Chapter 01Beginner

Getting Started with C Programming

Your first step into C programming! Learn how to install a compiler, set up your computer, and write your very first "Hello World" program. No prior experience needed.

10 min readUpdated 2024-12-16
c programminghello worldsetupcompilergccbeginner

What You Will Learn

  • ✓Install a C compiler (GCC) on your computer
  • ✓Set up a code editor or IDE
  • ✓Write and run your first C program
  • ✓Understand what happens when you compile code

01Introduction

Welcome to the world of C programming! 🎉 If you're here, you've made an excellent choice. C is one of the most influential programming languages ever created, and learning it will give you a solid foundation for understanding how computers really work.

📚 A Brief History of C

C was developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs between 1969 and 1973. It was created to rewrite the UNIX operating system, which was originally written in assembly language. The result? A language that was:

  • • Powerful — Close to hardware, like assembly
  • • Portable — Could run on different computers
  • • Simple — Easy to understand and write

Today, C is everywhere! It powers operating systems (Windows, Linux, macOS), databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL), game engines, embedded systems in your car and appliances, and much more. Many modern languages like C++, Java, Python, and JavaScript borrowed their syntax from C.

Why Learn C in 2024?

  • 🔧 Direct Hardware Access: C lets you work directly with memory and hardware — perfect for operating systems, drivers, and embedded systems.
  • ⚡ Performance: C programs run extremely fast because they compile directly to machine code with minimal overhead.
  • 🧠 Deep Understanding: Learning C teaches you concepts like memory management, pointers, and data structures that make you a better programmer in ANY language.
  • 💼 Career Opportunities: C developers are in demand for systems programming, IoT, game development, and more.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to set up your development environment and write your very first C program. Don't worry if you've never written code before — we'll explain everything step by step!

02Prerequisites

No prior programming experience is required! However, you should have:

  • A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux
  • Basic familiarity with using a command line/terminal
  • A text editor (we'll cover options below)
  • Enthusiasm to learn!

03Installing a C Compiler

Before you can run C programs, you need a special tool called a compiler. But what exactly is a compiler? Let's understand this important concept:

🤔 What is a Compiler?

Computers don't understand C code directly. They only understand machine code — a language made of 0s and 1s. A compiler is a program that translates your human-readable C code into machine code that the computer can execute.

hello.c

Your C code

→

GCC Compiler

Translation

→

hello.exe

Runnable program

The most popular C compiler is GCC (GNU Compiler Collection). It's free, open-source, and works on all major operating systems. Let's install it on your computer:

Choose Your Operating System

The installation process is different for each operating system. Find your OS below and follow those specific instructions.

Windows Installation

For Windows, we recommend installing MinGW-w64 or using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).

Option 1: MinGW-w64 (Recommended for beginners)

  1. Download MinGW-w64 from https://www.mingw-w64.org/
  2. Run the installer and select your architecture (x86_64 for 64-bit)
  3. Add the bin folder to your system PATH
  4. Open Command Prompt and type gcc --version to verify
Command Prompt
BASH
1# Verify GCC installation
2gcc --version
3
4# Expected output:
5# gcc (MinGW-w64 x86_64-...) 13.x.x
6# Copyright (C) 2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

macOS Installation

macOS comes with Clang (a C compiler compatible with GCC). Install Xcode Command Line Tools:

Terminal
BASH
1# Install Xcode Command Line Tools
2xcode-select --install
3
4# Verify installation
5gcc --version
6# or
7clang --version

Linux Installation

Most Linux distributions include GCC or can install it easily:

Terminal
BASH
1# Ubuntu/Debian
2sudo apt update
3sudo apt install build-essential
4
5# Fedora
6sudo dnf install gcc
7
8# Arch Linux
9sudo pacman -S gcc
10
11# Verify installation
12gcc --version

04Your First C Program: Hello, World!

Now comes the exciting part — writing your very first C program! 🎉 We'll create the famous "Hello, World!" program. This is a tradition in programming that dates back to the 1970s, and it's the perfect way to test that everything is working correctly.

Why "Hello, World!"?

This simple program was first used in a 1978 book about C programming. It's the perfect first program because it teaches you: how to write code, how to compile it, and how to run it — all without complicated logic.

Create a new file called hello.c (C files always end with .c) and type the following code:

hello.c
C
1#include <stdio.h>
2
3int main() {
4    printf("Hello, World!\n");
5    return 0;
6}

📖 Quick Code Breakdown

#include <stdio.h>→ Get the tools for printing (like printf)
int main() {→ Program starts here (the "front door")
printf("...");→ Print text to screen (\n = new line)
return 0;→ Tell system "success!" (0 = OK, other = error)
}→ End of main function

💡 Remember: Every statement ends with a semicolon ; — it's like a period at the end of a sentence!

🖨️ Understanding printf() - Your First Function

printf() is a function that prints (displays) text to the screen. The name stands for "print formatted".

int printf(const char *format, ...);
format: The text you want to print (in double quotes)
...: Optional values to insert into the text (we'll learn this later)
Returns: Number of characters printed (we usually ignore this)

\n is an "escape sequence" — it means "new line". Without it, the next output would appear on the same line!

⚙️The Compilation Process (Brief Overview)

Your C code goes through several stages before becoming a runnable program:

📝
Source Code

hello.c

🔧
Preprocessor

#include processed

⚙️
Compiler

To machine code

🔗
Linker

Links libraries

🚀
Executable

hello.exe

In Simple Terms:
  1. 1. Preprocessor: Handles #include - copies stdio.h content into your file
  2. 2. Compiler: Translates C code into machine-readable instructions
  3. 3. Linker: Connects your code with library functions (like printf)
  4. 4. Output: Creates the final executable program you can run

Compiling and Running

Open your terminal, navigate to the folder containing hello.c, and run:

Terminal
BASH
1# Compile the program
2gcc hello.c -o hello
3
4# Run the compiled program
5# On Windows:
6hello.exe
7
8# On macOS/Linux:
9./hello
10
11# Output:
12Hello, World!

Congratulations!

You've just written, compiled, and executed your first C program! This is the foundation for everything else you'll learn.

Common Beginner Errors

Missing Semicolon

Every statement in C must end with a semicolon ;

error_example.c
C
// Wrong - missing semicolon
printf("Hello")
// Correct
printf("Hello");

Wrong Quotes

Strings must use double quotes ", not single quotes.

error_example.c
C
// Wrong - single quotes are for single characters
printf('Hello');
// Correct
printf("Hello");

05Summary

What You Learned:

  • ✓C Language Basics: Created by Dennis Ritchie in the 1970s, C is essential for system programming and embedded systems
  • ✓Compiler Setup: Installed GCC (MinGW on Windows, Xcode tools on macOS, or build-essential on Linux)
  • ✓Hello World Program: Wrote your first C program using #include, main(), and printf()
  • ✓Compilation Process: Source code → Preprocessor → Compiler → Linker → Executable
  • ✓Compile Command: Use gcc hello.c -o hello to compile, then run with ./hello
  • ✓Common Errors: Always end statements with ; and use double quotes " " for strings

06Next Steps

Excellent work completing your first C tutorial! You now have a working development environment and understand the basic structure of a C program.

In the next tutorial, we'll explore C Data Types — learning about variables, integers, floating-point numbers, characters, and how to store and manipulate data in your programs.

Next: Basic Syntax→View All Tutorials