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Practical C Programming
Practical C Programming

Practical C Programming: Solutions for modern C developers to create efficient and well-structured programs

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Practical C Programming

Managing Strings

Strings are nothing but arrays that store characters. Since strings are character arrays, they utilize less memory and lead to efficient object code, making programs run faster. Just like numerical arrays, strings are zero-based, that is, the first character is stored at index location 0. In C, strings are terminated by a null character, \0.

The recipes in this chapter will enhance your understanding of strings and will acquaint you with string manipulation. Strings play a major role in almost all applications. You will learn how to search strings (which is a very common task), replace a string with another string, search for a string that contains a specific pattern, and more. 

In this chapter, you will learn how to create the following recipes using strings: 

  • Determining whether the string is a palindrome 
  • Finding the occurrence...

Determining whether the string is a palindrome 

A palindrome is a string that reads the same regardless of whether it is in a forward or backwards order. For example, the word radar is a palindrome because it reads the same way forwards and backwards.

How to do it…

  1. Define two 80-character strings called str and rev(assuming your string will not exceed 79 characters). Your string can be of any length, but remember that the last position in the string is fixed for the null character \0:
char str[80],rev[80];
  1. Enter characters that will be assigned to the str string:
printf("Enter a string: ");
scanf("%s",str);
  1. Compute the length of the string using the strlen...

Finding the occurrence of the first repetitive character in a string

In this recipe, you will learn how to create a program that displays the first character to be repeated in a string. For example, if you enter the string racecar, the program should give the output as The first repetitive character in the string racecar is c. The program should display No character is repeated in the string if a string with no repetitive characters is entered.

How to do it…

  1. Define two strings called str1 and str2. Your strings can be of any length, but the last position in the string is fixed for the null character \0:
char str1[80],str2[80];
  1. Enter characters to be assigned to str1. The characters...

Displaying the count of each character in a string

In this recipe, you will learn how to create a program that displays the count of each character in a string in a tabular form. 

How to do it…

  1. Create a string called str. The last element in the string will be a null character, \0
  2. Define another string called chr of matching length, to store the characters of str:
char str[80],chr[80];

  1. Prompt the user to enter a string. The entered string will be assigned to the str string:
printf("Enter a string: ");
scanf("%s",str);
  1. Compute the length of the string array, str, using strlen:
n=strlen(str);
  1. Define an integer array called count to...

Counting vowels and consonants in a sentence

In this recipe, you will learn how to count the number of vowels and consonants in an entered sentence. The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u, and the rest of the letters are consonants. We will use ASCII values to identify the letters and their casing:

Figure 2.11

The blank spaces, numbers, special characters, and symbols will simply be ignored. 

How to do it…

  1. Create a string array called str to input your sentence. As usual, the last character will be a null character:
char str[255];
  1. Define two variables, ctrV and ctrC:
int  ctrV,ctrC;
  1. Prompt the user to enter a sentence of your choice:
printf("Enter a sentence: &quot...

Converting the vowels in a sentence to uppercase

In this recipe, you will learn how to convert all of the lowercase vowels in a sentence to uppercase. The remaining characters in the sentence, including consonants, numbers, special symbols, and special characters, are simply ignored and will be left as they are.

Converting the casing of any letter is done by simply changing the ASCII value of that character, using the following formulas:

  • Subtract 32 from the ASCII value of a lowercase character to convert it to uppercase
  • Add 32 to the ASCII value of an uppercase character to convert it to lowercase

The following diagram shows the ASCII values of the uppercase and lowercase vowels:

Figure 2.12

The ASCII value of the uppercase letters is lower than that of lowercase letters, and the difference between the values is 32.

...
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Key benefits

  • Tackle various challenges in C programming by making the most of its latest features
  • Understand the workings of arrays, strings, functions, pointers, advanced data structures, and algorithms
  • Become well-versed with process synchronization during multitasking and server-client process communication

Description

Used in everything from microcontrollers to operating systems, C is a popular programming language among developers because of its flexibility and versatility. This book helps you get hands-on with various tasks, covering the fundamental as well as complex C programming concepts that are essential for making real-life applications. You’ll start with recipes for arrays, strings, user-defined functions, and pre-processing directives. Once you’re familiar with the basic features, you’ll gradually move on to learning pointers, file handling, concurrency, networking, and inter-process communication (IPC). The book then illustrates how to carry out searching and arrange data using different sorting techniques, before demonstrating the implementation of data structures such as stacks and queues. Later, you’ll learn interesting programming features such as using graphics for drawing and animation, and the application of general-purpose utilities. Finally, the book will take you through advanced concepts such as low-level programming, embedded software, IoT, and security in coding, as well as techniques for improving code performance. By the end of this book, you'll have a clear understanding of C programming, and have the skills you need to develop robust apps.

