Building on the course Programming Fundamentals, this course will teach you how to write code by first planning what your program should do—an important approach for novice and professional programmers. You will learn how to compile and run your program, and then how to test and debug it. This course builds on the Seven Steps you have already learned and provides a framework for systematically testing for problems and fixing them, so you can find and fix problems efficiently.
This course is part of the Introduction to Programming in C Specialization
Writing, Running, and Fixing Code in C
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About this Course
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Learner Career Outcomes
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Skills you will gain
C ProgrammingCompilerDebugging
Learner Career Outcomes
50%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
50%
got a pay increase or promotion
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Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Course 2 of 4 in the
Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Beginner Level
Approx. 33 hours to complete
Suggested: 4 weeks of study, 6–8 hours/week
English
Subtitles: English, Vietnamese
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
5 hours to complete
Writing Code
In this module, you will learn to write code and do your first assignment in the Practice Programming Environment. You have practiced the first four steps of the Seven Steps in the previous course, and you will review them here before learning Step 5: Translating Your Algorithm to Code. Expert programmers spend most of their time planning before they begin writing code, and you will learn to do the same!
5 hours to complete
7 videos (Total 34 min), 24 readings, 2 quizzes
7 videos
Intersection of Two Rectangles5m
Translating the Intersection Algorithm to Code5m
Introduction to the Programming Environment6m
Editing Files with Emacs8m
More about Git4m
GitHub1m
24 readings
Planning10m
Revisiting Step 110m
Revisiting Step 210m
Step 3: Generalizing Values10m
Step 3: Repetitions10m
Step 3: Conditional Behavior10m
Revisiting Step 410m
Translation to Code10m
Translating Algorithm Components10m
Completed Rectangle Intersection Code10m
Top-down Design and Composability10m
Stars Example10m
Introduction to the Programming Environment10m
Using the Practice Programming Environment10m
Solutions to a Few Common Problems10m
UNIX basics10m
More UNIX Commands10m
Emacs10m
Assignment 01_apple10m
Git10m
[Optional Reference] Help me fix...10m
How Assignments Work in This Course10m
Assignments 02_code1 and 03_code210m
Next Steps10m
2 practice exercises
Steps 1–4 Review10m
Step 5 Concepts8m
4 hours to complete
Compiling and Running
Now that you know how to plan an algorithm and translate it to code, you need to learn how to compile and run it! You will learn about the compiler, which takes the code you wrote and translates it into instructions a machine can execute, which you can then run. You will also learn about different options you can give the compiler, as well as different ways to run your program that give you debugging information.
4 hours to complete
8 videos (Total 26 min), 17 readings, 4 quizzes
8 videos
"Hello World"3m
Planning isPrime3m
Generalizing isPrime5m
Translating isPrime to Code2m
Comparing Output with diff3m
Build Tool: make3m
Compiling with a Makefile2m
17 readings
Compiling Overview10m
Compilation Process10m
Preprocessing10m
Assignment 04_compile10m
Getting Help: man Pages10m
Assignment 05_squares10m
More about Macros and Header Files10m
The Actual Compiler10m
Compiler Errors10m
Assembling10m
Linking10m
Make10m
Fancier make Options10m
Running Your Program10m
valgrind10m
Compiler Options10m
Assignments 06_rect and 07_retirement10m
4 practice exercises
Compiling8m
Compilation Process10m
Make and Valgrind10m
Prototype: Assignment 06 Practice Quiz10m
4 hours to complete
Testing and debugging
Two skills that are crucial to good programming are testing—finding problems with your code, and debugging—fixing them. In this module you will learn systematic ways to identify problems in your code, as well as how to apply the scientific method to fix your program when you do find a bug.
