Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering

Chapter 1: Introduction to
Computers and Programming

Introduction to Computer Programming

(C language)

TS. Võ Thị Ngọc Châu

([email protected],
[email protected])
2017 – 2018, Semester 2
Course Content
🞐 C.1. Introduction to Computers and
Programming
🞐 C.2. C Program Structure and its
Components
🞐 C.3. Variables and Basic Data Types
🞐 C.4. Selection Statements
🞐 C.5. Repetition Statements
🞐 C.6. Functions
🞐 C.7. Arrays
🞐 C.8. Pointers
🞐 C.9. File Processing 2
 References

🞐 [1] “C: How to Program”, 7th Ed. – Paul

Deitel and Harvey Deitel, Prentice Hall, 2012.
🞐 [2] “The C Programming Language”, 2nd Ed.
– Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie,
Prentice Hall, 1988
🞐 and others, especially those on the Internet

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Content

🞐 Introduction
🞐 Computer Organization
🞐 Programming Languages
🞐 Programming Tasks
🞐 Data and Algorithms
🞐 Summary

4
Introduction
🞐 Computer Programming
■ Computer
🞐 a device that can perform computations and make
logical decisions billions of times faster than human
beings can

■ Programming
🞐 The act of writing the programs executable on the
computers to produce intended results

■ Program
🞐 A sequence of instructions written in a programming
language to perform a specified task by the computer
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Introduction

Programs and
Computers Programming their Results 6
Computer Organization
🞐 Hardware: physical components of
computer (including peripherals)
■ the keyboard, screen, mouse, hard disk,
memory, DVDs and processing units, …
🞐 Software: a set of machine-readable
instructions that directs a computer's
processor to perform specific operations
[Wikipedia]
■ Application softwares
■ Operating system
■ System softwares 7
 Computer Organization -
Hardware

Computer Architecture

ALU = Arithmetic/logic gate unit: performing

8
arithmetic and logic operations on data
Computer Organization –
Software

9
Programming Languages
🞐 Programming language: a formal language
for writing a computer program as a
sequence of instructions
■ C, C++, C#, Java, PHP, Python, …
🞐 Three general types
■ Machine languages
■ Assembly languages
■ High-level languages
🞐 Providing a sequence of instructions that directly
understandable by computers or requiring some
intermediate translation steps 10
Programming Languages –
Machine Languages

🞐 First-generation language: strings of

numbers (ultimately reduced to 1s and 0s)
that instruct computers to perform their
most elementary operations one at a time
■ Directly understandable by computers
■ Machine-dependent

For example, instructions for

adding overtime pay to base
pay and then storing the
result in gross pay
11
Programming Languages –
Assembly Languages
🞐 Second-generation language: a low-level
language used to interface with computer
hardware using English-like abbreviations
to represent elementary operations
■ Less understandable by computers
■ Need for translation steps to convert an
assembly language program to machine codes
🞐 Translator = Assembler

For example, instructions for

adding overtime pay to base
pay and then storing the
result in gross pay 12
 Programming Languages –
High-level Languages
🞐 Third-generation language: written
instructions that look almost like everyday
English and contain commonly used
mathematical notations
■ Less understandable by computers
■ Translator program is called compiler.
■ The C language is a high-level language that needs
a compiler.
■ Scripting languages such as PHP and Perl need an
interpreter.
For example, instructions for adding overtime pay to base pay and
then storing the result in gross pay: grosspay = basepay + overpay. 13
 Programming Languages –
High-level Languages

Program File Compiler Binary File CPU Result

C, C++, Java, …

Program File Interpreter CPU Result

PHP, Perl, …

A history of computer programming languages – Wikipedia

Graph of programming language history – www.levenez
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Programming Languages –
The C language

🞐 Evolved from B by Dennis Ritchie at Bell

Laboratories and originally implemented on
a DEC PDP-11 computer in 1972
🞐 Using many of the important concepts of
BCPL and B while adding data typing and
other powerful features
🞐 Used for many important application trends
■ Developing new major operating systems: UNIX,
Linux, Android, …
■ Developing programs in the embedded systems
in cars, medical machines, …
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Programming Languages –
The C language

Ken Thompson (left) with Dennis Ritchie (right,

the inventor of the C programming language)
[Wikipedia]

🞐 The development of the C language

■ Dennis M. Ritchie
🞐 Full history of the C language
■ Wikipedia
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Programming Tasks
Design of Library Library
program (Header: *.h) (Object code: *.lib; *.dll; *.so)

Editor Preprocessor Compiler Linker Executable

Program

Source code Enhanced source code Object code

*.h + *.c *.h + *.c (*.cpp) *.obj
(*.cpp)

gcc; g++
Integrated Development Environment (IDE):
Visual Studio; Eclipse; Qt Creator; Code block; Online tool; etc
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Programming Tasks
🞐 Editor: supports text editing feature for
writing source code
🞐 Preprocessor: preprocesses the source code
with replacing macro, inserting library files
*.h, …
🞐 Compiler: translates the source code into
target machine language
🞐 Linker: links the object code to other library
files
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 Data and Algorithms –
Concepts

🞐 Program

= A Sequence of Instructions Written in a

Programming Language to Perform a Specified
Task by the Computer

= Data and their Structures + Algorithms

Input/Output/… Process

Example 1: instructions for adding overtime pay to base pay and

then storing the result in gross pay: grosspay = basepay + overpay.

