Module 01 · Systems and memory in C

Data structures and binary layouts in C

Structured data requires deliberate memory layouts. Learn how compilers align struct fields and insert padding, build contiguous dynamic arrays with exponential growth, implement doubly linked lists with pointer splicing, and parse binary network protocols.

4 lessons · 4 graded exercises·3 hours·beginner·Prerequisite: Memory, bits, and pointers in C

Struct layout, alignment, and memory padding

20 min · exercise

How compilers arrange struct fields in memory, natural alignment constraints, internal and trailing padding, and field reordering optimization.

Dynamic arrays and amortized growth

25 min · exercise

Contiguous heap-allocated buffers, exponential capacity growth, amortized constant-time insertions, and memory reallocation costs.

Linked nodes and pointer manipulation

20 min · exercise

Singly and doubly linked lists, pointer manipulation without sentinel nodes, O(1) node splicing, and cache locality trade-offs.

Binary serialization and network packet parsing

25 min · exercise

Endianness, fixed and variable-length headers, binary protocol framing, checksum validation, and robust byte unpacking.