CSC128

TOPIC 2
BASIC ELEMENTS OF COMPUTER
PROGRAMS

PART 1
PREPARED BY: PUAN HARSHIDA BINTI HASMY
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

Understand more about identifier, variable, constant,

reserved word and data types
Able to identify the basic elements needed in writing a
program.
Understand and apply the input/output statement.
Justify the process of writing the program and error
handling.
Arithmetic operators, precedence, and mathematical
expression
 4

LEARNING OUTCOME

To identify basic elements of a computer

program.
 5

INTRODUCTION

Basic Elements of
C++ Program
Structure
 ○ General structure of a program includes the 6

elements used in the programming steps.

INTRODUCTION

Basic Elements of
C++ Program
Structure
 BASIC C++ PROGRAM

When you execute this program, it will print out the sentence
“Hello, welcome to C++ Programming!!” on the screen
 BASIC C++ PROGRAM
PREPROCESSOR DIRECTIVES
PREPROCESSOR DIRECTIVES
• iostream (for input and output statements, cin & cout)

OUTPUT SAMPLE

• The preprocessors directives is also known as

header file in C++ .
• All preprocessor directives in C++ begin with #,
and they do not need to end with a semicolon(;)
because this is not a statement in C++.
 BASIC C++ PROGRAM
main FUNCTION
Every C++ program has a function called main
The execution of all C++ programs begins with the main function,
regardless of where the function is actually located within the code.

main function

• The word main, must be typed in lowercase letters.

• A function is simply a block of code that perform tasks.
• Every C++ program has a function called main.
 BASIC C++ PROGRAM
COMMENTS
• Are meant only for the human readers, not for the compiler
• Used only to allow the readability of the program.
• The compiler will ignore comments placed inside the program

Single line comment: Begin

with //

Multiple line comments:

Enclosed between
/* and */
 BASIC C++ PROGRAM

{ BRACES }
int main()
{
cout << "Hello world!";
return 0;
}
• Braces are used to mark the beginning and end of
blocks of code in a program.
• What is contained in these braces is what the
function does when it is executed.
 BASIC C++ PROGRAM
STATEMENTS

• A function should consist of a sequence of statements the

perform the work of the function.
• It consist of instructions or command which make the
program work.
• Three (3) types of statements:-
1. Input statement → cin >> statement;
2. Output statement → cout << statement;
3. Operation/arithmetic statement → Mathematical operation
(* , - , + , / , %)
 13

LEARNING OUTCOME

To introduce variable identifiers, constants

and reserved words in C++
 WHAT IS AN IDENTIFIER ? (VARIABLE)
Represent storage location in the computer’s memory to store or hold values.
A symbolic name in the form of a letter, word or phrase that linked to a value.
Every variable stored in the computer’s memory has a name, a value and a
type.
Before it is used, it must be declared with its data type .
Example : int i = 10; ( i is the variable name which stored integer value 10
inside computer memory)
 IDENTIFIERS
• All C++ variables must be identified with unique names.
• These unique names are called identifiers.
• An identifier is a name of things that appear in a program,
includes:
• variables / constants / functions
• All identifiers must obey C++’s rules for identifiers.
• Consists of letters, digits and underscore character ( _ )
• No space or comma is allowed
• Must only begin with letter or underscore ( _ )
 IDENTIFIERS (CONT.) 16

Rules to write identifier name.

LIST OF KEYWORDS/RESERVED WORDS
AND SPECIAL SYMBOLS
 WHAT ARE THE IDENTIFIER RULES??