Example 2: given n positive numbers, find the smallest one.

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Data and Algorithms –
Data
🞐 Atomic data: int, double, char, ...
🞐 Non-atomic data: array, struct, enum, …
🞐 A strong relationship between the data
structures and the operations on the data in
the corresponding structures
Example 1: instructions for adding overtime pay to base pay and
then storing the result in gross pay: grosspay = basepay + overpay.
- Input Data: basepay and overpay are positive real numbers
(double).
- Output Data: grosspay is also a positive real number (double).

Example 2: given n positive numbers, find the smallest one.

- Input Data: n positive real numbers are treated individually OR as
a collection (double)
- Output Data: minNumber is a positive real number (double). 20
Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms
🞐 Algorithm = a sequence of unambiguous
instructions for solving a problem, i.e. for
obtaining a required output for any
legitimate input in a finite amount of time
■ Anany Levitin, Introduction to the Design and
Analysis of Algorithms, 2nd Edition, Addison
Wesley, 2007
🞐 Algorithm representation
■ Pseudo code
■ Flowchart
■ Real code in a high-level programming language
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 Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms
🞐 Example 2: given n positive numbers, find the
smallest one.
🞐 Task solution:
■ 1. Suppose that the first number is the smallest one
(current one).
■ 2. Check if the current smallest one is a real one as
compared to the next number.
🞐 If yes then compared to the next number of the next one
like step 2 till all numbers are checked.
🞐 Otherwise,
▪ update the smallest one with the smaller one
▪ And then move next to check with the next number of the
next number like step 2 till all numbers are checked. 22
Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms – Pseudo Code
🞐 Header
■ Algorithm name Header

■ Input data and their data types

■ Task purpose
Body
■ Pre-conditions
■ Post-conditions
■ Output data and their data types
🞐 Body
■ (Numbered) (control) statements
■ Comments 23
 Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms – Pseudo Code
Algorithm findMinNumber
🞐 Example 📫 Input: positiveNumber[n] which is an array of n positive double values
📫 Output: minNumber which is the smallest one whose type is double
2: given 📫 Purpose: find the smallest number in a collection
📫 Precondition: n data inputs are positive.
n positive Begin Algorithm
Check positiveNumber[n] contains only positive values
numbers, minNumber = positiveNumber[1]
iteration = 2
find the While (iteration <= n)
Begin While
smallest If (minNumber <= positiveNumber[iteration]) Then
iteration = iteration + 1
one.
Else
Begin
minNumber = positiveNumber[iteration]
iteration = iteration + 1
End
End While 24
Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms – Flowchart

🞐 Symbols used for drawing a flowchart

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Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms - Flowchart

🞐 Terminal: starting point or end point

🞐 Input/Output: input data/output data of the
algorithm
🞐 Flow line: shows a control flow of the
algorithm. Execution follows this part.
🞐 Decision: allows a condition (expressed as
a boolean expression) to be checked
🞐 Process: data processing block

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Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms - Flowchart

🞐 Predefined process: an existing data

processing block
🞐 On-page connector: a gathering point of
the flow lines in a flowchart
🞐 Off-page connector: a gathering point of
the flow lines from another page
🞐 Preparation: preparation steps, setting for
initial conditions
🞐 Annotation: comments
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Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms - Flowchart

fals
<Condition> e

tru
e

<Statements>

if Statement
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Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms - Flowchart

fals
<Condition> e

tru
e

<Statements T> <Statements F>

if-else Statement 29
Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms - Flowchart

false false false

<case 1> <case 2> <case N>
true true true

<Statements 1> <Statements 2> <Statements N> <Default>

switch-case Statement

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Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms - Flowchart

<initialization>

false
<Condition>

true
<Iteration Value
<Statements>
Modification>

for Statement
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Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms - Flowchart

false <Statements>
<Condition>

true
true
<Condition>
<Statements>
false

while Statement do while Statement

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 Flowchart vs. Pseudo Code?
🞐 Example 2: minNumber = How to add the checking
positiveNumber[1] of n positive numbers?
given n
positive iteration = 2

numbers,
false
iteration <= n
find the
smallest true

one. minNumber<= true

iteration =
positiveNumber[iteration]
iteration + 1

false
minNumber =
positiveNumber[iteration]

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 Data and Algorithms –
Algorithms – Real code in C
void main() {
double positiveNumber[10] = {2, 1, 3, 10, 8, 3, 4, 5, 9, 12};
int n = 10;
How to add the checking
double minNumber = positiveNumber[0]; of n positive numbers?
int iteration = 1;
while (iteration < n) {
if (minNumber <= positiveNumber[iteration]) iteration = iteration + 1;
else {
minNumber = positiveNumber[iteration];
iteration = iteration + 1;
}
}
} Pseudo Code vs. Flowchart vs. Real Code in C? 34
Summary
🞐 Concepts related to computer programming

🞐 Short introduction to computers, programs,

programming, and programming languages

🞐 Short introduction to the C language

🞐 Preparation for computer programming

■ Programming tasks

■ Data and basic data types

■ Algorithms and their representations

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Chapter 1: Introduction to
Computers and Programming

36