Q.The textbook states that C is a free-form language, so statements can be grouped, and shows the following 'hello C' program together with its one-line form:

main()  
{  
printf("hello C");  
}  

may be written in one line like

main() {printf("hello C")};  

The program contains a single executable statement, printf, which sends the text between the double quotes to the screen; C being free-form, the statements can be laid ou …

[!TLDR]

A minimal C program is just main() with one printf statement; writing it on one line is legal but harder to read, so each statement should be on its own line.

Execution begins at main(). The body, enclosed in braces, holds one executable statement, printf("hello C");, which displays whatever appears between the double quotes on the monitor. Because C is free-form, the compiler ignores extra spaces and line breaks, so the whole thing can be squeezed onto one line — but that style makes programs difficult to understand and each statement is better placed on a separate line. The complete, compilable program is:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
    printf("hello C");
    return 0;
}

Its output is:

hello C …