C Programmer Competency Roadmap

A plan to become a somewhat competent C programmer through meaningful projects.

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🌟 Overview

These projects build your skills progressively:

✅ Write clean, modular C code
✅ Manage memory safely
✅ Use common C tools (Make, gdb, valgrind)
✅ Understand system-level APIs (processes, memory, network)

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🚀 Projects in Order of Difficulty

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🟢 1️⃣ Text-based Terminal Game (Snake / Tetris / 2048)

Skills:

• Structs, enums
• Real-time input (ncurses / termios)
• File I/O (save/load high scores)
• Modular code design

Milestones:

• Draw the board/grid
• Take input without Enter
• Update game state + redraw
• Detect win/lose
• Save/load high scores

Resources:

• NCURSES Programming HOWTO
• 2048 in C (for study)
• Raw mode input (kilo editor guide)

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🟠 2️⃣ malloc/free Clone

Skills:

• Pointer arithmetic
• Linked lists (free list)
• sbrk or mmap
• Memory safety

Milestones:

• Simple malloc with free list
• Implement free (merge adjacent)
• Write test programs
• (Bonus) Add realloc

Resources:

• Malloc tutorial
• GNU malloc manual

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🟣 3️⃣ Simple Shell

Skills:

• String parsing
• Processes (fork, exec, wait)
• I/O redirection (>, <)
• Signals

Milestones:

• Read + parse command line
• Run external programs
• Built-ins: cd, exit
• Handle Ctrl+C
• (Bonus) Redirection + pipes

Resources:

• Write a shell
• Beej's IPC guide (processes)

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🔵 4️⃣ TCP Chat Server

Skills:

• Sockets
• select / poll or threads
• Simple protocol design

Milestones:

• Accept single client + echo
• Support multiple clients
• Broadcast messages
• (Bonus) Usernames

Resources:

• Beej’s Network Guide
• Socket examples

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⚫ 5️⃣ Emulator (e.g. CHIP-8)

Skills:

• State machine design
• Virtual memory/registers
• Instruction decoding

Milestones:

• Load ROM into memory
• Fetch-decode-execute loop
• Implement opcodes
• Render (SDL or terminal)

Resources:

• Cowgod’s CHIP-8 Reference
• CHIP-8 tutorial

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⚡ General Tips

✅ Use valgrind to check memory
✅ Use gdb to debug
✅ Structure code: headers + separate files
✅ Write a Makefile

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🌱 Suggested Project Order

1️⃣ Text-based game  
2️⃣ Malloc clone  
3️⃣ Shell  
4️⃣ Chat server  
5️⃣ Emulator

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🎁 Bonus Ideas

• Add tests + README to each project
• Package with Makefile / CMake
• Document your code

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