CS1010E Lecture 1

Basics of C Programming
with Numerical Computations

Henry Chia ([email protected])

Semester 1 2017 / 2018

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Lecture Outline

 Edit-compile-run cycle
 Declaring variables
 Program input/output
 Assignment statement
 Arithmetic with typed-expressions
 Types of errors
 Program style

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Edit-Compile-Run Cycle

 Edit
– vim editor to create .c
source file
 Compile (include linking)
– gcc compiler generates
a.exe or a.out
 Run
– loads the executable
– ./a.exe or ./a.out

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Motivating Example

 Given x (miles), convert to y (kms) using

y = kx

– x and y and variables;

– k is a constant of proportionality ≈ 1.609;
 Given a value for x, what is y?
y x
= 1.609 ×

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Sample C Program

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The main Function

/* preprocessor directives */
int main(void) { Memory
/* declarations (memory) */
6
/* statements (process) */ ?
Process
return 0;
}
 Program execution must begin with the main function
 The statement
return 0;
in the main function signifies the successful termination of
the program

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Declaring Variables – Defining Memory

 type
– integer: int
– floating point (double precision): double
 value
– Examples of integer values: 1, 0, -100
– Examples of floating point values: 1.0, 0.123, -1.23
 identifier – a meaningful name (case-sensitive)
– must consist only of letters, digits, and underscores
– cannot begin with a digit
– cannot be a reserved word
– avoid using standard identifier names

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Declaring Variables – Syntax
declaration
type variable-id ;

= value

,
type
int

double

 Examples:
– Unknown value: int x;
– Initialized: int height=3;
– Multiple: double r1, r2 = 1.23, r3, radius = 4.0;
 It is advisable to always declare and initialize variables to
an initial value (typically zero).
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Declaring Variables – Example
/* preprocessor directives */
int main(void) {
double miles, kms; /* distances in miles and kilometers */
/* statements */
return 0;
}

miles ? kms ?

/* preprocessor directives */
int main(void) {
double miles = 0, kms = 0; /* distances in miles and kilometers */
/* statements */
return 0;
}

miles 0 kms 0

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Program Input – scanf <stdio.h>
scanf-statement

scanf ( format-spec , & variable-id ) ;

format-spec

" %d "

%lf

 Requires preprocessor directive: #include <stdio.h>

 Conversion specifiers %d for integer; %f for floating-point
 Reading(scanf) a floating-point value(%lf) into(&) miles:
scanf("%lf", &miles);
 Reading two integers: scanf("%d%d", &miles, &kms);
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Program Input – Example

#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
double miles = 0, kms = 0; /* distances in miles and kilometers */
/* Get the distance in miles */
scanf("%lf", &miles); /* assume 10.0 is read as input */
return 0;
}

miles 0 kms 0
10.0

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Program Output – printf <stdio.h>
printfStatement

printf ( formatString ) ;

, expr

formatString

" text "

%d expr
var-id
%f
value
\n

 Requires preprocessor directive: #include <stdio.h>

 %d and %f as placeholders to output int and double values
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Program Output – Example
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
double miles = 0, kms = 0; /* distances in miles and kms */
/* Get the distance in miles */
printf("Enter the distance in miles> ");
scanf("%lf", &miles); /* assume 10.0 is read as input */
/* Verify the distance entered */
printf("The distance entered is %f miles\n", miles);
return 0;
}

miles 0 kms 0
10.0
 How about the following?
printf("The distance entered is %d miles\n", miles);

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Assignment Statement

 Set a variable to the value of an expression:

statement assignment-statement

assignment-statement variable-id = expr ;

scanf-statement
expr
variable-id
printf-statement
value

expr op expr

( expr )

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Arithmetic
 Expression involving an operation over two other expressions
 Arithmetic operations: +, -, *, /, % (remainder or modulo)
 Example expression involving operators:

 Operations over expressions are grouped in order of

1. Precedence: 2+3*4 → (2+(3*4)) since * before +
2. Associativity: 2*3*4 → ((2*3)*4) since * is L→R
 Use parentheses ( ) to group explicitly
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Typed Expressions

