📘 C Programming – 5-Week Course Syllabus

This 5-week course introduces core concepts of the C programming language.
It is designed for second-year Computer Science students who already know Java and/or C++ and will continue with Python afterward.
Each week consists of one lecture (2×45 min) and one lab (2×45 min).

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📅 Weekly Overview

Week	Topic	Focus Keywords
1	Introduction & C Basics	setup, syntax, compilation, printf/scanf
2	Control Flow & Functions	branching, loops, functions
3	Arrays, Strings & Pointers	arrays, strings, pointers
4	Dynamic Memory & Structures	malloc, struct, typedef, union
5	Files & Modular Programming	file I/O, preprocessor, headers, modularity

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Week 1 – Introduction & C Basics

Lecture

• History and role of C (systems, embedded, portability)
• Program structure (#include, main, standard library)
• Compilation process (source → preprocessor → compiler → linker → executable)
• Data types (int, char, float, double), variables, and constants
• Input/output using printf and scanf

Lab

• Set up environment (GitHub Codespaces / VS Code + GCC)
• Write, compile, and run “Hello, World”
• Simple arithmetic calculator
• Explore printf / scanf format specifiers

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Week 2 – Control Flow & Functions

Lecture

• Operators and precedence
• Conditional statements (if, else, switch)
• Loops (for, while, do…while)
• Functions: prototypes, parameters, return types, scope (auto, static)
• Comparing Java methods vs C functions

Lab

• Write branching and looping programs
• Create functions (factorial, prime test, calculator)
• Trace program flow and debug using print statements

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Week 3 – Arrays, Strings & Pointers (Introduction)

Lecture

• One-dimensional and multidimensional arrays
• Strings as character arrays and null termination
• Introduction to pointers: addresses, dereferencing, pointer–array relationship
• Function arguments by value vs by pointer

Lab

• Implement manual string functions (strlen, strcpy)
• Work with numeric arrays (min, max, average)
• Pass pointers to functions (swap two values)

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Week 4 – Advanced Pointers, Dynamic Memory & Structures

Lecture

• Pointer arithmetic and pointer to pointer
• Dynamic memory allocation (malloc, calloc, realloc, free)
• struct definitions and field access
• typedef, union, and enum

Lab

• Create dynamic arrays with malloc
• Define and use a struct (e.g., Student record)
• Build a small in-memory database (array of structs)

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Week 5 – Files, Preprocessor & Modular Programming

Lecture

• File I/O (fopen, fprintf, fscanf, fread, fwrite)
• Preprocessor directives (#include, #define, conditional compilation)
• Separate compilation and header files
• Debugging and best practices

Lab

• Read/write data from files
• Save and load structured records
• Split program into multiple source and header files
• Mini-project: Student management system with file persistence

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Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Write, compile, and debug C programs in a Linux/GCC environment
• Apply control flow, functions, arrays, strings, and pointers effectively
• Manage dynamic memory and create composite data types using struct
• Work with text and binary files
• Organize programs into multiple source files with headers
• Understand how C differs from Java and how it connects to Python
• Demonstrate foundational skills for later systems and software courses