Chapter Summary

This first chapter introduces learners to the basic concepts needed to understand how programs interact with computer hardware and the basic process of turning words into software.

Key Concepts

• Hardware (CPU, memory, storage, GPU) provides the physical infrastructure
  • CPU: Executes instructions; multi-core processors handle multiple instructions simultaneously; clock speed (measured in GHz) determines instruction execution rate
  • Memory (RAM): Volatile storage for active programs and data; faster but limited capacity
  • Persistent Storage: Non-volatile storage (SSDs, HDDs) for long-term data retention; slower but larger capacity
• Software provides the instructions that make hardware functional
  • Operating System: Manages resource allocation, coordinates multiple processes, and provides services to applications
  • Programs/Applications/Apps: These all describe things that we as programmers create to allow us to process information in different ways
• The C Compilation Process
  • Preprocessor: Performs text substitution such as #include <stdio.h> and outputs the result as C code
  • Compiler: Translates C code to machine code. The results of the compiler are no longer human readable
  • Linker: Combines compiled C dode with library binaries to create the final executable
• C Program basics
  • Libraries provide common functionality to your programs. To use them include their headers
  • The main() function is the program entry point. That is, programs start by executing the main() function of the program.
  • Function calls like printf() accomplishes some task
  • a function's return statement is exits a function. In the case of main() it exits the program