Programming in Practical Engineering

Languages

Chapter 4 : Functions in C language

BURKINA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Electrical Engineering
(E.E)

Academic year : 2024-2025

Semester 3

12 octobre 2024
Course outline

1 Function Declaration and Definition

2 Parameters and Arguments

3 Recursivity

4 Types of functions

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Quote

A programming language is a convention for giving commands to a

computer. It’s not supposed to be obscure, weird and full of

subtle traps...

Dave Small

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 1. Function Declaration and
Definition

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1. Function Declaration and Definition

1.1. Introduction
A function in C is a set of statements that when called
perform some specific tasks.

It is the basic building block of a C program that provides

modularity and code reusability.

The programming statements of a function are enclosed within

{ } braces, having certain meanings and performing certain
operations.

They are also called subroutines or procedures in other

languages.

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1. Function Declaration and Definition

1.2. Predefined functions

So it turns out you already know what a function is.

We have been using it the whole time while studying this

course!

For example, main() is a function, which is used to execute

code, and printf(), scanf() are functions; used to

output/print text to the screen.

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1. Function Declaration and Definition

1.3. Syntax of functions in C

The syntax of function can be divided into 3 aspects:

Function Declaration

Function Definition

Function Calls

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1. Function Declaration and Definition

1.3. Function declarations

In a function declaration, we must provide the function name,
its return type, and the number and type of its parameters.

A function declaration tells the compiler that there is a

function with the given name defined somewhere else in the
program.

Note: A function in C must always be declared globally before

calling it.

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 1. Function Declaration and Definition
1.3.1. Syntax of functions declaration (1/2)
1 return_type functionName ( param_1 , param_2 , ... , param_n ) ;

The parameter name is not mandatory while declaring functions.

We can also declare the function without using the name of the
data variables.

1 int sum ( int a , int b ) ; // declaration with parameter names

2 int sum ( int , int ) ; // declaration without parameter names

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1. Function Declaration and Definition
1.3.1. Syntax of functions declaration (2/2)

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1. Function Declaration and Definition
1.4. Function definition
The function definition consists of actual statements which
are executed when the function is called (i.e. when the
program control comes to the function ).

A C function is generally defined and declared in a single

step because the function definition always starts with the
function declaration so we do not need to declare it
explicitly.

The below example serves as both a function definition and a

declaration.

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 1. Function Declaration and Definition

1.4.1. Syntax of functions definition (1/2)

1 return_type function_name ( type param_1 ,... , type param_n )
2 {
3 // body of the function
4 }

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1. Function Declaration and Definition

1.4.1. Syntax of functions definition (2/2)

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 1. Function Declaration and Definition
1.4.2. Syntax of functions definition: example
1 // function to calculate summ of two integers
2 int calculateSum ( int x , int y )
3 {
4 int sum = x + y ;
5 return sum ;
6 }

1 // Function to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius

2 float toCelsius ( float fahrenheit )
3 {
4 int t = (5.0 / 9.0) * ( fahrenheit - 32.0) ;
5 return t ;
6 }

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1. Function Declaration and Definition
1.5. Function call
A function call is a statement that instructs the compiler to
execute the function.

We use the function name and parameters in the function call.

In the below example, the first sum function is called and

10,30 are passed to the sum function.

After the function call sum of a and b is returned and

control is also returned back to the main function of the
program.

Note: If not called, the function statements will not be

executed.

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1. Function Declaration and Definition

1.5.1. Working of function in C

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 1. Function Declaration and Definition
1.5.2. Example
1 # include < stdio .h >
2
3 /* Function that takes two parameters
4 a and b as inputs and returns
5 their sum */
6 int sum ( int a , int b ) {
7 return a + b ;
8 }
9
10 // Driver code
11 int main () {
12 /* Calling sum function and
13 storing its value in add variable */
14 int add = sum (10 , 30) ;
15
16 printf ( " Sum is : % d " , add ) ;
17 return 0;
18 }

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 2. Parameters and Arguments

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2. Parameters and Arguments

2.1. Definition
Function Arguments (also known as Function Parameters) are
the data that is passed to a function.

Example:

int functionName(int var1, int var2);

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2. Parameters and Arguments

2.2. Conditions of return types and arguments

In C programming language, functions can be called either with or
without arguments and might return values. They may or might not
return values to the calling functions.

