C: initializing a binary heap
<p>I'm working on a project where I'm implementing a binary heap in C. I'm given Python code for this task, and I essentially need to "translate" the Python to C. I'm having some trouble dealing with translating "self" in Python to the equivalent in C.</p>

<p>Here's the Python code for initializing a binary heap in Python:</p>

<pre><code>def __init__(self, items=None):
    self.heap = [None]
    if items is None:
        self.heap_size = 0
    else:
        self.heap += items
        self.heap_size = len(items)
        self._build_heap()  # this a call to another method
</code></pre>

<p>I'm pretty sure I need to define a struct BinaryHeap and fill in this information. How would I say something like "self.heap = [None]" or "self.heap_size = 0" in C? Note: I'm fairly new to C, haha.</p>