• IDENTIFIERS RULES:
• The first character of each identifier/variable MUST BE an alphabet letter
(a,b,c …, z OR A,B,C…,Z) or an underscore ‘_’.
✓ Examples : Brand1, _1stClass, sOne.
• Can only consists of letters, digits and underscore ‘_’.
• NO SYMBOL allowed (!@#?%^&*.)
• Cannot use C++ reserved words/keywords
• There must be no blank space character (Room 3, Level 1)
• Identifiers are case sensitive
✓ Examples : NO1, no1, No1,nO1 (Each one considered as different)
IDENTIFIER NAMES
 IDENTIFIERS
LEGAL AND ILLEGAL IDENTIFIERS
▪ The following are LEGAL identifiers in C++:
a first TAX
ResultIn _2ndFloor isAvailable
payRate choice average
person1 max2022 x1

▪ Meanwhile, these are the ILLEGAL identifiers

 IDENTIFIERS (VARIABLE)
▪ Can only store 1 value at a time
▪ Value of a variable may change during program
execution.
Syntax: ▪ Must be declared before used.
data_type variable;
int number1;
Example: int number2;
int x; int number3;
(three different variables with the same data
int number1, number2, number3; type int can be combined together)
char _codeMI7 ;
float after_sale_price;
Please take note of the coma (,) to separate the variable list &
Semicolon (;) to end the variable declaration
IDENTIFIERS (VARIABLE)
 IDENTIFIERS (VARIABLE)
Variable: what happen when a variable is declared??

○ The compiler allocates a memory space for the variable.

○ In the memory space, name, data type and value of the variable
are stored.
○ ex. float length = 6.0;
 IDENTIFIERS (CONSTANT)
• Values that are fixed
• The content inside it will not change throughout the program
execution
• Usually constant name is capital to distinguish from other
variables.
• The syntax to declare a constant:
const dataType variableName = value;
For example:

const float PI = 3.142; ←variable PI is used to

… represent a constant
cin >> number; value of 3.142
area = 2 * PI * radius; ←legal statement
PI = number;←illegal statement because trying to
change constant value with a new value
 CONSTANT DECLARATION
Syntax:
const data_type CONSTANT_NAME = value;

data type
const keyword

const float TAX = 0.06;

Constant_name value
 WHITESPACES
▪ Every C++ program contains whitespaces
▪ Include blanks, tabs, and newline characters
▪ Used to separate special symbols, reserved words, and
identifiers
▪ Proper utilization of whitespaces is important
▪ Can be used to make the program more readable

whitespaces

whitespaces
 27

LEARNING OUTCOME

To introduce data and data types (integers,

floating point data, character,boolean)
 DATA TYPE IN C++

○ All the variables and constants have to be declared before they are
used in the program.
○ To declare the variables, we have to identify the categories of data and
name each uniquely.
○ It is because once we declare the variable, a memory space will be
provided.
○ So, to allocate the size, we have to base it on the variable categories.
○ Data type represents the size and type of a variable.
DATA TYPE IN C++ (CONT.)
 DATA TYPE IN C++ (CONT.)

❑ Data type will explain the size of memory needed to hold the value of
a variable.
❑ Also known as a container, data type will hold values based on their
type and size, and also helps us to define the categories of the
variable.
❑ We can split them to numeric data type (whole and decimal
numbers), character data type, and logical value data type.
NUMERIC DATA TYPE
STANDARD DATA TYPES
int

float / double

char

char var[0] (to replace string)

bool

string
C++ DATA TYPES
string
data type
(AN ALTERNATIVE FOR char title[30]
Categories of
data type

NUMERIC CHARACTER
data type data type
(char)
❖ integer BOOLEAN
(int) data type ❖ Single Character
(char)
❖ floating / ❖ true / ❖ String of
decimal points false(bool) characters
(float / double) (char title[5])
DATA TYPES
35
36
 CHARACTER DATA TYPE (char[size number])

STRING OF CHARACTERS (“TEXT”) :-

( keyword = char variable[size];)
◦ A string = a sequence of characters that terminated by a null character, ‘\0’ which has the value
zero.
◦ The null character denotes the end of a string and is added to the string by compiler
automatically.
◦ Example, to declare a string text that could hold 5 characters, the following statement is written.

char text[6] = “Hello”;

char staffName[20] = “Umar Bin Khalid”

Note: the double quotes (“ “) and single quotes (‘ ‘)

◦ Enclosed in double quotation marks (“ “).

