Comments and Tokens in C
Comments and Tokens in C
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Comments in C
Types of comments in C
In C there are two types of comments in C language:
• Single-line comment
• Multi-line comment
1. Single-line Comment in C
A single-line comment in C starts with ( // ) double forward slash. It extends till
the end of the line and we don’t need to specify its end.
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Syntax:
// This is a single line comment
Example:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
// create integer variable
int age = 25;
return 0;
}
Output Age: 25
2. Multi-line Comment in C
• The Multi-line comment in C starts with a forward slash and asterisk ( /*
) and ends with an asterisk and forward slash ( */ ).
• Any text between /* and */ is treated as a comment and is ignored by
the compiler.
• It can apply comments to multiple lines in the program.
Syntax:
/*Comment starts
continues
continues
.
.
Comment ends*/
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Example:
/* This program takes age input from the user
It stores it in the age variable
And, print the value using printf() */
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int age;
return 0;
}
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C Programming
Tokens in C
Types of Tokens in C
The tokens of C language can be classified into six types based on the functions
they are used to perform. The types of C tokens are as follows:
• Keywords
• Identifiers
• Constants
• Strings
• Special Symbols
• Operators
1. C Token – Keywords
⚫ The keywords are pre-defined or reserved words in a programming
language.
⚫ Each keyword is meant to perform a specific function in a program. Since
keywords are referred names for a compiler, they can’t be used as variable
names because by doing so, we are trying to assign a new meaning to the
keyword which is not allowed.
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⚫ You cannot redefine keywords. However, you can specify the text to be
substituted for keywords before compilation by using C preprocessor
directives. C language supports 32 keywords which are given below:
2. C Token – Identifiers
• Identifiers are used as the general terminology for the naming of
variables, functions, and arrays. These are user-defined names consisting
of an arbitrarily long sequence of letters and digits with either a letter or
the underscore(_) as a first character.
• Identifier names must differ in spelling and case from any keywords. You
cannot use keywords as identifiers; they are reserved for special use.
Once declared, you can use the identifier in later program statements to
refer to the associated value.
• A special identifier called a statement label can be used in goto
statements.
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Note: Identifiers are case-sensitive so names like variable and Variable will be
treated as different.
3. C Token – Constants
Examples of Constants in C
const int c_var = 20;
const int* const ptr = &c_var;
4. C Token – Strings
⚫ Strings are nothing but an array of characters ended with a null character
(‘\0’).
⚫ This null character indicates the end of the string. Strings are always
enclosed in double quotes. Whereas, a character is enclosed in single quotes
in C and C++.
Examples of String
char string[20] = {‘m’, ’y’, ‘n’, ‘a’, ‘m’, ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘s’, ‘k’, ’a’, ‘n’, ‘n’, ‘u’, ‘\0’};
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• Braces{}: These opening and ending curly braces mark the start and end
of a block of code containing more than one executable statement.
• Comma (, ): It is used to separate more than one statement like for
separating parameters in function calls.
• Colon(:): It is an operator that essentially invokes something called an
initialization list.
• Semicolon(;): It is known as a statement terminator. It indicates the end
of one logical entity. That’s why each individual statement must be ended
with a semicolon.
• Asterisk (*): It is used to create a pointer variable and for the
multiplication of variables.
• Assignment operator(=): It is used to assign values and for logical
operation validation.
• Pre-processor (#): The preprocessor is a macro processor that is used
automatically by the compiler to transform your program before actual
compilation.
• Period (.): Used to access members of a structure or union.
• Tilde(~): Used as a destructor to free some space from memory.
6. C Token – Operators
Operators are symbols that trigger an action when applied to C variables and
other objects. The data items on which operators act are called operands.
Depending on the number of operands that an operator can act upon, operators
can be classified as follows:
• Unary Operators: Those operators that require only a single operand to
act upon are known as unary operators. For Example increment and
decrement operators
• Binary Operators: Those operators that require two operands to act upon
are called binary operators. Binary operators can further are classified
into:
1. Arithmetic operators
2. Relational Operators
3. Logical Operators
4. Assignment Operators
5. Bitwise Operator
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