Huffman Coding Explained: Build a File Compression Program in C
If you want a project that truly improves your programming skills, building a Huffman compression program in C is one of the best challenges you can take on. Huffman coding is a data compression algorithm that reduces file size by assigning shorter bit sequences to frequently used characters and longer sequences to rare characters. The…
4 Criteria for an Awesome Coding Project
If you ask the internet, “How do I learn to code?” you usually get the same advice. Just build something. So you build a calculator. Or a weather app. Or a to do list. But after you finish, you feel like this person who says, “I can’t understand and can’t do anything on my own.”…
How Senior Devs Organize Their C Projects
From Amateur to Pro: 3 Layers of Separation for Your Codebase Does your project directory look like a flat pile of files? You know the look: logic, headers, tests, and binaries all fighting for space in one folder. In a university project, this is fine. But in a professional environment, this is called Source Pollution.…
The Truth About Coding Jobs: Avoid These 3 Misconceptions
I see all these coding boot camp advertisements and people online talking about how they got a software job with no coding experience. Then, they say they were able to do it in 4 months. When I see these kinds of things online, it kind of makes me cringe a little bit because I feel…
How To Handle Strings in C [Complete Tutorial]
Handling and using strings in C can be counterintuitive and tricky. Sometimes, they can give you a headache, but strings are a fundamental part of every application. When you’re building applications, especially console applications, you’ll often have to parse some string input or parse string data from a file. Then, you’ll need to export that…
What Is the Difference Between Stack and Heap?
When you’ve been coding for some time, you’ll start to notice that people use these two terms called “stack” and “heap”. And you’re confused thinking, “What is the difference between stack and heap?” When you see these words, start thinking “memory”. The stack and the heap are two different kinds of memory that your program…
Why You Need To Start Using Your Debugger Now!
I remember this time in university when I was sitting in class, and my professor wanted to show us how to use the debugger GDB for C. He was going through it and talking about how amazing it is, but to me, it seemed very complicated and intimidating. At this point, I had already been…
The Most Important Programming Skill To Have
Out of all the different programming skills there are to have, which one do you think is the most important? As a programmer, you need to be good at handling your logic carefully. You need to be good at math, passing your data from one module to another, and coordinating between different data modules. When…
C vs Python: Which Is Better To Learn First?
C vs Python: Which programming language should you learn first? Of course, these programming languages are often used by beginner programmers to learn how to code, and it can be kind of overwhelming if you’re a self-learner. Should I focus on C or Python? Which one, if I learned it first, would put me in…