57 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
57 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Appendix
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---
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# C: An Appendix
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Because C is such a low-level language, there are a lot of terms that come up that aren't found in a lot of other languages. Here's an appendix to making understanding them easier.
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## Compilation
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The compilation is the process of taking the human-readable code and turning it into machine-readable code. This process is performed by a compiler.
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## Compiler
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A compiler is a program that compiles code, meaning it changes it from something human-readable into something machine-readable.
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## Debugging/Debugger
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Debugging is the process of removing errors ("bugs") from your code. A debugger is a helpful tool that makes that easier.
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## GNU+Linux
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GNU+Linux is the technically accurate term for what is commonly referred to as "Linux". Linux is a kernel- it's a set of programs that allow software to interact with hardware. When combined with GNU, it becomes an operating system, which allows a person to interact with it.
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## GUI
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Graphical User Interface. A GUI will allow you to interact with a program by pointing and clicking rather than having to type in commands.
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## Header Files
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Header files are files containing function declarations that are defined in other source files. These are typically 'included' at the top of a source file.
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## Human-readable
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The human-readable code is code that can be read by a person- it's not in binary or machine code.
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## IDE
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Integrated Development Environment. This is mostly an editor but includes tools to check syntax, format code style, compile, and debug a program, which makes writing code easier.
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## Libraries
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Libraries are useful sets of code that give more functions and features in the language.
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## Linker
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A piece of Software that combines multiple Object files (usually compiled source code or libraries) into one executable file. Another name for the Linker is a 'Loader'.
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## Low-Level language
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A low-level programming language contains binary or assembly code which has little or no abstraction from machine level instructions.
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## Machine Code
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Machine code is the code that the machine can understand. Remember that computers use numbers, not English, to run.
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## Newline
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A newline is what gets printed when you hit Enter, and is an example of a whitespace character. You can also add a newline to the output of your program by including '\n' in your print statement.
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## Object File
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A file that contains Object Code (Machine Code). The file contains output some compilation, meaning it will contain machine code/assembly code.
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## Pointer
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A pointer is a variable that contains the memory address of another variable. Arrays, Structures and Functions explicitly use pointers which can help produce efficient and easy-to-read code.
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## Source Code
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Source code is any collection of code, possibly with comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code is often transformed by an assembler or compiler into binary machine code understood by the computer.
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## Whitespace
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Whitespace is the characters that you don't see when you type but are there anyway. For example, you can't see spaces, but there is a lot here. Newlines are also whitespace characters, as are tabs.
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