User`s manual

Dynamic C User’s Manual digi.com 23
4. LANGUAGE
Dynamic C is based on the C language. The programmer is expected to know programming methodologies
and the basic principles of the C language. Dynamic C has its own set of libraries, which include user-call-
able functions. Please see the Dynamic C Function Reference Manual for detailed descriptions of these
API functions. Dynamic C libraries are in source code, allowing the creation of customized libraries.
Before starting on your application, read through the rest of this chapter to review C-language features and
understand the differences between standard C and Dynamic C.
4.1 C Language Elements
A Dynamic C program is a set of files consisting of one file with a main() function and the requested
library files. Each file is a stream of characters that compose statements in the C language. The language
has grammar and syntax, that is, rules for making statements. Syntactic elements, often called tokens, form
the basic elements of the C language. Some of these elements are listed in Table 4-1.
Table 4-1. Language Elements
Syntactic Element Description
punctuation Symbols used to mark beginnings and endings
names Words used to name data and functions
numbers Literal numeric values
strings Literal character values enclosed in quotes
directives Words that start with # and control compilation
keywords Words used as instructions to Dynamic C
operators Symbols used to perform arithmetic operations