DEV Community: Muzammil Bilal Tanwar

Operators in C language

Muzammil Bilal Tanwar — Sun, 10 May 2026 04:18:35 +0000

What are operators?

Operators in C or any programming language function the same way as operators work in mathematics.

Consider operators as your daily driver tools in the world of programming, they help you make decisions, compare two values, assign new values to new or update old values, and even add or subtract values etc.

Types Of Operators

1. Arithmetic Operators: Used for mathematical operations when needed, for example (+, -, *, /, %)

2. Relational Operators: Used to check the condition or when a comparison is needed. They are also called conditional operators. example: (==, !=, >, <)

3. Logical Operators: As the name suggests they are used to make decisions based on if a condition is met or not. for example (&&, ||, !)

4. Assignment Operators: Used to assign, store or update the data in variables or storage locations, they are also the most used operators if we look at C's programming syntax.

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Thanks a ton for your time.

Data Types in C language

Muzammil Bilal Tanwar — Sun, 10 May 2026 03:37:55 +0000

What are Data Types?

Think of a computer like a big storage container.

Unless you know the size and type of contents to store, its not possible to store them in available storage.

Data Types are basically that. They let the computer know what exactly are you assigning to a variable, and how much space to allocate for that.

What are Tokens?

We understood what are data types, but tokens are basically punctuations which are used in C.

Tokens are basically the smallest units in C language, they include:

Keywords: Reserved words with fixed meanings (e.g., int, float, void, return). You can't use these as names for your own variables.

Identifiers: Names you create for variables, functions, or arrays. (Rules: letters, digits, and underscores only; cannot start with a digit).

Constants: Fixed values like numbers (10, 3.14) or characters ('A').

Others: Strings, operators (+, -), and punctuation (;, {).

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Thank you for your time!

How computers work: An Overview.

Muzammil Bilal Tanwar — Sat, 09 May 2026 12:43:12 +0000

Overview

We all use computers in most aspects of our lives, especially if you are a programmer or in the IT industry.

But did you ever think how these machines are able to perform tasks in one click?

The moment you click that run button, it processes the task in less than a second. Let's dive in the magic of software and hardware today and how they work in tandem to make a computer what it is.

Basics

The key players here are hardware, software, programming languages and the computing environment of course. We will discuss each in short to understand better.

1. Hardware (The infrastructure):

Think of it like an organization's building, the external structure which houses all the key components and allows the input or display of information.

Examples are: Keyboard, Monitor, Mouse, CPU (Central Processing Unit), Hard Drive (Storage)

2. Software (Which makes the hardware work)

Think of it like the internal aspect of the organization, without its internal employees or the tasks they do, any hardware is useless. Software gives meaning to hardware.

Examples are: Any application, Website or web apps, made for specific tasks.

3. Programming Languages (The language of computers)

Like how two people from opposite parts of the earth cannot communicate if they don't share a common language, similarly computers do not understand human languages.

To make the software communicate with each other and the hardware it is housed on, programming languages exist.

While computers only understand binary (0's and 1's) programming languages are easier on humans to instruct computers while they are compiled in binary later on.

Examples are: Java, Python, C, etc.

4. Computing environment (The ecosystem)

Like how humans need an ecosystem to prosper, it is same for computers.

The networking which connects and forms connection of various computers or vice-versa with servers, allows us to remotely reach any website and work in collaboration globally, combining every aspect of the above.

Conclusion Thoughts

As programmers in general, it is extremely crucial to understand the basics of computers including all aspects ranging from hardware to software.

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Thanks a ton for reading.

Beginner to Pro in C programming!

Muzammil Bilal Tanwar — Fri, 08 May 2026 08:47:22 +0000

Why C?

If you are a student or a professional developer, or even someone who codes for a hobby, everything starts with a hello, world.

As you know C language is the foundation of all programming languages, therefore it is timeless and is widely respected in the industry for its hassle free operations in developing Operating systems, IOT and embedded systems.

Let's say hello to C language!

