A Guide on Online C Compiler

Compilers have been acting as a medium between coding and execution, helping programmers to run a program seamlessly. In a Java Program Compiler, the key aspect of Java Virtual Machine helps the source code to be turned into byte codes that make them platform-independent. Such interesting compiler designs are present in almost every programming language.

When it comes to C programming language, the online compiler, has been widely spoken about. It debugs and allows users to compile a source code easily for execution.

That said, in this article, we bring you a complete guide regarding the online C compiler, its related terms, and other vital aspects which every programmer must be aware of.

Without much ado, let’s read on.

About C programming language

Truth be told, most of the apps on your phone are simply a bunch of codes that are arranged and executed in a certain way that benefits you.

When we speak of such coding languages, one of the earliest programming languages that we need to know about is the C language.

Founded by Dennis Ritchie back in 1971, C programming language is a low-level code language, meaning that it abstracts less between machine and C language.

 C language is often denoted as “compiled”, meaning that whatever code is written in the C language, it needs to be first compiled for it to start working.

Compilation of C

The compilation is a process of transforming the code written in a particular code language (source code) into machine language so that it can smoothly work on a platform.

When it comes to compilation, the compiler abides by these 4 steps to execute a source code:

●      Stage of pre-processing

●      Compiling phase

●      Phase of Assembling

●      The linking stage

Let us now look at the important and basic syntax in C language to see what statements get compiled under this language.

C syntax to know

In C syntax, we have three categories under which various basic syntax gets placed. Firstly, in the syntax of branching, we can find:

●      If-else: When on one or many conditions, if you wish to branch your program, then the if-else syntax is implemented. When one condition fails and you want to check the remaining conditions, if-else helps you.

●      Switch: When the program you’re coding requires a huge amount of branching, then if-else is not the best option as it makes the code look clumsy. Hence, switch syntax is used.

The above two syntaxes are used for branching purposes. Below, let us look at the syntax used to loop a program.

●      for loop: This is an important syntax for the purpose of looping a program. Once the code is applied, a program keeps getting iterated for the required output.

●      while loop: When you have no idea regarding how many loops are required for a program to execute, then the while loop is employed.

●      do-while loop: Similar to the while loop, when you want to execute the code once but you’re unaware of the count of loops, do-while syntax helps.

Moving on to the array part, C language provides two syntaxes that help to fetch the array values. Usually, arrays are of various dimensions but the following are the often-used array types.

●      One dimensional: The syntax to find a one-dimensional array is Data Type, the name of the array into its size. Datatype arrayName[size of the array]

●      Two dimensional: Similar to the first one, you will just add another [size] of the second array near the first array’s size. Datatype arrayName[1st array size][2nd array size]

Finally, the functions in C also have certain syntax, and technically speaking, the function is the most important aspect of every coding language.

Whenever a code needs to be used again, the functions come in to aid the code. There are namely two function types in C:

●      Library: Library functions are present in C language and in the header files, they get declared. Eg: scan(), print(), etc.

●      User-defined: Based on the logic’s requirement, the user manually codes and adds the functions.

Online C Compiler: Basics

Now that we know what C language is and what a compiler is, it will be pretty easy to comprehend the works of an Online compiler that compiles C language. C Program compilers are designed tools that convert source code to machine language with the help of the internet.

It scans line by line and executes a code accurately and it needn’t have to be manually done by the user. With just one button press, the coder can get benefitted from the online compiler hugely as it eradicates time and effort spent to start a code from scratch.

The main factor of the online compiler is that it should focus on the output code’s logic to be perfectly executed, making it relevant to the input code of the user.

It ensures that during the process of conversion of the codes, no information goes unnoticed so that the result is perfect and accurate to the logic intended by the user. One best perks of online C compilers is that from anywhere, with the help of the internet, a programmer can write and compile a source code easily. Moreover, online compilers are user-friendly, and they aren’t too expensive.

Once the code gets manually entered in an Online compiler, the user only needs to press the “Run Code” option for the output to come seamlessly.

Stages of Online C compiler

There are certain stages through which the online compiler observes the source code and prints out the output. Some of the stages are:

●      Lexical analyzer: In this stage, the compiler segregates the code into lexemes to wrap the coding pattern easily.

●      Syntax analyzer: All the C syntax gets properly checked based on the rules set appropriate for the source code.

●      Semantic analyzer: This helps to check the code’s logic.

●      Intermediate code generation: Once a code goes through the above three processes, the source code’s IR code gets generated.

●      Optimization: The IR code which was created gets optimized to generate the output.

●      Output: Finally, using the IR code, the online c compiler, generated the output.

Additionally, there are certain features through which every online compiler activates and runs. They are:

●      Code Editor: Over here, the code can be entered and modified.

●      Run: Once the code has been written by the user, it can be run using the “Run Code” option.

●      Reset code: If the user wishes to reset the entire program, then the reset option can be utilized.

●      STDIN & STDOUT: STDIN & STDOUT helps to look into the input and show the output.

The benefit of Online C compiler

Recently, online compilers are widely used due to their effectiveness and utility. Some of the key advantages are:

●      The performance speed is fast

●      There isn’t any specified requirement to start the process

●      Online compilers can be accessed from anywhere

●      The system load takes lesser time

●      The compiler protects the program and the code

●      The output result will be accurate and precise

Final thoughts

We have looked into what C language is, how the compiler processes, the importance, and uses of Online C compiler, its benefits, and other perks.

 Online compilers surely are one of the finest inventions of programmers and we hope you also feel the same after reading our article.