diff --git a/c_impl/.gitignore b/c_impl/.gitignore
index 968b587..791e97b 100644
--- a/c_impl/.gitignore
+++ b/c_impl/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
 src/*.o
 ReciprocalOfPalindromes
+.cache
+compile_commands.json
diff --git a/c_impl/Makefile b/c_impl/Makefile
index c4d8169..8ab4d04 100644
--- a/c_impl/Makefile
+++ b/c_impl/Makefile
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
+ifdef DEBUG
+	EXTRA_CFLAGS = -g -O0
+else
+	EXTRA_CFLAGS = -DNDEBUG -O3
+endif
+
 CC ?= gcc
-CFLAGS ?= -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic
+CFLAGS ?= -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic ${EXTRA_CFLAGS}
 
 all: ReciprocalOfPalindromes
 
-ReciprocalOfPalindromes: src/main.o
+ReciprocalOfPalindromes: src/main.o src/palindrome_generator.o
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o ReciprocalOfPalindromes $^
 
 .PHONY: clean
diff --git a/c_impl/src/main.c b/c_impl/src/main.c
index 33c14ce..3cc4e66 100644
--- a/c_impl/src/main.c
+++ b/c_impl/src/main.c
@@ -1,3 +1,45 @@
-int main() {
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+
+#include "palindrome_generator.h"
+
+#define LIMIT 128
+
+// expects a const char* for "msg"
+#define LOG(msg) do { \
+        printf("%s:%u %s\n", __FILE__, __LINE__, msg); \
+    } while (0);
+
+int main(int argc, char **argv) {
+    unsigned long long limit = LIMIT;
+
+    if (argc == 1) {
+        // do nothing
+    } else if (argc == 2) {
+        limit = strtoull(argv[1], NULL, 10);
+        if (limit == 0) {
+            LOG("ERROR: Failed to parse arg into unsigned long long");
+            return 1;
+        }
+    } else {
+        LOG("ERROR: Program requires one integer as its only argument, or no "
+            "args");
+        return 2;
+    }
+
+    printf("Generating sum of reciprocals of palindromes with \"limit\" of "
+            "%llu\n",
+        limit);
+
+    double sum = 0.0;
+    PGeneratorState state = PGenerator_Init();
+
+    while(limit > 0) {
+        --limit;
+        sum += 1.0 / (double)(PGenerator_Next(&state));
+    }
+
+    printf("Resulting sum == %lf, last state is %llu\n", sum, state.current);
+
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/c_impl/src/palindrome_generator.c b/c_impl/src/palindrome_generator.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c5f606
--- /dev/null
+++ b/c_impl/src/palindrome_generator.c
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+#include "palindrome_generator.h"
+
+PGeneratorState PGenerator_Init() {
+    return (PGeneratorState){0};
+}
+
+// TODO needs testing
+int PGeneratorInternal_IsPalindrome(unsigned long long n) {
+    unsigned int digits = 0;
+
+    for (unsigned long long i = n; i > 0; i /= 10) {
+        ++digits;
+    }
+
+    if (digits == 0) {
+        // invalid state
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    // end as in "least signifciant digit end"
+    unsigned int end = 0;
+    // start as in "most significant digit start"
+    unsigned int start = digits - 1;
+    unsigned long long temp, temp2, temp3;
+    while (end < start) {
+        // get end value
+        temp = n;
+        temp2 = 0;
+        while (temp2 < end) {
+            ++temp2;
+            temp /= 10;
+        }
+        temp %= 10;
+
+        // get start value
+        temp2 = n;
+        temp3 = 0;
+        while (temp3 < start) {
+            ++temp3;
+            temp2 /= 10;
+        }
+        temp2 %= 10;
+
+        // compare
+        if (temp != temp2) {
+            // mismatch, we now know it's not a palindrome
+            return 0;
+        } else {
+            // matches, cannot yet prove it is a palindrome until convergence
+            ++end;
+            --start;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // no mismatches, at this point it has to be a palindrome
+    return 1;
+}
+
+unsigned long long PGenerator_Next(PGeneratorState *state) {
+    do {
+        ++state->current;
+    } while(!PGeneratorInternal_IsPalindrome(state->current));
+    return state->current;
+}
diff --git a/c_impl/src/palindrome_generator.h b/c_impl/src/palindrome_generator.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e9e372c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/c_impl/src/palindrome_generator.h
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#ifndef SUM_OF_RECIPROCALS_OF_PALINDROMES_PALINDROME_GENERATOR_H_
+#define SUM_OF_RECIPROCALS_OF_PALINDROMES_PALINDROME_GENERATOR_H_
+
+typedef struct PGeneratorState {
+    unsigned long long current;
+} PGeneratorState;
+
+PGeneratorState PGenerator_Init();
+unsigned long long PGenerator_Next(PGeneratorState *state);
+
+#endif