Lab 1.

Basic Guide Fundamentals of Programming CSC10012

Lab 1

Basic Guide
The first lab will introduce some basic C/C++ programming concepts including program structure,
data types and variables, basic input/output, basic operators, and handling text files.

Instruction
1. Program Structure
A basic C/C++ program follows a structured layout with the following components:
• Preprocessor Directives: These are commands that provide instructions to the compiler
to preprocess the information before actual compilation begins. For example, including
standard libraries using #include <iostream> or defining constants using #define.

• Main Function (int main()): Every C/C++ program must have a main() function where
the program execution starts.

• Statements and Expressions: These are the actual instructions within the functions that
carry out specific tasks (e.g., calculations, input/output, condition checking).

• Return Statement: In main(), the return value is typically an integer, where return 0,
indicates that the program ended successfully.
Example:
1 // Preprocessor Directive
2 # include < iostream >
3

4 /* The below statement allows us to use elements

5 * from the std namespace without the prefix std ::
6 */
7 using namespace std ;
8

9 int main ()
10 {
11 // Main function starts here
12 cout << " CSC10012 ! " << endl ; // Statements , expressions are here
13 return 0; // Return statement
14 }

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2. Data Types and Variables

Data types define the type of data that a variable can hold. Some built-in data types in C/C++:
Data Type Typical Size Typical Range
short 2 bytes −215 to 215 − 1
int 4 bytes −231 to 231 − 1
long 4 or 8 bytes −231 to 231 − 1 (4 bytes) or −263 to 263 − 1 (8 bytes)
long long 8 bytes −263 to 263 − 1
float 4 bytes −3.4 × 1038 to 3.4 × 1038
double 8 bytes −1.7 × 10308 to 1.7 × 10308
char 1 byte −27 to 27 − 1
bool 1 byte true or false

Notes: unsigned is used to define integer types that can only represent non-negative values, al-
lowing for a larger positive range compared to their default.

A variable must be declared with its data type and name prior to usage. The syntax is as follows:
data_type variable_name;
Variables can be initialized at the time of declaration. The syntax is as follow:
data_type variable_name = initial_value;
Example:
1 # include < iostream >
2 using namespace std ;
3

4 int main ()
5 {
6 int age = 30; // Integer variable
7 float salary = 50000.50; // Float variable
8 char grade = ’A ’; // Char variable
9 bool isEmployed = true ; // Boolean variable
10

11 cout << " Age : " << age << endl ;

12 cout << " Salary : " << salary << endl ;
13 cout << " Grade : " << grade << endl ;
14 cout << " Employed : " << ( isEmployed ? " Yes " : " No " ) << endl ;
15

16 return 0;
17 }

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3. Basic Input/Output
In C/C++, basic input and output are primarily performed using the standard library iostream.

• Input: To read data from the keyboard, use cin with extraction operator >>.

• Output: To write data to the console, use cout with insertion operator <<.

Example:
1 int number ; // Declare a variable to hold the integer
2

3 // Input number
4 cout << " Enter an integer : " ;
5 cin >> number ; // Read an integer
6

7 // Output information
8 cout << " You entered : " << number << endl ;

4. Basic Operators
C/C++ supports various operators for performing operations on data, including:

• Arithmetic Operators: + - * / %

• Assignment Operators: = += -= *= /= %=

• Comparison Operators: == != < > <= >=

• Logical Operators: && || !

• Bitwise Operators: & | << >> ∼ ∧

• Increment and Decrement Operator: ++ --

Example:
1 int a = 1 , b = 2;
2

3 cout << " The sum of a and b is : " << a + b << endl ;
4

5 int c = a * b ;
6 cout << " The product of a and b is : " << c << endl ;
7

8 return 0;

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5. Text File Handling

In C/C++, the fstream library is used for handling file stream, which provides functionalities to
read from and write to files. The main components used for file handling are:

• ifstream: Used to read data from a file.

• ofstream: Used to write data to a file.

• fstream: Used for both reading from and writing to a file.

To work with a file, follow these steps:

• Include the <fstream> library.

#include <fstream>

• Create an object of ifstream, ofstream, or fstream. For example:

ifstream fin;

• Open the file using open().

fin.open("input.txt");
File can be directly opened through the constructor.
ifstream fin("input.txt");

• Always check if the file was opened successfully using is_open().

1 if (! fin . is_open () )
2 {
3 cout << " Cannot open file ! " << endl ;
4 return 1;
5 }

• Perform reading or writing operations.

– Input: To read data from file, use extraction operator >>.

fin >> n; // Read n from file
– Output: To write data to the console, use insertion operator <<.
fout << "Open file successfully!" << endl; // Write a message to file

• Always close the file using close() once the work on it is complete.
fin.close();

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Exercises
Exercise 1. Hello, World!
Write a program that prints the line “Hello, World!”.

Exercise 2. Arithmetic of two numbers

Write a program to input two integers from the keyboard, then calculate and print their sum,
difference, product, quotient and remainder.
Example:

Input Output
5 2 5 + 2 = 7
5 - 2 = 3
5 * 2 = 10
5 / 2 = 2
5 % 2 = 1

Exercise 3: Value of an quadratic expression

Write a program to input a, b, c and x, then calculate and print value of ax2 + bx + c.
Example:

Input Output
1 2 3 4 27

Exercise 4. Average of three numbers

Write a program to read three integers from a file named as input.txt, then calculate and write
their average to a file named as output.txt.
Example:

input.txt output.txt
2 2 4 2.66667

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Exercise 5: Calculate the perimeter and area of a rectangle

Write a program to input the length and width of a rectangle, then print its perimeter and area.
Example:

Input Output
5 10 Perimeter: 30
Area: 50

Exercise 6: Calculate the circumference and area of a circle

Write a program to input the radius of a circle, then print its circumference and area, with π = 3.14.
Example:

Input Output
7 Circumference: 43.96
Area: 153.86

Exercise 7: Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit

Write a program to input a temperature in Celsius and convert it to Fahrenheit using the formula:

9
F = C + 32
5
Example:

Input Output
28 82.4

Exercise 8: Sum of the digits of a three digit number

Write a program to read a three digit integer from a file named as input.txt, then calculate and
write their sum of digits to a file named as output.txt.
Example:

input.txt output.txt
123 6

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