PROGRAMMING IN C

Introduction

 What is C?
 Why Learn C?
What is C?

 C is a general-purpose programming language created by Dennis Ritchie at the

Bell Laboratories in 1972.
 C can be used to develop software like operating systems (Windows and iOS) ,
databases, compilers, 3D movies and so on.
 C is strongly associated with UNIX, as it was developed to write the UNIX
operating system.
• C is a procedural Language, meaning instructions in a C program are executed step by
step.
• C is portable, you can move C programs from one platform to another, and run it
without any or minimal changes.
• C is a general purpose language, can be used to develop operating systems, embedded
systems, databases, and so on.
Why Learn C?

 It is one of the most popular programming language in the world

 If you know C, you will have no problem learning other popular programming
languages such as Java, Python, C++, C#, etc, as the syntax is similar
 C is very fast, compared to other programming languages, like Java and
Python
 C helps you to understand the internal architecture of a computer, how
computer stores and retrieves information.
 Opportunity to work on open source projects. Some of the largest open-
source projects such as Linux kernel, Python interpreter, SQLite database,
etc. are written in C programming.
C as a General-purpose Language

 Despite being old, C is used in a variety of applications. For example,

 Embedded Systems
 Operating System - Windows, Linux, OSX, Android, iOS
 Databases - PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, MS SQL Server
 Other Uses - Network drivers, Compilers, Print spoolers
Setting up the production Environment

 You need a text editor and a compiler to write programs in C

 A compiler is used to translate the C code into a language that the computer will
understand
OR
 An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) used to edit and compile the
code.
 C is a case
sensitive language, all keywords
must be written in lowercase.
Syntax

 Syntax is a set of rules that defines how a valid program statement should be
arranged or written.
 Syntax help to control the structure of the symbols, punctuation, and words of a
programming language.
Syntax…
1. #include <stdio.h> is a header file library
that lets us work with input and output
 #include <stdio.h> functions.
int main() { 2. A blank line. C ignores white space.
printf("Hello World!"); 3. Int main() is a function and any code inside
return 0; its curly brackets {} will be executed.
}
4. int main is a function that returns some
integer even ‘0’ at the end of the program
execution. ‘0’ represents the successful
execution of a program.
5. printf() is a function used to output/print
text to the screen.
 Note: every c statement ends with a 6. return 0 ends the main() function.
semicolon ;
C code block example

 #include <stdio.h>

int main() {
printf("Hello World!");
printf("I am learning C.");
return 0;
}
UNIT 1: UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC
CONCEPT OF C
 Keywords and Identifiers
 Data Types
 Constants
 Variables
 Arithmetic
 Unary
 Relational and Logical, Assignment and Conditional
 Bitwise Operator
C Keywords

 Keywords are predefined, reserved words used in programming that have special
meanings to the compiler.
 Keywords are part of the syntax and they cannot be used as an identifier. For example:
int money;
 int is a keyword that indicates money is a variable of type int (integer).
List of all keywords allowed in ANSI C.
C Identifiers

 Identifier refers to name given to entities such as variables, functions,

structures etc.
 Identifiers must be unique. They are created to give a unique name to an
entity to identify it during the execution of the program. For example:
int money;
double accountBalance;
 money and accountBalance are identifiers.

 Identifier names must be different from keywords. You cannot use int as an
identifier because int is a reserved C keyword.
 Rules for naming identifiers

 A valid identifier can have letters (both uppercase and lowercase letters),
digits and underscores.
 Names can contain letters, digits and underscores
 Names must begin with a letter or an underscore (_)
 Names are case sensitive (myVar and myvar are different variables)
 Names cannot contain whitespaces or special characters like !, #, %,
 Reserved words (such as int) cannot be used as names
 Give meaningful names to identifiers that make sense.
Character set
 A character set is a set of alphabets, letters and some special characters that are valid in C
language.
Alphabets

 Uppercase: A B C ................................... X Y Z
 Lowercase: a b c ...................................... x y z
 C accepts both lowercase and uppercase alphabets as variables and functions.
Digits

 0123456789
Special Characters
White space Characters
 Blank space

 Newline
 Horizontal tab
 Carriage return
 Form feed.
 C New Lines \n

 Single new line  Multiple new lines

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdio.h>

int main() { int main() {

printf("Hello World!\n"); printf("Hello World!\nI am
printf("I am learning C."); learning C.\nAnd it is
return 0; awesome!");
} return 0;
}
 C New Lines \n…

 Double line creates a white space

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
printf("Hello World!\n\n");
printf("I am learning C.");
return 0;
}
Comments in C

 Single comment  Multiple comment

//this is my single comment /*The code below will print the words
Hello World! to the screen, and it is
amazing*/
C Data Type

 Data types are declarations for variables, that determines the type and size of data
associated with variables.
 Format specifier is used inside the printf() function to display a variable with
a specified data type and size.
Basic Data Types
Basic Data Types
C Variables

 Variables are containers for storing data values, like numbers and characters.
 Examples of variable types defined with different keywords:
 int - stores integers (whole numbers), without decimals, such as 123 or -123
 float - stores floating point numbers, with decimals, such as 19.99 or -19.99
 char - stores single characters, such as 'a' or 'B'. Char values are surrounded by
single quotes
C Variable Names

 All C variables must be identified with unique names.

