formed using Syntax and Keywords. It is necessary to strictly follow C language Syntax Rules to run the programs without any errors. Any instruction that mis-matches with the C language Syntax generates an error while compiling the program. All the programs must confirm to rules pre-defined in C language.

Keywords also known as special words are exclusively used by C language, each keyword has its own meaning and relevance hence, Keywords should not be used either as variable or constant names. The variables and constants will be discussed later in detail.

Character set

The character set in the C language can be grouped into the following categories:

  1. Letters
  2. Digits
  3. Special Characters
  4. White spaces

White spaces are ignored by the compiler until they are a part of a string constant. White spaces can be used to separate words, but should be strictly avoided while declaring keywords and identifiers/variables.

C Character-Set Table

  • Letters

The letters in the c language character set include:

Uppercase letters: A to Z

Lowercase letters: a to z

  • Digits

The digits in the C language character set include:

0 to 9 digits or combination of 0 to 9 digits.

  • Special Characters

Here is the list of the special characters that are used in C Language.

, .Comma & .Ampersand
. .Period ^ .Caret
; .Semicolon * .Asterik
: .Colon .Minus Sign
? .Question Mark + .Plus Sign
.Aphostrophe < .Opening Angle ( Less Than Sign )
.Quotation Mark > .Closing Angle ( Greater Than Sign )
! .Exclamation Mark ( .Left Parenthesis
| .Vertical Bar ) .Right Parenthesis
/ .Slash [ .Left Bracket
\ .Backslash ] .Right Bracket
~ .Tilde { .Left Brace
_ .Underscore } .Right Brace
$ .Dollar Sign # .Number Sign
% .Percentage Sign . .

White spaces

The white spaces include the followings:

  1. Blank Space
  2. Horizontal Tab
  3. Carriage Return
  4. New Line
  5. Form Feed

To learn about the data types in C Programming language, click here.

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