C: memory, representation and systems

The course, in order

Open a unit in the map to inspect its activities. Reading, guided completion, independent work and review remain distinct evidence.

1. Prove arithmetic fits before evaluating it

   Make widths, signedness and text grammar explicit, and preserve the caller output whenever a C arithmetic or parsing operation is invalid.

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2. Parse the whole scalar before publishing it

   Validate fixed grammar, range and calendar rules without accepting prefixes, locale variation or a partially written output.

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3. Carry the bound with every borrowed pointer

   Validate length, capacity, termination and aliasing before touching a C buffer, including a source range inside the destination allocation.

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4. State the valid range before the first read

   Express iteration with size_t bounds that handle empty and singleton ranges without underflow, distinguish not-found from index zero, and touch only the declared span.

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5. Validate encoded text before normalizing it

   Read exactly the supplied byte span as strict UTF-8 or a portable ASCII identifier, with explicit NUL and capacity policy.

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6. Decode into a staged text buffer

   Validate percent escapes, HTTP field controls and quoted-field grammar before overlap-safe publication with one explicit terminator policy.

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7. Decode bits and prefixes without host assumptions

   Read canonical variable-length integers and bounded signed bit fields using explicit byte order, width and publication rules.

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8. Treat formatted length as a checked result

   Measure complete formatted output, preserve variadic type information and write borrowed sinks only after one bounded record is ready.

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9. Validate the whole source before touching the destination

   Normalize portable relative paths lexically and stage bounded file input so oversize or malformed source data cannot partially publish.

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10. Name borrowed views and detached copies separately

    Return span offsets into caller storage when borrowing and allocate or fill independent preview bytes only after complete capacity validation.

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11. Commit new ownership only after allocation succeeds

    Preserve prior valid state across allocation failure and unwind each successfully acquired allocation exactly once in reverse construction order.

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12. Drain the record and publish only a valid decode

    Own FILE state across short input and errors, enforce byte and grammar bounds before retention, and leave destination data untouched when a complete record cannot be decoded.

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13. Verify integrity before copying payload bytes

    Compute portable network checksums and validate a record CRC before publishing an overlap-safe payload or its used length.

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14. Validate every edit before moving bytes

    Apply alias-safe range replacements or an index-removal batch only after shape, size, order and capacity have all been proved.

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15. Move list ownership without recreating nodes

    Filter and merge acyclic malloc-owned lists while preserving survivor identity, deterministic tie order and exactly-once deallocation.

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16. Keep identity valid across reuse and growth

    Reject stale pool handles with generations and return stable interned string pointers whose storage is owned independently of caller buffers.

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17. Stage complete records across file boundaries

    Import whole big-endian records atomically and find a byte pattern incrementally even when it crosses an internal read boundary.

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18. Observe cancellation between effects and unwind all ownership

    Check cancellation before each callback effect and consume registered cleanups in reverse order even after one cleanup reports failure.

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19. Treat instrumentation and atomic publication as evidence

    Combine bounded framing, integrity, checked state transitions and final publication, while interpreting supplied instrumentation output without mistaking silence for a clean run.

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20. Plan the whole bounded state change before commit

    Produce a deterministic dependency order and apply a registry command batch with private staging and complete rollback on any invalid command.

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