1 Function with no arguments and no return value

2 Function with no arguments and with return value

3 Function with argument and with no return value

4 Function with arguments and with return value

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2. Parameters and Arguments

2.3. Passing parameters to functions

The data passed when the function is being invoked is known
as the Actual parameters.

In the below program, 10 and 30 are known as actual

parameters.

Formal Parameters are the variable and the data type as

mentioned in the function declaration.

In the below program, a and b are known as formal parameters.

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2. Parameters and Arguments
2.3.1. Passing parameters to functions: example

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2. Parameters and Arguments
2.4. How does C function work
1 Declaring a function: Declaring a function is a step where we
declare a function. Here we specify the return types and
parameters of the function.
2 Defining a function: This is where the function’s body is
provided. Here, we specify what the function does, including
the operations to be performed when the function is called.
3 Calling the function: Calling the function is a step where we
call the function by passing the arguments in the function.
4 Executing the function: Executing the function is a step
where we can run all the statements inside the function to
get the final result.
5 Returning a value: Returning a value is the step where the
calculated value after the execution of the function is
returned.
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 3. Recursivity

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3. Recursivity

3.1. Definition
Recursion is the technique of making a function call itself.

This technique provides a way to break complicated problems

down into simple problems which are easier to solve.

Recursion may be a bit difficult to understand.

The best way to figure out how it works is to experiment with

it.

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 3. Recursivity
3.2. Example
1 # include < stdio .h >
2 int sum ( int k ) ;
3
4 int main () {
5 int result = sum (10) ;
6 printf ( " % d " , result ) ;
7 return 0;
8 }
9
10 int sum ( int k ) {
11 if ( k > 0) {
12 return k + sum ( k - 1) ;
13 } else {
14 return 0;
15 }
16 }

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3. Recursivity

3.3. Example explanation

When the sum() function is called, it adds parameter k to the
sum of all numbers smaller than k and returns the result.
When k becomes 0, the function just returns 0.
When running, the program follows these steps:

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 4. Types of functions

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4. Types of functions

4.1. Definition
There are two types of functions in C:
Library Functions
User Defined Functions

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4. Types of functions

4.2. Library Functions

A library function is also referred to as a built-in
function.

A compiler package already exists that contains these

functions, each of which has a specific meaning and is
included in the package.

Built-in functions have the advantage of being directly

usable without being defined, whereas user-defined functions
must be declared and defined before being used.

Example: pow(), sqrt(), strcmp(), strcpy() etc.

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 4. Types of functions
4.2.1. Library Functions: example
1 # include < math .h >
2 # include < stdio .h >
3
4 int main () {
5 double x ;
6 x = 49;
7
8 // Computing the square root with
9 // the help of predefined C
10 // library function
11 double squareRoot = sqrt ( x ) ;
12
13 printf ( " The Square root of %.2 lf = %.2 lf " , x , squareRoot ) ;
14 return 0;
15 }

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4. Types of functions

4.3. User Defined Functions

Functions that the programmer creates are known as
User-Defined functions or tailor-made functions.

User-defined functions can be improved and modified according

to the need of the programmer.

Whenever we write a function that is case-specific and is not

defined in any header file, we need to declare and define our
own functions according to the syntax.

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 4. Types of functions
4.3.1. User Defined Functions: example
1 # include < stdio .h >
2
3 int sum ( int a , int b ) {
4 int c = a * a + b * b ;
5 return c ;
6 }
7
8 int main () {
9 int a = 6 , b = 4;
10
11 // function call
12 int res = sum (a , b ) ;
13
14 printf ( " Sum is : % d " , res ) ;
15 return 0;
16 }

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 ==END==

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