[Courses] [C] Current topic: variables in C.

[Mary]

For our first discussion: variables in C.

Variables are a named space of memory where you can store a value and
access it by name.

Some online resources - I can't guarentee the quality (please, post more
if you know of them and I will put them all in my summary):

http://www.strath.ac.uk/IT/Docs/Ccourse/section3_6.html#SECTION0006000000000000000
http://www.hull.ac.uk/Hull/CC_Web/docs/cnotes/c5.html

Can people posting please tell me at the top of the post about whether
or not I can quote from it in my summary? If you think your post should
go into the summary in its complete form, I'd appreciate it if you'd
release it under the http://www.opencontent.org/openpub/ otherwise just
mark your post "quotable" or "not quotable" at the top. I will assume
"not quotable" if you don't say. I will attribute quotes by name unless
you ask me *not to*.

Some ideas for posts:

 * C Learners:  Post your current understanding of variables, what they
                do, how to use them. Post your current understanding of
                types (int, char, unsigned and signed, long and short -
                all types). Post a question or two from any C textbook
                you have and your answer. Post a discussion of your
                answer if you like.

                Ask questions about: compiler errors when you declare a
                variable, choosing a type for a variable, passing values
                (arguments or parameters) to a function, returning
                values from a function.

                More advanced questions might include: pointers and
                memory allocation issues.

 * C Helpers:   Post an explanation of the C types. Post a piece of code
                and explain the choice of variables. Explain C scoping
                rules.

                More advanced posts: Discuss memory allocation. Describe
                heap and stack based allocation - what happens when. Discuss
                the advantages/disadvantages/gotchas of both types of
                allocation.

                Please give some idea at the top of your post about
                whether a beginner should follow your discussion or if
                they should come back to it later.

-Mary.