Benefits of learning C
I personally believe that C is one of the best starting languages if you need to understand how programming works close to the metal, without touching assembly or lower level languages.

C has an easy syntax and uses libraries for vast operational access so therefore it is easy to write logic in C.

Logic is one of the most important part in any programming language, as you may be able to learn the syntax but unless you add logic to it, the code is basically useless.

Where to start?
My personal favorite C language book would be C by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie. Popularly known as "K&R C language". It was written by the makers of C themselves.

You can also continue with a lot of tutorials on YouTube and online, but it is crucial to spend 1 hour on concepts and 1 hour on programming daily apart from the sessions or any resource materials you may have.

The Technical Part
Here we come to the technicalities of C, I will cover some basic topics required to give you a head start!

Compiler
Compiler is basically a translator that converts C language into Machine language for the computer to understand (0's and 1's).

Compiler compiles the whole program once, and only points out any errors if present after going through the whole program.

Common compiler examples are GCC, GNU.

Now you may come across another term "Interpreter" however it is not used in standard practice while coding in C.

Interpreter processes the programs line by line and would stop executing if it finds an error before the end of program.

IDE: Integrated Development Environment
An IDE contains everything from compiler, code editor to debugger.
Recommended IDE's for C are Code blocks, Vs Code.

There are online plug and play IDE's available like Programmiz.
These do not require any installation on the system, but they need a stable internet connection.

Basic C program

#include <stdio.h> int main () { printf("hello world); return 0; }
The above has a basic C program to display hello world as an output.
Main components of C program include:

Preprocessor Directive: #include<stdio.h> contains the input output operations and is known as standard input output library, without it, we cannot print or take input/outputs.
Main function: main function serves as the entry point of your C code, this is where the compiler starts executing the code. int main ()
Program Body: The content inside {...} curly braces are called as the program body, here you will use any variables, functions and statements.
Statements: The individual line of code or instructions of code you provide to the computer for it to display the desired output, like we did for hello world.
Return statement: Signifies that the program has ended successfully also acts as an exit point of the program.

Conclusion Thoughts
Notice how I did not elaborate on terms like variables, data types, and more?

That is because the more you research on your own, the better you understand the language in detail, that is one of the best ways to learn anything not just programming.

Hope you are one step closer to being a C programmer.

Thanks a ton for reading, make sure to follow for more, if this was useful!

Why C language is still important in 2026.

Muzammil Bilal Tanwar — Thu, 07 May 2026 17:31:05 +0000

Overview of this blog

If you are a beginner programmer trying learn how to code, I'm sure you must have came across C language multiple times. In this blog I will cover why academicians and software engineers recommend starting with C language as the first programming language. I will also cover the history of C and why it came into existence.

History of C language
C was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972, originally made to develop the Unix Operating System. Programming languages which were available during those times were not efficient to create an operating system, while they did simplify programming to an extent, they were still very close to the metal. A new high level language was needed.

After C was developed, rest of the high level language like Python and Java were developed through C language, hence C is also known as The mother of all programming languages.

Why C will be still relevant in 2026

C is the core for modern programming: Modern programming languages are derived from C language.
C is FAST: C is exceptionally fast and while it is a high level language it perfectly manages the balance between communicating at low level with the computer.
C powers systems and IOT: Internet of things and embedded systems, even windows operating system uses C language. Game engines and compilers are also made on C language.
C teaches you how to code: C has a really easy to understand syntax, and it does not forgive errors, even if you miss a semi-colon it will make the program not work. This pattern makes you think like a developer and think how to solve problems without missing out on core logic of how any programming logic works, as logic stays the same in any programming language.
Portability and long term development: C is stable and does not need constant update, any C code which was done years ago will still work the same on any system regardless.

Conclusion thoughts
Now when you have enough reasons on what C does, it is a good time to start learning! I believe C makes you understand programming up close and it is easier to learn any other language once you master C Language.

If you are still reading, thank you so much for your time. I hope this blog was helpful.