CIT301 SUMMARY FROM NOUNGEEKS.

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Low level language

This type of language is language. The two major language closer to the

machine compared with the human natural examples are the

Machine language and the Assembly.

Assembly Language: Assembly Language uses MNEMONICS (symbols)

to represent data and instructions. Such program eliminates problems

associated with machine language. Computer cannot execute directly a

program written in assembly language, it requires a translator called

assembler.

Advantages of Assembly Language

• It allows complex jobs to run in a simpler way.

• It is memory efficient, as it requires less memory.

 • It is faster in speed, as its execution time is less.

Disadvantages of Assembly Language

• It is machine dependent; the programmer must be knowledgeable in

both subject area and the operations of the machine.

• It is cumbersome though less cumbersome than that of machine

language.

• Very expensive to develop

• It consumes time

High Level Language

A high-level language is a problem orientated programming language,

whereas a low-level language is machine oriented. The source programs are

written in human readable languages like English instead of mere symbols.

In other words, a high-level language is a convenient and simple means of

describing the information structures and sequences of actions required to

perform a particular task.

Advantages of High-Level Language

• The person writing the program does not need to know anything

about the computer in which the program will be run (Machine

Independent)

• The programs are portable

• Very easy to learn and write

Disadvantages of High-Level Language

• It takes additional translation times to translate the source to

machine code.

• High level programs are comparatively slower than low level

programs.

• Compared to low level programs, they are generally less memory

efficient.

• Cannot communicate directly with the hardware

Features of High-Level Language

• Machine independent

• Problem oriented

• Ability to clearly reflect the structure of program written in it.

 • Readability

• Programs are portable.

Characteristics of a Good Program

• Transferability- Must be able to work on any computer machine.

• Reliability- It can be relied upon to do what it is expected to do.

• Efficiency/cost saving- It must not cost more than its benefits and

enables problem to be solved appropriately, quickly and efficiently.

• Simplicity- It should be as simple as possible to understand.

• Understandability/Readability- It must be readable and

understandable by other programmers and end users.

Flexibility/Adaptability / Maintainability- A good program must be flexible

adaptable and maintainable in order to suit user’s need.

Abstraction

This is called raising the level of abstraction. Every time you raise the level

of abstraction in a programming language, you get more program (as

measured in terms of bits) for less work. The language at which you

communicate with the computer can also be altered into something closer

to the way we communicate in English.

A module is basically a set of interrelated files that share their

implementation details but hide it from the outside world. The main

advantages of modular programming approach, includes ease of use,

reusability, and ease of maintenance.

Modularity

Modular programming is the process of subdividing a computer program

into separate sub-programs. A module is a separate software component. It

can be used in a variety of applications and functions with other

components of the system.

Advantages of Using Modular Programming Approach

Ease of Use: This approach allows simplicity, as lines of program code can

be accessed in the form of modules, rather than focusing on the entire

thousands and millions of lines code. This allows ease in debugging the

code and prone to less error.

Reusability: It allows the user to reuse the functionality with a different

interface without typing the whole program again.

Ease of Maintenance: It helps in less collision at the time of working on

modules, helping a team to work with proper collaboration while working

on a large application.

Modular Programming in C
C is called a structured programming language because to solve a large

problem, C programming language divides the problem into smaller

modules called functions or procedures each of which handles a particular

responsibility. The program which solves the entire problem is a collection

of such functio

Modularization has several benefits, especially on large and complex

programs:

• modules can be re-used in several projects;

• changing the implementation details of a modules does not require to

modify the clients using them as far as the interface does not change;

• faster re-compilation, as only the modules that have been modified

are actually re-compiled;

• self-documenting, as the interface specifies all that is required to

know to use the module;

 • easier debugging, as modules dependencies are clearly specified and

every module can be tested separately.

Structured programming Concept

In structured programming design, programs are broken into different

functions these functions are also known as modules, subprogram,

subroutines and procedures.

Structured programming minimizes the chances of the function affecting

another. It allows for clearer programs code. It made global variables to

disappear and replaced by the local variables.

The languages that support Structured programming approach are:

•C

•C++

•Java

•C#

•Pascal
Advantages of Structured programming

•It is user friendly and easy to understand.

•Similar to English vocabulary of words and symbols.

•It is easier to learn.

•They require less time to write.

Programming paradigms

A programming paradigm, or programming model, is an approach to

programming a computer based on a mathematical theory or a coherent set

of principles.

Imperative paradigm

This paradigm is based on the ideas of a Von Neummann architecture. A

command has a measurable effect on the program and the order of

commands is important. First do this and next do that. Its main

characteristics are incremental change of the program state (variables) as a

function of time; execution of commands in an order governed by control

structures; and the use of procedures, abstractions of one or more actions,

which can be called as a single command. Examples: Fortran, Algol, Basic,

C, Pascal.

Functional paradigm

This paradigm is based on mathematics and theory of functions. The values

produced are non-mutable and plays a minor role compared to imperative

program. All computations are done by applying functions with no side

effects. Functions are firsts class citizens. Evaluate an expression and use

the resulting value for something. Example: Haskell, Clojure Check for

Functional paradigm

Functional paradigm
This paradigm is based on mathematics and theory of functions. The values

produced are non-mutable and plays a minor role compared to imperative

program. All computations are done by applying functions with no side

effects. Functions are firsts class citizens. Evaluate an expression and use

the resulting value for something. Example: Haskell, Clojure Check for

Functional paradigm

Logical paradigm

The logic paradigm fits well when applied in problem domains that deals

with the extraction of knowledge from basic facts and relations. Is based on

axioms, inference rules, and queries. Program execution becomes a

systematic search in a set of facts, making use of a set of inference rules.

