Computing Concepts

Lecture 4: Overview of C

North South University CSE115

 Basic Structure of a C program

A C program basically consists of the following parts:

• Preprocessor Commands
• Functions
• Variables
• Statements & Expressions
• Comments

North South University CSE115 2

 Basic Structure of a C program

Example:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
/*my first program in C*/
printf(“Hello, World! \n”);

return 0;
}

North South University CSE115 3

 Basic Structure of a C program

Example:

#include <stdio.h> Preprocessor Directives

int main() Function Main

{
/*my first program in C*/ Comment
printf(“Hello, World! \n”);
Statements
return 0;
}

North South University CSE115 4

 Preprocessor Directives

• Preprocessor:
– A system program that modifies a C program prior to its
compilation.
• Preprocessor Directives:
– A C program line beginning with # that provides an instruction to
the preprocessor.
– The two most common directives are #include and #define
– The directive gives a program access to a library. This directive
causes the preprocessor to insert definitions from a standard
header file into a program before compilation.
– Example: In our “Hello World” program the header file stdio.h
contains information about standard input and output functions
such as printf.

North South University CSE115 5

 Function: main()
• Marks where program execution begins.
• SYNTAX:
int main(void)
{
function body
}
• A function body has two parts: declarations and executable
statements.
• The declarations tell the compiler what memory cells are
needed in the function
• The executable statements are translated into machine
language and later executed.
• Braces ({,}) mark the beginning and end of the body of the
function main.

North South University CSE115 6

 An Example

North South University CSE115 7

 An Example

North South University CSE115 8

An Example (contd.)

North South University CSE115 9

North South University CSE115 10
 An Example (contd.)

• What happens in the computer memory?

memory memory memory

MileToKm.exe MileToKm.exe MileToKm.exe

miles miles miles

? 10.5 10.5

kms kms kms

? ? 16.89

At the beginning
After user enters: 10.5 to After this line is executed:
Do not assume that
uninitialised variables scanf("%f", &miles); kms = KMS_PER_MILE * miles;
contain zero! (Very
common mistake.)

North South University CSE115 11

 Reserved Words

• A word that has special meaning in C

North South University CSE115 12

 Standard Idenfiers

• A word having special meaning but one that a

programmer may redefine. However, redefine is not
recommended.
• printf and scanf are names of operations which are
standard identifiers.
• These standard identifiers can be redefined and used by
the programmer for other purposes.
• If a standard identifier is redefined, then C will no longer
be able to use it for its original purpose.

North South University CSE115 13

 User-Defined Identifiers

• User-defined identifiers are chosen by the users

themselves
– to name memory cells that will hold data and program results
– To name operations that the user defines.
• Syntax rules:
1. An identifier must consist only of letters, digits, and
underscores.
2. An identifier cannot begin with a digit.
3. A C reserved word cannot be used as an identifier.
4. An identifier defined in a C standard library should not be
redefined.

North South University CSE115 14

 User-Defined Identifiers

• Valid Identifiers
letter_1, letter_2, inches, cent,
CENT_PER_INCH, Hello, variable
• Invalid Identifiers

North South University CSE115 15

 Reserved Words and Identifiers

• Example:

North South University CSE115 16

 Variables

• Variable:
– A name associated with a memory cell whose value can change
• Variable declarations:
– Statements that communicate to the compiler the names of
variables in the program and the kind of information stored in
each variable.
– SYNTAX: <variable_type> variable_list;
– Examples:
int count;
double x, y, z;
char first_initial;
– C requires that every variable used in a program would be
declared.

North South University CSE115 17

 Data Types

• A set of values and operations that can be performed on

those values.
• Objects of data type can be variables or constants
• Some basic data types:
– int
– float
– double
– char
• int
– Abstraction for integers
– Keyword: int
int num;
num = 5;

North South University CSE115 18

 Data Types (contd.)

• float
– Abstraction of numbers that has fractional parts.
– Keyword: float
float length;
length = 5.64;
• Double
– Abstraction of real numbers consisting both integral part and a
fractional part
– Scientific notation can also be used to represent real numbers as
‚double‘ type.
– Keyword: double
double value;
value = 7E5; //value = 700000

North South University CSE115 19

 Data Types (contd.)

• char
– Represents an individual character value – a letter, a digit, or a
special symbol.
– Each type char value is enclosed in apostrophes (single quotes)
like this: ‘A’ ‘z’ ‘2’ ‘9’ ‘*’ ‘:’
‘”’ ‘ ‘

• ASCII code
– A particular code that specifies the integer representing each
char value.
– ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange

North South University CSE115 20

Data Types (contd.)

North South University CSE115 21

 Assignment Statements

• An instruction that stores a value or a computational

result in a variable
• FORM: variable = expression;
• Example: kms = KMS_PER_MILE * miles;

North South University CSE115 22

 Input/Output Operations and Functions

• Input operation:
– An instruction that copies data from an input device into memory.
• Output operation:
– An instruction that displays information stored in memory.
• Input/output function:
– A C function that performs an input or output operation.
– Most common input/output functions are supplied as part of the
C standard input/output library to which access can be gained
through the preprocessor directive
#include <stdio.h>
– Some common input/output functions in stdio.h:
• printf()
• scanf()
• getchar()
• putchar()

North South University CSE115 23

 The printf function

• Used to send data to the standard output (usually the

monitor) to be printed according to specific format.
• General format:
– printf(format string);
• A sequence of any number of characters
surrounded by double quotation marks.
– printf(format string, print list);
• Format string is a combination of text, conversion
specifier and escape sequence.

North South University CSE115 24

 The printf function (contd.)

• Example:
– printf(“Thank you”);
– printf (“Total sum is: %d\n”, sum);
• %d is a placeholder (conversion specifier)
–marks the display position for a type
integer variable
• \n is an escape sequence
–moves the cursor to the new line

North South University CSE115 25

 The printf function (contd.)

• Format string:
– In a call to printf, a string of characters enclosed in double
quotes (“”), which specifies the form of the output line.
• Placeholder:
– A symbol beginning with % in a format string that indicateswhere
to display the output value.

North South University CSE115 26

 The printf function (contd.)

• Escape Sequence

North South University CSE115 27

 The scanf function

• Read data from the standard input device (usually

keyboard) and store it in a variable.
• General format:
– scanf(“Format string”, &variable);
• Notice ampersand (&) operator :
– C address of operator
– it passes the address of the variable instead of the
variable itself
– tells the scanf() where to find the variable to store the
new value
• Example:
int age;
printf(“Enter your age: ”);
scanf(“%d”, &age);

North South University CSE115 28

 The scanf function (contd.)

• If you want the user to enter more than one value, you
serialize the inputs.
• Example:
float height, weight;
printf(“Enter height and weight: ”);
scanf(“%f %f”, &height, &weight);

North South University CSE115 29

 The return statement

• Last line in the main function

• Transfers control from the program to the operating
system.
• SYNTAX: return expression;
• Example: return (0);

North South University CSE115 30