Who is this book for?

This intermediate-level book is for developers who want to become better C programmers by learning its modern features and programming practices. Familiarity with C programming is assumed to get the most out of this book.

What you will learn

  • Discover how to use arrays, functions, and strings to make large applications
  • Perform preprocessing and conditional compilation for efficient programming
  • Understand how to use pointers and memory optimally
  • Use general-purpose utilities and improve code performance
  • Implement multitasking using threads and process synchronization
  • Use low-level programming and the inline assembly language
  • Understand how to use graphics for animation
  • Get to grips with applying security while developing C programs

Product Details

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Length: 616 pages
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Publication date : Feb 14, 2020
Length: 616 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781838641108
Category :
Languages :

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Table of Contents

19 Chapters
Working with Arrays Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Managing Strings Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Exploring Functions Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Preprocessing and Compilation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Deep Dive into Pointers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
File Handling Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Implementing Concurrency Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Networking and Inter-Process Communication Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Sorting and Searching Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Working with Graphs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Advanced Data Structures and Algorithms Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creativity with Graphics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using MySQL Database Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
General-Purpose Utilities Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Improving the Performance of Your Code Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Low-Level Programming Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Embedded Software and IoT Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Applying Security in Coding Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Maxwell O. Massa Jul 07, 2023
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In reviewing books like this, it's important to hash out the reader's background first so others will be able to judge from what perspective he viewed the work. I am a beginner-level C developer, working on my own outside of any formal instruction, and this was the second book I've worked through (the first one was "Learn C Programming" by Jeff Szuhay (ISBN: 978-1801078450), also published by Packt). Given that profile, I found "Practical C Programming" by B. M. Harwarni to be an amazing "post-introduction" text that really thrust me into world of *possibilities* that C offers, while also offering some decent review of earlier content from Szuhay's lessons.To characterize the general feeling of this work, it provides a high-speed, almost violent acquaintance with a huge array of C's features and possibilities. It is critical to understand that this book lacks depth: most of the material in here is presented relatively briefly over the course of a chapter and then put down again, never to be reconsidered. Now, for someone like me who's working on his own and is trying to find a way to orient towards a project that might be bridge I need towards real competence, this was WONDERFUL: Jeff Szuhay's book did a good job of providing a structured, comprehensive introduction to the rudiments of the language, but - at the end of it all - I wasn't left with enough to begin imagining possibilities. Harwani fills that need by dragging me through such disparate topics as OpenGL integration, graph theory, MySQL structures and operations, Internet of Things (IoT) projects, and x86 assembly... among others. The first six chapters of the book (and parts of Chapters 11 and 14) also serve as a review of much of the ground covered in "Learn C Programming", which I actually found positive, but it would have been nice if this was done formally and deliberately.None of the new content is handled more than suggestively and superficially, but - as a result - the reader ends the book with the feeling that he has been dumped at a bewildering crossroads of possibilities, yet with an understanding of where each road would lead *if* he were to pursue it. I personally think that people teaching themselves would benefit particularly from this title: after reading Harwani's book, I realized that learning how C and MariaDB interact would be a critical next step for me, so I now know where I'm headed next. This is very valuable for people working on their own."Practical C Programming" has, of course, its flaws: they are tolerable, but should be mentioned. First of all, as a Packt title, is required by law to contain a large number of bizarre typos; while these are nowhere near as heinous as those that afflicted Szuhay's text, they're still really bad, particularly on pp. 291 and 410, where the prose description of the example code don't actually match the code itself, as presented. Secondly, and more importantly, the book is very Windows-oriented: people working in Linux, like myself, will be forced find workarounds for some of the units, particularly Chapter 6 (Linux does not distinguish between sequential and random files) and Chapter 17 (the Keil IDE used in this chapter is a Windows-only application). Finally, in spite of the fact that author urges the student to never use gets() in his or her code on page 562 because "it always creates a vulnerability", the book is otherwise full of gets() calls. Most modern compilers utterly refuse to process code that contains this function, so a certain amount of spot revision on-the-fly is needed on the part of the reader, which can get a little laborious. None of these issues are terrible in their own right, but they are irritations that could be effectively addressed in a second edition.In summary: it's a good book for what it is, assuming you're the sort of person who needs what it offers. I, personally, found myself very grateful for Mr. Harwani's work by the time I reached the end, but I would not endorse it without qualification. Think about what's good and bad here, and then make a carefully weighted decision with your eyes open. C is very important, but it is not easy. Personally, I am happy to take something imperfect, if it can help me make it to the next stage.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Dec 01, 2020
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there is nothing practical like thing in this book. price is too high compare to content in book. normal c linux program with lengthy story.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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