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C: Programs, Memory, and Systems

Build a precise C17 foundation, manage memory deliberately, and reason about portable concurrent systems.

18 lessonsEnglish + ArabicContent reviewed
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In this course

This theory course develops C from translation units and everyday expressions to lifetime, ownership, concurrency, and system boundaries. Every level contains six substantial lessons with explained examples, diagnosis guides, and exercises whose solutions show the reasoning.

The teaching baseline is hosted ISO C17, including features introduced in C11. Examples identify optional facilities and POSIX interfaces explicitly. C23 notes describe differences without silently changing the baseline, and undefined behavior is never assigned an invented expected result.

What you will learn

  • Explain compilation, types, expressions, and function contracts.
  • Design bounded text processing and explicit ownership rules.
  • Build modular, testable C programs and diagnose memory errors.
  • Evaluate concurrency, portability, and performance claims against documented contracts.

Your learning path

Three levels

Basic: Read and Construct Programs

Understand the C program model, expressions, decisions, functions, and bounded sequences.

  1. The Toolchain and the C Program Model
  2. Types, Ranges, and Conversions
  3. Input, Output, and Validation
  4. Operators and Control Flow
  5. Functions and Contracts
  6. Arrays, Strings, and Bounds
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Intermediate: Memory and Reliable Components

Turn small programs into components with explicit lifetimes, ownership, persistence, and verification.

  1. Pointers, Object Lifetime, and Aliases
  2. Dynamic Allocation and Ownership
  3. Structures and Data Models
  4. Files, Streams, and Error Handling
  5. Modules, Headers, and Reproducible Builds
  6. Testing, Diagnostics, and Debugging
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Advanced: Language Boundaries and Systems

Reason about undefined behavior, generic interfaces, data structures, concurrency, portability, and measured performance.

  1. Undefined Behavior, Alignment, and Access Rules
  2. Callbacks and Generic Interfaces
  3. Data Structures and Invariants
  4. C11 Concurrency and Atomics
  5. Portability and System Interfaces
  6. Performance, Measurement, and Correctness
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Who this is for

  • New programmers who want a careful introduction to C.
  • Developers who need to review memory safety and portable systems programming.

Before you start

  • Basic computer literacy and the ability to edit a text file.
  • For intermediate and advanced lessons, complete the preceding level or demonstrate equivalent knowledge.

Related technical solutions

Resolve an Undefined Reference During LinkingIdentify the missing definition and repair the actual link inputs instead of changing a correct declaration.Diagnose a Segmentation Fault and Pointer LifetimeTrace the earliest invalid access and restore lifetime, bounds, and ownership guarantees before treating the crash as repaired.Fix Input Mismatches and Leftover NewlinesSeparate complete-line acquisition from numeric parsing so failed conversions and leftover delimiters cannot silently change the next record.