◦ Position of first character is 0, the position of the second is 1, and so on
CHARACTER DATA TYPE (char[size number])
38
39
 VARIABLE AND CONSTANT DECLARATION

○ The process of clarifying the variable name and data type of a

variable is known as variable declaration.
○ The declaration is a C++ statement, so it should end with a semicolon
(;).
○ In the declaration statement, we should write the data type, followed
by the variable name.
○ The general way to write a variable declaration is as follows:
Data type variable_name;
❑ Examples: • char code[6];
• int age; • bool status;
• double total_Price; • float weight ;
• char gender; • string name ;
 VARIABLE DECLARATION

Makes a variable, named price, of data

float price; type float
 CONSTANT VARIABLE DECLARATION

○ Constant variables must also be declared before they can be used.

○ A constant variable is a variable that has a value that never changes.
○ To declare the constant variable, we will use the literal value, which means that
we are using the constant value. A literal value is any fixed or constant value
used in a program.
○ The syntax of a declaration statement for a constant variable is:
const data type variable name = literal or actual value;
○ Examples:
• const double PI = 3.142 ;
• const char[20] COMPANY_NAME = “ABC Interprise”;
 43

LEARNING OUTCOME

To introduce C++ Program Structure

 BASIC C++ PROGRAM

When you execute this program, it will print out the sentence
“Hello, welcome to C++ Programming!!” on the screen
 THE BASICS OF A C++ PROGRAM

FUNCTION

Every C++ program has a function called main

• A function is a code module / block of code that perform a single task.

• Every C++ program has a function called main.
• The word main, must be typed in lowercase letters.
 T H E B AS I C S O F A C + + P R O G R AM
PREPROCESSOR DIRECTIVES
PREPROCESSOR DIRECTIVES
• iostream (for input and output statements)
• cstring (for handling string data)

OUTPUT SAMPLE

• The preprocessors directives is also known as header file in C++ .

• All preprocessor directives in C++ begin with #, and they do not need to end with a
semicolon(;) because this is not a statement in C++.
 THE BASICS OF A C++ PROGRAM
WHAT IS SYNTAX RULES?
• Rules that determines whether the statements (instructions) within the
program are valid or not

• If valid, this means that the statements are accepted by the

programming language

SYNTAX ERROR
(detected by the compiler)
caused by missing ;
(semicolon) at line #7
 THE BASICS OF A C++ PROGRAM
COMMENTS
• Are meant only for the human readers, not for the compiler
• Used only to allow the readability of the program.
• The compiler will ignore comments placed inside the program

Single line comment: Begin

with //

Multiple line comments:

Enclosed between
/* and */
 THE BASICS OF A C++ PROGRAM

{ BRACES }

int main()
{
cout << "Hello, there!";
return 0;
}
• Braces are used to mark the beginning and end of blocks of code in a
program.
• What is contained in these braces is what the function does when it is
executed.
 THE BASICS OF A C++ PROGRAM

STATEMENTS

• A function should consist of a sequence of statements

the perform the work of the function.
• It consist of instructions or command which make the
program work.
• Three (3) types of statements:-
1. Input statement → cin >> statement;
2. Output statement → cout << statement;
3. Operation statement → Mathematical operation
*,-,+,/,%
 THE BASICS OF A C++ PROGRAM
/* This program is to compute the sum of two integer
Comment
numbers */

Preprocessor #include <iostream> //Preprocessor to handle cout and cin

Directive statement
using namespace std;

Function int main() //This is the beginning of a function named main

{
Begin Block
int no1, no2, sum; // Variable declaration

cout << “\nEnter first number: “ ; //This a prompt

cin >> no1; //Input from console
cout << “ \nEnter second number: “ ;
Function Body
cin >> no2; //Input from console

sum = no1 + no2; //Adding no1 and no2

cout << “\nSum = “ << sum ; //Output to console
return 0;
End Block }

Semicolon ; = delimiter . Use to end of statement or line.

EXERCISE
EXERCISE
53
 54

Thanks! End of Part 1 of TOPIC 2.

Any questions?
 55

TO BE CONTINUED..
PART 2 OF TOPIC 2
TYPES OF OPERATOR:
ARITHMETIC OPERATORS
ASSIGNMENT OPERATORS
INPUT/OUTPUT STATEMENT
PREDEFINED FUNCTIONS
CONTROL STRUCTURES + ALGORITHM