4 hours to complete
6 videos (Total 21 min), 17 readings, 3 quizzes
6 videos
Test-driven Development1m
Code Review2m
Finding Problems with Valgrind5m
Gathering Information with gdb6m
Advice from a Duke Software Engineering Student: Don't Give Up!2m
17 readings
Black Box Testing10m
Practical Tips for Designing Test Cases10m
White Box Testing10m
Generating Test Cases10m
Asserts10m
Code Review10m
Assignments 08_testing and 09_testing10m
Step 7: Debugging10m
The Scientific Method10m
Accept or Reject Your Hypothesis?10m
Intro to gdb10m
Getting Started with gdb10m
Investigating the State of Your Program10m
Controlling Execution10m
Watchpoints10m
Signals10m
Assignment 10_gdb10m
3 practice exercises
Testing8m
Debugging8m
gdb4m
1 hour to complete
Project
In this module you will begin the project you will complete over the course of the rest of the specialization. At the end of each course, you will write a piece of a program that will calculate the odds of different poker hands winning with a Monte Carlo simulation—a way to calculate complicated probabilities by generating random data.
1 hour to complete
2 videos (Total 8 min), 3 readings
3 readings
Assignment c2prj1_cards30m
Rules of Poker10m
Assignment c2prj2_testing30m
1 hour to complete
Practice Programming Environment
1 hour to complete
Reviews
4.5
TOP REVIEWS FROM WRITING, RUNNING, AND FIXING CODE IN C
by SKDec 23, 2018
Very detailed and very helpful. Thanks to the tutors for putting together such a detailed course where nothing seems rushed while at the same time everything is explained.
by BBMar 18, 2020
A really awesome course. Puts forth the basic concepts clearly so that anybody can understand. This course has inspired me to learn and improve my C programming skills.
by SRAug 14, 2019
Took me a while to finish this course but I am glad I finally did it on my own !!! Thank you for introducing me to git. The tool is being used at our work place !!!!
by EMJan 3, 2019
This course gives you a great overview (in reasonable depth) of the tools and concepts that you need when starting as a novice programmer. Strongly recommended.
by BGMay 14, 2019
Great introduction into learning how to develop algorithms, translating them into code (compiling them), testing that code, and debugging that code.
by BUDec 10, 2019
As accustomed by now when it comes to Duke University, Drew and the colleagues, it was just perfect how they pass on the knowledge.
by DTSep 23, 2019
More hands on than my native college course in ECE (10+ years back) with an increased focus on practical tools for programmers.
by CJJul 10, 2019
the PPE is really annoying -- times out arbitrarily, does weird things if you type more characters than the line allows.
by VMNov 3, 2018
Black box testing is very useful skill.\n\nI would never use gdb if these guys did not make me. I'm happy they did! :)
by HSFeb 3, 2020
best online course for beginners. But question and assignment should be explained in some more details.
by RSJan 15, 2019
Excellent course for basic programming and introduction to development tools in Linux environment.
by FFJan 31, 2020
This course taught me how to test programs comprehensively, which had a great impact on me!!!
by HGJun 12, 2019
poker question requires need more info so that students could understand ques easily
by BTNov 17, 2018
Awesome course to learn about the essential tools for coding like emacs, gdb etc..
by APOct 27, 2018
Great Course!! This course provided ample theoretical and practical knowledge.
by FBJun 15, 2018
The test case exercises are a bit of a let down, but this course is great.
by SSMay 29, 2019
Excellent, extremely helpful. A very thorough and professional course!
by DKAug 17, 2018
Excellent course!! It gives the desire to finish the specialization!!
by KSFeb 22, 2019
Instructors were very helpful when myself or others got stumped.
by JDJul 25, 2018
It is a great course, excellent methodology. Recommended course
About Duke University
Duke University has about 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a world-class faculty helping to expand the frontiers of knowledge. The university has a strong commitment to applying knowledge in service to society, both near its North Carolina campus and around the world.
About the Introduction to Programming in C Specialization
This specialization develops strong programming fundamentals for learners who want to solve complex problems by writing computer programs. Through four courses, you will learn to develop algorithms in a systematic way and read and write the C code to implement them. This will prepare you to pursue a career in software development or other computational fields.
Successful completion of this Specialization will be considered by admissions as a demonstration of your skill and enhance your master’s application to Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Once you enroll for a Certificate, you’ll have access to all videos, quizzes, and programming assignments (if applicable). Peer review assignments can only be submitted and reviewed once your session has begun. If you choose to explore the course without purchasing, you may not be able to access certain assignments.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
What is the refund policy?
Is financial aid available?
Will I receive a transcript from Duke University for completing this course?
No. Completion of a Coursera course does not earn you academic credit from Duke; therefore, Duke is not able to provide you with a university transcript. However, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
