Why Learn C Programming? - Espeaks - Learn By Money

 Why Learn C Programming?

C helps you to understand the internal architecture of a computer, and how the computer stores and retrieves information.

After learning C, it will be much easier to learn other programming languages like Java, Python, etc.

Opportunity to work on open-source projects. Some of the largest open-source projects such as Linux kernel, Python interpreter, SQLite database, etc. are written in C programming.

 

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Why should you learn C programming?

If you don't know C, you don't know what you are doing as a programmer. Sure, your application works fine and all. It is said by someone, if you can't say why while (*s++ = *p++); copies a string, you're programming on a superstition.

You will understand how a computer works

If you know C, you will not only know how your program works but, you will be able to create a mental model of how a computer works (including memory management and allocation).

C is the lingua franca of programming

Almost all high-level programming languages like Java, Python, Javascript, etc can interface with C programming. Doesn't matter if the person you are talking with doesn't know C, you can still convey your programming ideas in a way they can understand.

Opportunity to work on open-source projects

If you know C, you can contribute to large open-source projects that impact hundreds of millions of people. Some of the larger open-source projects where C programming is used are Linux, Kernel, Interpreter, Python, SQLite Database, etc.

You will find it much easier to learn other programming languages

A lot of popular programming languages are based on C (like C++, considered a superset of C programming with OOP features). Hence, if you know C and C++, you will not have any problem switching to another language.

And also, languages like Java and C# are related to C and C++.

C Programming Best Practice: Best practices are informal rules which can improve quality and decrease the development time of the software. Some of the practices mentioned here are valid for all programming languages. However, some are valid only for C programming.

Be consistent with the formatting: The number of spaces you use in the program doesn't matter in C. However, you shouldn't use a different number of spaces at different places. Also, proper spacing makes the code easier to understand.

Use one statement per line: What's wrong with the following code?

int total; float average = 10.0; printf("Average = %f", average);

Actually, the code is perfectly valid. But, wouldn't this be better:

int total;

float average = 10.0;

printf("Average = %f", average);

The goal here is to write code that your fellow programmers can understand.

Naming Convention and Consistency

Give a proper name to variables and functions and be consistent with it. For example,

int x, y:

Here, x and y are two variables. But it doesn't specify what they represent. However, if you choose names like:

int total, average;

This will be better to understand.

The Habit of Using Comments in C

Comments are part of codes that the compiler ignores. They can be used to explain what you are trying to achieve in your program. This helps fellow programmers to understand the code.

Single Line Comments

All programming languages might have different ways of commenting, But in C you can use double forward slashes for single-line comments.

//This is single line comment in C language

Multi-Line Comments

All programming languages might have different ways of commenting, But in C you can use a forward slash with an asterisk (/*) before and at the end use an asterisk with forward slash (*/) and put the comment between.

/*

This is multi line comment in C language.

This is multi line comment in C language.

This is multi line comment in C language.

*/