FUNCTIONS

Topic 2
CSIT122 Intermediate Programming
Mr. Jay Vince Serato

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 Functions
Functions break large computing tasks into smaller ones, and
enable people to build on what others have done instead of
starting over from scratch.

Appropriate functions hide details of operation from parts of

the program that don’t need to know them, thus clarifying the
whole, and easing the pain of making changes.

B.W. Kernighan and D.M. Ritchie - The C Programming

Language
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Functions
 Functions
• Did you know that you have been using functions?

• Look at printf, or scanf, or even your main function. Ever

wonder how they perform?

• By the end of this week, you will be creating your very own
function!

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Functions
 Functions
• A large C program is divided into basic building blocks
called C function.

• C function contains a set of instructions enclosed by “{ }”

which performs specific operation in a C program.

• Actually, collection of these functions creates a C program.

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Functions
 Functions: Uses and Benefits
• C functions are used to avoid rewriting same logic/code
again and again in a program.

• There is no limit in calling C functions to make use of same

functionality wherever required.

• We can call functions any number of times in a program and

from any place in a program.

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Functions
 Functions: Uses and Benefits
• A large C program can easily be tracked when it is divided
into functions.

• The core concept of C functions are re-usability, dividing a

big task into small pieces to achieve the functionality and to
improve understandability of very large C programs.

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Functions
 Functions: Uses and Benefits
• Functions are fundamental to writing modular code.

• They provide the basic mechanism for enclosing low-level

source code, hiding algorithmic details, and presenting
instead an interface that describes more intuitively what the
code actually does.

• Functions present a higher level of abstraction and facilitate

a divide-and-conquer strategy for program decomposition.
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Functions
 Functions: Parts

Every function must have the following:

• Function Name
• List of Arguments
• Return Type
• Definition

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Functions
 Functions: Parts

Function Name
• The function name is located after the return type and before
the list of arguments (in the code above: sample).
• It serves as an ID so your other functions may call it.
• This being said, you cannot create other functions bearing the
same name.

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Functions
 Functions: Parts

List of Arguments
• The list of arguments is located inside the pair of parentheses
after the function name (in the code above: char ch).
• These arguments will serve as inputs needed for the
operations in the function.
• Each argument shall have its data type and variable name.
• If a function needs no argument, supply void as argument.
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Functions
 Functions: Parts

Return Type
• The return type is located before the function name (in the
code above: int).
• A function may have to give back, or output, a value to the
function that called it.
• The function must specify what type of data it will return.
• If it is a function that does not return a value, supply void to
the return type.
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Functions
 Functions: Parts

Definition
• The function definition is the block of code enclosed in “{ }”
after the list of arguments.
• This serves as the implementation for the function where you
can initialize variables, perform statements and operations, etc.
• The function definition must end with a return statement, for
non-void return-type functions.
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Functions
 Functions: Aspects
There are 3 aspects in each C function. They are
• Function Declaration (or Prototype)
• This informs compiler about the function name, function
parameters and return value’s data type.

• Function Definition
• This contains all the statements to be executed.

• Function Call
• This calls the actual function.
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Functions
 Functions: Prototypes
• A function must be declared before it is used.

• This means that either the function declaration or definition

must exist in the source file above the place where it is first
called by some other function (especially the main function).

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Functions
 Functions: Prototypes
• A function declaration, or prototype, is an interface
specification.

• It states the function name, the number and type of input

arguments, and the return value type.

• It enables the compiler to perform type-checking — to ensure

the argument types being passed to the function match the
interface definition — which catches many coding errors at
compile time.
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Functions
 Functions: Prototypes
• Some example prototypes are as follows:

• Notice that the variable names are optional in the

declaration, only the types matter.
• However, variable names can help clarify how a function
should be used.
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Functions
 Functions: Definition
• A function definition contains the actual workings of the
function — the declarations and statements of the function
algorithm.

• The function is passed a number of input parameters (or

arguments) and may return a value, as specified by its
interface definition.

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Functions
 Functions: Definition
• Function arguments are passed by a transaction termed
“pass-by-value”.
• This means that the function receives a local copy of each
input variable, not the variable itself.

• Thus, any changes made to the local variable will not affect
the value of the variable in the calling function.

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Functions
 Functions: Definition

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Functions
 Functions: Definition
• In the case of the code in the previous slide, the values
passed to myfunc() are x=1 and y=2, respectively, and these
are changed to x=3 and y=3 in the subsequent statements.

• However, the values of a and b are unaffected and d = 1+2 =

3.

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Functions
 Functions: Tips
• While a function can only have one return value, it may
possess several return statements.

• These define multiple exit points from the function, from

which program-control returns to the next statement of the
calling function.

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Functions
 Functions: Tips
• If a function is to return a value of a certain type, all return
statements must return a value of that type.

• But if a function does not return a value (i.e., a void), then an

empty return; suffices, and this may be omitted altogether
for a no-value return occurring at the end of the function
block.

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Functions
 Functions: Tips

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Functions
 Recursion

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Functions
 Recursive Functions
• Functions in C can be recursive, which means that they can
call themselves.

• Recursion tends to be less efficient than iterative code (i.e.,

code that uses loop-constructs), but in some cases may
facilitate more elegant, easier to read code.

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Functions
 Recursive Functions
Example: Factorials
• A factorial of a number n (or expressed as n!) is a product of
all the numbers from 1 to n.
• For example,
• 5! = 1×2×3×4×5 = 120
• or 5! = 5×4×3×2×1 = 5 × 4!
• Therefore, in general, n! = n × (n-1)!

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Functions
 Recursive Functions

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Functions
 Recursive Functions: Parts
• Base Case/s
• Will handle the “stopping point” of a recursive function
• Recursive Case/s
• Will handle the function call to itself with updated argument
• Updated argument is expected to reach base case

BASE CASE

RECURSIVE CASE

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Functions
 Recursive Functions
Example: Fibonacci Sequence
• The nth term in the Fibonacci Sequence is the sum of its
previous two terms: the n-1th term and the n-2th term.

• The first few numbers of the Fibonacci Sequence are

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34

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Functions
 Recursive Functions

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Functions