 All expressions are typed. In particular, for op ∈ {+, -, *, /}

– exprint op exprint → exprint
– expri op exprj → exprdouble if i or j is double
 Exercise:

– 22+7 → – 22/7.0 →
– 22.0-7.0 → – 22/7 → (quotient)
– 22.0*7 → – 22%7 → (remainder)
 % operates over integers only
 What happens when v = 34 πr3 is written as
v = 4/3 * 3.142 * r * r * r;

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Type Conversions
 Numeric conversions:
– Safe
⊲ 1.0 * exprint → exprdouble
⊲ (double) exprint → exprdouble
– Unsafe:
⊲ (int) exprdouble → exprint
 Examples:
– 1.0*22/7 → 22.0/7 → 3.142857..
– (double)22/7 → 22.0/7 → 3.142857..
– 1.0*(22/7) → 1.0*3 → 3.0
– (double)(22/7) → (double)3 → 3.0
– (int)(22.0/7) → (int)3.142857.. → 3
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Typed Assignment

 Expressions are evaluated before assignment. Consider:

– typed expression evaluation, then
– possible type conversion during assignment
 Study the following program fragment:
int miles=3;
double kms;
miles = miles * 1.609;
kms = miles;
What are the values stored in the variables miles and kms?
miles(int) 3 kms(double) ?

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Sample Program
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
double miles=0, kms=0; /* distances in miles and kms */
/* Get the distance in miles */
printf("Enter the distance in miles> ");
scanf("%lf", &miles); /* assume 10.0 is read as input */
/* Convert the distance to kilometers */
kms = 1.609 * miles;
/* Display the distance in kilometers */
printf("%f miles is equivalent to %f kms\n", miles, kms);
return 0;
}

miles 0 kms 0
10.0 16.09

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Constant

 A named constant can be used in place of a value

 #define preprocessor directive for defining constants
 No variable is declared for the constant
#include <stdio.h>
#define KMS_PER_MILE 1.609
int main(void) {
double miles=0, kms=0; /* distances in miles and kms */
/* Get the distance in miles */
printf("Enter the distance in miles> ");
scanf("%lf", &miles); /* assume 10.0 is read as input */
/* Convert the distance to kilometers */
kms = KMS_PER_MILE * miles;
/* Display the distance in kilometers */
printf("%f miles is equivalent to %f kms\n", miles, kms);
return 0;
}

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Errors

 Compile error
Edit Program
– Syntax errors or inconsistencies that
are detected by the compiler
Compile y
 Runtime error
Error?

n
– Program compiles, starts to execute
Runtime
but terminates prematurely
y
Error?
 Logical error
n

Logical y
– Program compiles, executes and
Error? terminates, but with wrong result
n

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Program Style
/*
This program converts miles to kilometers.
*/
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void) {
/* statements within a block are indented */
}

 Comments:
– Use block comments: /* ... */
– Use comments, only when necessary
– The header comment is always useful
 Spaces:
– Blank spaces to improve statement readability
– Blank lines to separate different sections of code
– Indentation to define blocks of code { ... }
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Program Style

 Compare the following programs. Which is more readable?

/*
This program converts miles to kilometers.
*/
#include <stdio.h>
#define K 1.609 /* kms per mile */
int main(void) {
double x=0, y=0; /* x miles; y kms */ /*
This program converts miles to kilometers.
/* Get the distance in miles */ */
printf("Enter the distance in miles> "); #include <stdio.h>
scanf("%lf", &x);
#define KMS_PER_MILE 1.609
/* Convert the distance to kilometers */ int main(void) {
y = K * x; double miles=0, kms=0;
/* Display the distance in kilometers */ printf("Enter the distance in miles> ");
printf("%f miles = %f kms\n", x, y); scanf("%lf", &miles);
return 0; kms = KMS_PER_MILE * miles;
}
printf("%f miles = %f kms\n", miles, kms);
return 0;
}

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Lecture Summary

 Importance of type-awareness in C programming

 Variables declared with appropriate type according to their
usage within the program
 When writing program instructions, keep in mind the type of
variables/values and its effect on the instructions
 Maintain type-consistency with operations, assignments,
input and output
 Handle any instance of type-inconsistency carefully

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