Proven C Book
An Introduction to Modern C with the Proven C Library
draft
rubidus@gmail.comgithub.com/rubidus-api/proven_c_book
An introduction to C, and an introduction to the proven C library.
Written for readers who are just starting out with C.
This edition is a draft. For the paginated index and exact typesetting, see the PDF.
If anything in the book leaves you wondering, please ask on the Q&A board. I answer as time allows and as far as I know the answer. Korean or English, either is fine. For typos and mistakes, an issue is the better place.
Contents
Part I — Ground: the machine and its memory
1 Setting the scene2 A simple model of the machine — the birth of C3 Words and addresses — the archetype of C4 Special knowledge about addresses — address 0, alignment, low bits5 The regions of memory — where a program puts what
Part II — What the machine really is: representation and execution
6 Representing integers — sign, overflow, shift7 Representing numbers — the contract called IEEE 7548 Characters and text — scars in the standard9 The origin of streams — punched cards, line printers, printing terminals10 Programs and processes — what it is to be run11 Multitasking and interrupts — a machine taking turns12 Memory divides — registers, caches, a ladder of layers13 The machinery of speed — the birth of the standard14 Compiler optimisation — the abstract machine15 And so C is an abstract language
Part III — The first program
16 Hello world17 The general shape of compilation18 Setting up a development environment19 The compiler landscape — C compilers in active service
Part IV — A minimal toolbox
20 The structure of a program21 Expressions and constants — the things that become values22 Using functions — how to call23 Output
Part V — Declarations: how names are made
Part VI — Values and flow
27 The families of types — how the standard divides them28 Integers — a world of finite numbers29 Integer operations — division, bits30 Implicit conversions — promotion and the usual arithmetic conversions31 Booleans and comparison32 Deciding — if and switch33 Repetition — loops and invariants34 The meaning of a function — copying values and side effects35 Assignment and side effects
Part VII — Memory
36 Objects, addresses, pointers37 Null — the three siblings, formally38 The rules of pointers — alignment and provenance39 Arrays40 Multidimensional arrays41 Arrays and pointers — when they are the same and when they are not42 Loop techniques — nesting, escaping, and making a block43 Strings44 Safe input — blocking overflow, handling failure45 Lifetime and storage duration46 Dynamic memory
Part VIII — The shape of data
Part IX — Deep corners
50 Expressions and operators51 Working with bits — idioms and traps52 Real numbers — the mathematics of approximation53 Errors and contracts54 Undefined behaviour
Part X — Structure
55 The three faces of main — entry point and exit status56 Building out of several files — translation units and linkage57 Linking and the ABI — promises at the binary level58 Where a name may be used — scope59 The world of names — four name spaces and three axes60 Handling name collisions — from prefixes to namespace61 The preprocessor and the translation phases62 Declarations and call expressions — inside the act of calling63 Variadic functions64 Functions as values — the function pointer65 How to read a declaration — two readings and typedef66 The terrain of the standard library
Part XI — Reading the standard library
67 The standard library at a glance68 Streams in reality — <stdio.h> ①69 The traps of reading and writing — <stdio.h> ②70 Strings and memory — <string.h>71 The drawer of odds and ends — <stdlib.h>72 Character classification — <ctype.h>73 Locales ① — a program’s regional settings74 Locales ② — numbers, money, time and sorting75 Wide characters ① — wchar_t and multibyte conversion76 Wide characters ② — the platforms, and wide I/O77 In practice — handling Unicode and multibyte encodings78 Numbers — <math.h>, <fenv.h>, <tgmath.h>79 Time — <time.h>80 Diagnosis and control — <errno.h>, <assert.h>, <signal.h>, <setjmp.h>81 Signals — <signal.h>82 Non-local jumps — <setjmp.h>83 What the new standards added, and the *_s controversy84 Running in separate strands — <threads.h>85 Operations that do not split — <stdatomic.h>86 How to ask about overflow — <stdckdint.h>87 From macro to keyword — bool, nullptr and their companions88 A program’s memory layout — operating systems and embedded89 Inside the allocator — the heap, alternative allocators, alternative standard libraries
Part XII — proven — a new, stable foundation
90 The five bugs shipped for fifty years91 What proven is — and getting started92 Errors are values93 The foundation — bytes, views, and arithmetic that does not overflow94 Allocation is a parameter95 Strings and text96 Formatting and parsing — not writing the type twice97 Containers and algorithms98 The outside world — files, streams, time, random numbers99 The boundaries — running things overlapped, and when there is no OS100 Writing it three times — a tiny JSON
Part XIII — Closing
101 C in practice — tools, projects, and territories102 Build and test — how a project is put together by many hands103 How the work turns — vocabulary and procedure104 The embedded toolbox — compilers and the tools beside them105 Modern C, gathered up
Front and back matter
Appendix A — Operator lookupAppendix B — printf and scanf formats in fullAppendix C — Implicit conversions in summaryAppendix D — Further reading, tools, and the standard documentAppendix E — How grammar is written (EBNF) and the whole C grammarAppendix F — The standard library, entry by entryAppendix G — What C23 added, and where this book covers itAppendix H — When you have learned it all and still cannot build anythingAppendix I — After the program is dead: reading a dumpAppendix J — The formats of executable filesAppendix K — C without an operating system: interrupts and their machineAppendix L — The order in which a machine wakes: booting and bootloadersAppendix M — How machines talk: wires, buses and interruptionAppendix N — How a disk is dividedAppendix O — The machine, measured: caches, branches and cores in numbersAppendix P — The machinery that governs memoryAppendix Q — List of tables and figuresBibliography and sourcesIndex
Copyright and contact
The text — Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). You may share and adapt it freely with attribution; commercial use is not permitted, and adaptations must carry the same licence.
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
The example code — MIT licence. Take it and use it. The proven library used in the examples follows its own licence (MIT at present).
Every code demonstration in this book is output actually obtained by compiling and running it. The typesetting is done with Typst.
This book keeps being revised. What you are reading is the edition numbered above; corrections and additions follow it. Reports and suggestions are taken at the repository.