C-Style-Adventures

A hands-on collection of small C tutorials focused on foundational systems programming patterns: arrays, command-line tools, JSON parsing, network scripting, and shared library workflows.

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Table of Contents

• Project Goals
• Repository Layout
• Prerequisites
• Quick Start
• Tutorials
  • 1) Arrays
  • 2) ASCII Tools
  • 3) JSON Parser
  • 4) Network Tools
  • 5) Shared Libraries - Example 1
  • 6) Shared Libraries - Example 2
• Build System Notes
• Coding and Runtime Notes
• Troubleshooting
• Suggested Learning Path
• Contributing
• License

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Project Goals

This repository is designed for learners who want practical, minimal examples of C development workflows.

You will practice:

• Writing and compiling small C programs.
• Using make to automate build/clean/test scaffolding.
• Parsing command-line options.
• Integrating external C libraries (Jansson JSON parser).
• Building and consuming shared libraries (.so).

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Repository Layout

C-Style-Adventures/
├── README.md
├── arrays/
├── ascii_tools/
├── json_parser/
├── network_tools/
└── shared_libs/
    ├── ex1/
    └── ex2/

Each tutorial directory includes source files, a Makefile, and local documentation (README.md).

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Prerequisites

• Linux/Unix-like environment (recommended)
• gcc (or another C compiler)
• make
• Standard shell utilities (rm, cp, date, ping, etc.)

Additional dependency for JSON tutorial

• libjansson-dev (or equivalent package for your distribution)

Debian/Ubuntu example:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential libjansson-dev

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Quick Start

Clone and build a tutorial:

git clone <your-fork-or-repo-url>
cd C-Style-Adventures
cd arrays
make all
./session/multidimensional

Most tutorials follow this pattern:

1. cd <tutorial-directory>
2. make all
3. Run binary from session/

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Tutorials

1) Arrays

Directory: arrays/
Program: multidimensional

Demonstrates declaration and traversal of a 2D integer array with nested loops.

Run:

cd arrays
make all
./session/multidimensional

See full tutorial details in arrays/README.md.

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2) ASCII Tools

Directory: ascii_tools/
Program: charfinder

Simple CLI utility demonstrating argument parsing and character-to-ASCII conversion.

Run:

cd ascii_tools
make all
./session/charfinder -h
./session/charfinder -i A

See full tutorial details in ascii_tools/README.md.

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3) JSON Parser

Directory: json_parser/
Program: json_parser

Introduces JSON parsing in C via Jansson (json_loads, object field lookup, cleanup).

Run:

cd json_parser
make all
./session/json_parser

If build fails with missing jansson.h, install Jansson development headers first.

See full tutorial details in json_parser/README.md.

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4) Network Tools

Directory: network_tools/
Program: pingnet

Demonstrates a switch-based command dispatcher for pinging hosts and appending output to a log.

Run:

cd network_tools
make all
./session/pingnet -h
./session/pingnet -p 5
./session/pingnet -v

See full tutorial details in network_tools/README.md.

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5) Shared Libraries - Example 1

Directory: shared_libs/ex1/
Library: libmeso.so
Executable: session/sharedtest

Shows a local shared-library flow using PIC objects and runtime rpath.

Run:

cd shared_libs/ex1
make all
./session/sharedtest

See full tutorial details in shared_libs/ex1/README.md.

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6) Shared Libraries - Example 2

Directory: shared_libs/ex2/
Library: libutils.so
Executable: session/sharedtest

Demonstrates a shared-library flow that copies the built library into /usr/lib.

Run:

cd shared_libs/ex2
make all
./session/sharedtest

Note: this flow modifies system library paths and may require elevated privileges.

See full tutorial details in shared_libs/ex2/README.md.

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Build System Notes

• Most tutorial Makefiles expose: clean, compile/build, and test targets.
• Output binaries are generally placed in a local session/ directory.
• Some examples use strict compile flags (-Wall -Werror), especially shared library examples.

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Coding and Runtime Notes

• Tutorials are intentionally minimal and educational rather than production-hardened.
• Some examples rely on shell commands executed from C (system(...)).
• Platform behavior can differ between Linux/macOS/Windows shells.
• For safer production code, prefer:
  • explicit input validation,
  • bounded string functions (snprintf),
  • and process APIs over shell command composition.

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Troubleshooting

jansson.h: No such file or directory

Install Jansson development headers/libraries for your platform and re-run make in json_parser/.

ld: cannot find -l<name>

The linker cannot find a required library. Verify the library is installed and in the expected library search path.

Shared library runtime errors

If executable cannot load .so files, check:

• rpath usage in linker flags,
• system library cache/path configuration,
• file placement and permissions.

Permission issues writing to /usr/lib

shared_libs/ex2 may require privileges depending on your environment.

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Suggested Learning Path

1. arrays/ (core syntax and iteration)
2. ascii_tools/ (CLI argument basics)
3. json_parser/ (external dependency integration)
4. network_tools/ (multi-command utility patterns)
5. shared_libs/ex1/ (local shared library fundamentals)
6. shared_libs/ex2/ (system-level library deployment pattern)

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Helpful improvements include:

• hardening input validation and error handling,
• improving cross-platform behavior,
• expanding automated tests in test targets,
• and adding new focused C tutorials.

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License

Individual files may contain their own licensing notices. Review source headers before redistribution.