Computer engineering / Programming

Provide students with a working knowledge of the C language in an approach combining low-level aspects (hardware) and abstraction (operating system), based on basic knowledge of another high-level computer language (imperative programming), typically python.

- Provide students with a foundation of practical knowledge of the C language.

- Prepare the groundwork for the microcontroller section in the second semester

• Numeration in a base (binary, hexadecimal)
• Basic algorithms
• Basic knowledge of imperative programming (typically Python or C)

Written exam: 50% of final grade

Practical work: 50% of final grade

• basic keywords: while, for, if
• functions: structure of a low-level call, passing parameters by recopying. Scope of variables.
• input and display: formatted strings, printf and scanf.
• types: usefulness, static "arrays", real representation of variables in RAM, the concept of address in C.
• pointers: notion of variable-address, pointer to variable, typing of pointers and observation of RAM through pointers, comparison with RAM seen as a binary stream. Notation * and []. Concept of "binary information flow".
• techniques associated with pointers: address passing.
• dynamic allocation: system aspects, comparison with static allocation.
• simple data structures, definition of new types. Functions manipulating structures, structure pointers, structure array allocations.
• overview of advanced data structures: chained lists
• Standard libraries: file management, character strings