C Programming Roadmap for Beginners to Advanced | Learn C Step by Step

A complete C programming roadmap covering basics, functions, arrays, pointers, structures, file handling, advanced concepts, data structures, and real-world projects for beginners to advanced learners.

Phase 1: C Programming Basics

Goal: Learn the fundamentals and program structure

Topics

  1. Introduction to C and its applications
  2. Structure of a C program
  3. Keywords, identifiers, constants, variables
  4. Data types
  5. Input and output functions (printf, scanf)
  6. Operators
  7. Arithmetic
  8. Relational
  9. Logical
  10. Assignment

Practice

  1. Hello World program
  2. Simple calculator
  3. Swap two numbers

Phase 2: Functions and Modular Programming

Goal: Write reusable and well-structured programs

Topics

  1. Function declaration and definition
  2. Function calling
  3. Return types
  4. Call by value
  5. Recursion

Practice

  1. Factorial program
  2. Power of a number
  3. Menu-driven programs

Phase 3: Arrays and Strings

Goal: Work with collections of data

Topics

  1. One-dimensional arrays
  2. Two-dimensional arrays
  3. Strings
  4. String handling functions
  5. strlen, strcpy, strcmp, strcat

Practice

  1. Matrix operations
  2. Reverse a string
  3. Count vowels in a string

Phase 4: Pointers

Goal: Understand memory and address manipulation

Topics

  1. Pointer basics
  2. Pointer arithmetic
  3. Pointers with arrays and functions
  4. Dynamic memory allocation
  5. malloc, calloc, realloc, free

Practice

  1. Swap numbers using pointers
  2. Dynamic array program

Phase 5: Structures, Unions and Enumerations

Goal: Manage complex data efficiently

Topics

  1. Structures and nested structures
  2. Array of structures
  3. Unions
  4. Enumerations
  5. typedef

Practice

  1. Student record management system
  2. Employee database

Phase 6: File Handling

Goal: Store and retrieve data using files

Topics

  1. File types and modes
  2. File handling functions
  3. fopen, fclose
  4. fprintf, fscanf
  5. fgets, fputs

Practice

  1. File-based student records
  2. Read and write text files

Phase 7: Advanced C Concepts

Goal: Become industry-ready

Topics

  1. Command-line arguments
  2. Preprocessor directives
  3. Storage classes
  4. Bitwise operators
  5. Memory layout of a C program

Phase 8: Data Structures Using C

Goal: Improve problem-solving skills

Topics

  1. Stack
  2. Queue
  3. Linked list (singly, doubly, circular)
  4. Trees (basic concepts)
  5. Sorting algorithms
  6. Searching algorithms

Phase 9: Projects

Goal: Apply knowledge in real-world applications

Project Ideas

  1. Student Management System
  2. Library Management System
  3. Banking System
  4. Address Book using file handling
  5. Mini compiler project