Object-Oriented C: Building Custom High-Level Structures

Ever wondered how high-level languages like Python, Java, or JavaScript manage complex objects and dynamic data structures under the hood? By understanding how to implement these structures in C, you unlock a deeper appreciation of system architecture and memory efficiency. This text-based course guides you through the foundational concepts of object-oriented programming using procedural C. You will transition from basic syntax to constructing your own custom library featuring dynamic strings, lists, and dictionaries, all while mastering manual memory allocation and modern defensive programming patterns. What you'll learn: Understand the core principles of object-oriented design and how they map to procedural C code; Implement custom, high-level data structures including dynamic strings, resizable lists, and key-value dictionaries; Manage memory lifecycle safely using allocation, deallocation, and modern leak-prevention techniques; Apply defensive programming patterns in C to ensure robust error handling and type-safe operations; Explore how runtimes and interpreters represent objects at the system level. You will start with fundamental terminology, memory layouts, and struct definitions before moving on to practical implementation. Each section provides clear written explanations and structured code analysis to help you build a cohesive, efficient utility library. This course is designed for aspiring systems programmers, computer science students, and high-level developers wanting to understand low-level internals. No advanced C experience is required. Start reading today to bridge the gap between high-level OOP and low-level system execution.