Answer a question via search for a solution. Examples: Prolog and List.

Brief History of C

 The C programming language is a structure-oriented programming

language, developed at Bell Laboratories in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie.

 C programming language features were derived from an earlier

language called “B” (Basic Combined Programming Language – BCPL)

 C language was invented for implementing UNIX operating system.

 In 1978, Dennis Ritchie and Brian Kernighan published the first edition

a“The C Programming Language” and is commonly known as K&RC.

 In 1983, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) established

a committee to provide a modern, comprehensive definition of C. The

resulting definition, the ANSI standard, or “ANSI C” was completed late

1988.

 Many of C’s ideas & principles were derived from the earlier language B,

thereby naming this new language “C”.

Machine Language: This is the only language computer

understands. It is the native language of the computer. The

computer directly executes a program written in machine language.

These programs are coded using strings of 0’s and 1’s. It doesn’t

need a translator.

Uses of C

The C programming language is used for developing system

applications that forms a major portion of operating systems such

as Windows, UNIX and Linux. Below are some examples of C being

used:

 Database systems

 Graphics packages

 Word processors

 Spreadsheets

The structure of a C program is a protocol (rules) to the

programmer, which he has to follow while writing a C program. A

number of files are used in a C Program. Examples of these files

are: source, object, header and executable files.

Keywords

Keywords are the words whose meaning has already been

explained to the C compiler. The keywords cannot be used as

variable names because if we do so we are trying to assign a new

meaning to the keyword, which is not allowed by the computer.

A data type defines a set of values and the operations that can be

defined on those values. Data types are especially important in C

programming language All operations are type checked by the

compiler for type compatibility.

Data Types

In the C programming language, data types refer to a domain of

allowed values & the operations that can be performed on those

values. The type of a variable determines how

much space it occupies in storage and how the bit pattern stored is

interpreted. There are 4 fundamental data types in C, which are-

char, int, float &, double. Char is used to store any single character;

int is used to store any integer value, float is used to store any

single precision floating point number & double is used to store

any double precision floating point number

Constants

A constant is an entity that doesn’t change whereas a variable is an

entity that may change. C constants can be divided into two major

categories:

•Primary Constants

•Secondary Constants

Rules for Constructing Integer Constants

 An integer constant must have at least

one digit. o It must not have a decimal

point.

 It can be either positive or negative.

 If no sign precedes an integer constant it is assumed to be

positive. o No commas or blanks are allowed within an

integer constant.

 The allowable range for integer constants is -32768to

32767. o Eg.: 426, +782,-8000, -7605

Variables and Variable Declaration

Variables are names that are used to store values. It can take

different values but one at a time. A data type is associated with

each variable & it decides what values the variable can take.

Statements

Statements are the primary building blocks of a program. A

program is a series of statements with some necessary

punctuation.

A statement is a complete instruction to the computer. In C,

statements are indicated by a semicolon at the end.

Arithmetic operators
These are used to perform mathematical calculations like addition,

subtraction, multiplication, division and modulus.

Jump Statements

The break Statement

The break statement provides an early exit from for, while, and do,

just as from switch. A break causes the innermost enclosing loop or

switch to be exited immediately. When break is encountered inside

any loop, control automatically passes to the first statement after

the loop.

The continue Statement

The continue statement is related to break, but less often used; it

causes the next iteration of the enclosing for, while, or do loop to

begin. In the while and do, this means that the test part is executed

immediately; in the for, control passes to the increment step.

A function is a block of organized, reusable code that is used to

perform a single, related action. Functions provide better

modularity for your application and a high degree of code reusing

Different programming languages name them differently, for

example, functions, methods, sub-routines, procedures, etc.

function interface is a declaration of a function that specifies the

function's name and type signature (arity, data types of parameters,

and return type), but omits the function body.

Monolithic Vs Modular Programming:

• Monolithic Programming indicates the program which

contains a single function for the large program.

• Modular programming helps the programmer to divide the

whole program into different modules and each module is

separately developed and tested. Then the linker will link all

these modules to form the complete program.

• On the other hand, monolithic programming will not divide

the program and it is a single thread of execution. When the

program size increases it leads inconvenience and difficult to

maintain.

Disadvantages of monolithic programming:

 • Difficult to check error on large programs.

• Difficult to maintain. 3. Code can be specific to a particular

problem. i.e., it cannot be reused.

Advantage of modular programming

• Modular programs are easier to code and debug.

• Reduces the programming size.

• Code can be reused in other programs.

• Problem can be isolated to specific module so easier to find

the error and correct it.

Function

A function is a group of statements that together perform a task.

Every C program has at least one function, which is main(), and all

the most trivial programs can define additional functions.

Function Declaration OR Function Prototype

1. It is also known as function prototype .

2. It inform the computer about the three things

 Name of the function

 Number and type of arguments received by the function.

 Type of value return by the function

Function Definition

1. It consists of code description and

code of a function . It consists of two

parts

 Function header

 Function coding

User Define Function:

A function that is declare, calling and define by the user is called

user define function.

Every user define function has three parts as:

1. Prototype or Declaration

2. Calling

3. Definition

Function Categories

There are four main categories of the functions these are as

follows:

1. Function with no arguments and no return values.

2. Function with no arguments and a return value.

3. Function with arguments and no return values.

4. Function with arguments and return values.

String

A string is a series of characters treated as a single unit. A string

may include letters, digits and various special characters such as +,

-, *, / and $.

Structure

A Structure is a user defined data type that can store related

information together. The variable within a structure is of different

data types and each has a name that is used to select it from the

structure.