In the previous tutorial you learned how to install C on your computer. Now, let's write a simple C program.
The following program displays Hello, World! on the screen.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello, World!");
return 0;
}
Output
Hello World!
Note: A Hello World! program includes the basic syntax of a programming language and helps beginners understand the structure before getting started. That's why it is a common practice to introduce a new language using a Hello World! program.
It's okay if you don’t understand how the program works right now. We will learn about it in upcoming tutorials. For now, just write the exact program and run it.
Working of C Program
Congratulations on writing your first C program.Now, let's see how the program works.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello, World!");
return 0;
}
Notice the following line of code:
printf("Hello, World!");
Here, printf statement prints the text Hello, World! to the screen.
Remember these important things about printf:
- Everything you want to print should be kept inside parentheses
(). - The text to be printed is enclosed within double quotes
"". - Each
printfstatement ends with a semicolon;.
Not following the above rules will result in errors and your code will not run successfully.
Basic Structure of a C Program
As we have seen from the last example, a C program requires a lot of lines even for a simple program.
For now, just remember that every C program we will write will follow this structure:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
// your code
return 0;
}
And, we will write out code inside curly braces {}.
Next, we will be learning about C comments.