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C Language

This document provides an introduction to the C programming language. It explains the basic structure of a C program including main functions and headers. It also discusses printing output, getting user input, commenting code, and using variables.

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ErArpitChopra
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37 views

C Language

This document provides an introduction to the C programming language. It explains the basic structure of a C program including main functions and headers. It also discusses printing output, getting user input, commenting code, and using variables.

Uploaded by

ErArpitChopra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Intro to C

Every full C program begins inside a function called "main". A function is simply a collection of
commands that do "something". The main function is always called when the program first executes.
From main, we can call other functions, whether they be written by us or by others or use built-in
language features. To access the standard functions that comes with your compiler, you need to
include a header with the #include directive. What this does is effectively take everything in the
header and paste it into your program. Let's look at a working program:
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
printf( "I am alive! Beware.\n" );
getchar();
return 0;
}
Let's look at the elements of the program. The #include is a "preprocessor" directive that tells the
compiler to put code from the header called stdio.h into our program before actually creating the
executable. By including header files, you can gain access to many different functions--both the printf
and getchar functions are included in stdio.h.
The next important line is int main(). This line tells the compiler that there is a function named main,
and that the function returns an integer, hence int. The "curly braces" ({ and }) signal the beginning
and end of functions and other code blocks. If you have programmed in Pascal, you will know them as
BEGIN and END. Even if you haven't programmed in Pascal, this is a good way to think about their
meaning.
The printf function is the standard C way of displaying output on the screen. The quotes tell the
compiler that you want to output the literal string as-is (almost). The '\n' sequence is actually treated
as a single character that stands for a newline (we'll talk about this later in more detail); for the time
being, just remember that there are a few sequences that, when they appear in a string literal, are
actually not displayed literally by printf and that '\n' is one of them. The actual effect of '\n' is to move
the cursor on your screen to the next line. Notice the semicolon: it tells the compiler that you're at the
end of a command, such as a function call. You will see that the semicolon is used to end many lines in
C.
The next command is getchar(). This is another function call: it reads in a single character and waits
for the user to hit enter before reading the character. This line is included because many compiler
environments will open a new console window, run the program, and then close the window before you
can see the output. This command keeps that window from closing because the program is not done
yet because it waits for you to hit enter. Including that line gives you time to see the program run.
Finally, at the end of the program, we return a value from main to the operating system by using the
return statement. This return value is important as it can be used to tell the operating system whether
our program succeeded or not. A return value of 0 means success.
The final brace closes off the function. You should try compiling this program and running it. You can
cut and paste the code into a file, save it as a .c file, and then compile it. If you are using a commandline compiler, such as Borland C++ 5.5, you should read the compiler instructions for information on
how to compile. Otherwise compiling and running should be as simple as clicking a button with your
mouse (perhaps the "build" or "run" button).
You might start playing around with the printf function and get used to writing simple C programs.

Explaining your Code


Comments are critical for all but the most trivial programs and this tutorial will often use them to
explain sections of code. When you tell the compiler a section of text is a comment, it will ignore it

when running the code, allowing you to use any text you want to describe the real code. To create a
comment in C, you surround the text with /* and then */ to block off everything between as a
comment. Certain compiler environments or text editorswill change the color of a commented area to
make it easier to spot, but some will not. Be certain not to accidentally comment out code (that is, to
tell the compiler part of your code is a comment) you need for the program.
When you are learning to program, it is also useful to comment out sections of code in order to see
how the output is affected.

Using Variables
So far you should be able to write a simple program to display information typed in by you, the
programmer and to describe your program with comments. That's great, but what about interacting
with your user? Fortunately, it is also possible for your program to accept input.
But first, before you try to receive input, you must have a place to store that input. In programming,
input and data are stored in variables. There are several different types of variables; when you tell the
compiler you are declaring a variable, you must include the data type along with the name of the
variable. Several basic types include char, int, and float. Each type can store different types of data.

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