 These unique names are called identifiers.
 Identifiers can be short names (like x and y) or more descriptive names (age,
sum, totalVolume).
 It is recommended to use descriptive names in order to create understandable
and maintainable code:
// Good
int minutesPerHour = 60;

// OK, but not so easy to understand what m actually is

int m = 60;
Declaring (Creating) Variables

 To create or declare a variable, specify the type and assign it

a value:

 Syntax
 type variableName = value;

 E.g int num = 10;

 Two ways of declaring variables

 Assigning a value  Not assigning a value

int myNum = 15; // Declare a variable

int myNum;

// Assign a value to the

variable
myNum = 15;
Outputting variables in C

 You cannot use the C output to display a variable.

 Use format specifiers together with the printf() function to tell the compiler
what type of data the variable is storing.
 Format specifier syntax
 “%character”.

 Int: %d or %i
 Char: %c
 Float: %f
Basic Format Specifiers
 There are different format specifiers for each data type. Here
are some of them:

Format Specifier Data Type

%d or %i int

%f float

%lf double

%c char

%s strings (text)
Outputting variables in C example

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
// Create variables
int myNum = 15; // Integer (whole number)
float myFloatNum = 5.99; // Floating point number
char myLetter = 'D'; // Character

// Print variables
printf("%d\n", myNum);
printf("%f\n", myFloatNum);
printf("%c\n", myLetter);
return 0;
To combine both text and a variable,
separate them with a comma inside the
printf() function:
 int myNum = 15;
printf("My favorite number is: %d", myNum);
To print different types in a single printf()
function, you can use the following:

 int myNum = 15;

char myLetter = 'D';
printf("My number is %d and my letter is %c", myNum, myLetter);
Change Variable Values

 Note: If you assign a new value to an existing variable, it will

overwrite the previous value:
 int myNum = 15; // myNum is 15
myNum = 10; // Now myNum is 10
You can also assign the value of one
variable to another:
 int myNum = 15;

int myOtherNum = 23;

// Assign the value of myOtherNum (23) to myNum

myNum = myOtherNum;

// myNum is now 23, instead of 15

printf("%d", myNum);
Or copy values to empty variables:

 // Create a variable and assign the value 15 to it

int myNum = 15;

// Declare a variable without assigning it a value

int myOtherNum;

// Assign the value of myNum to myOtherNum

myOtherNum = myNum;

// myOtherNum now has 15 as a value

printf("%d", myOtherNum);
Add Variables Together

 To add a variable to another variable, you can use the + operator:

 int x = 5;
int y = 6;
int sum = x + y;
printf("%d", sum);
Declare Multiple Variables

 To declare more than one variable of the same type, use a comma-
separated list:
 int x = 5, y = 6, z = 50;
printf("%d", x + y + z);
You can also assign the same value to
multiple variables of the same type:

 int x, y, z;
x = y = z = 50;
printf("%d", x + y + z);
simplify variable names to match their
data type
// Student data
int studentID = 15;
int studentAge = 23;
float studentFee = 75.25;
char studentGrade = 'B';

// Print variables
printf("Student id: %d\n", studentID);
printf("Student age: %d\n", studentAge);
printf("Student fee: %f\n", studentFee);
printf("Student grade: %c", studentGrade);
Try

 int x = 5;
int y = 2;
int sum = 5 / 2;

printf("%d", sum); // Outputs

2
C Type Conversion

 convert the value of one data // Automatic

type to another type
conversion: float to
int
// Automatic int myInt = 9.99;
conversion: int to
float printf("%d", myInt); //
float myFloat = 9; 9

printf("%f", myFloat);
// 9.000000
Try

// Manual conversion: int to  int num1 = 5;

float int num2 = 2;
float sum = (float) num1 /
float sum = 5 / 2;
num2;
printf("%f", sum); // 2.000000
printf("%.1f", sum); // 2.5
C Constants

 Const keyword is used when you don’t want to change existing variable values.

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
const int myNum = 15; // myNum will always be 15
myNum = 10; // error: assignment of read-only variable
'myNum’
printf("%d\n", myNum);
printf("%f\n", myNum);
return 0;
}
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
const int minutesPerHour = 60;
const float PI = 3.14;
printf("%d\n", minutesPerHour);
printf("%f\n", PI);
return 0;
}
Class activity

 Create a program that assign a constant age 30 to a variable myage and print
it out as an integer.