LECTURE

NOTES

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 1

 UNIT-1
Introduction to computer and programming

Computer, Data, Information,

A computer is an electronic data processing device, which accepts and stores data input,
processes the data input, and generates the output in a required format.

Data can be defined as a representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formalized manner,

which should be suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by human or electronic
machine.

Data is represented with the help of characters such as alphabets (A-Z, a-z), digits (0-9) or special
characters (+,-,/,*,<,>,= etc.)

Information is organized or classified data, which has some meaningful values for the receiver.
Information is the processed data on which decisions and actions are based.

For the decision to be meaningful, the processed data must qualify for the following
characteristics −

 Timely − Information should be available when required.

 Accuracy − Information should be accurate.
 Completeness − Information should be complete.

Data Processing Cycle

Data processing is the re-structuring or re-ordering of data by people or machine to increase their
usefulness and add values for a particular purpose. Data processing consists of the following basic
steps - input, processing, and output. These three steps constitute the data processing cycle.

 Input − In this step, the input data is prepared in some convenient form for processing.
The form will depend on the processing machine. For example, when electronic computers
are used, the input data can be recorded on any one of the several types of input medium,
such as magnetic disks, tapes, and so on.
 Processing − In this step, the input data is changed to produce data in a more useful form.
For example, pay-checks can be calculated from the time cards, or a summary of sales for
the month can be calculated from the sales orders.
 Output − At this stage, the result of the proceeding processing step is collected. The
particular form of the output data depends on the use of the data. For example, output data
may be pay-checks for employees.

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Bock Diagram- Input devices, Output devices, Central Processing Unit, Main Memory,
Secondary Storage, functions of various components of computer.

All types of computers follow the same basic logical structure and perform the following five
basic operations for converting raw input data into information useful to their users.

S.No. Operation Description

The process of entering data and instructions into

1 Take Input
the computer system.

Saving data and instructions so that they are

2 Store Data
available for processing as and when required.

Performing arithmetic, and logical operations on

Processing
3 data in order to convert them into useful
Data
information.

The process of producing useful information or

Output
4 results for the user, such as a printed report or
Information
visual display.

Control the Directs the manner and sequence in which all of

5
workflow the above operations are performed.

Input Unit

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This unit contains devices with the help of which we enter data into the computer. This unit
creates a link between the user and the computer. The input devices translate the information into
a form understandable by the computer.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

CPU is considered as the brain of the computer. CPU performs all types of data processing
operations. It stores data, intermediate results, and instructions (program). It controls the operation
of all parts of the computer.

CPU itself has the following three components −

 ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)

 Memory Unit
 Control Unit
Output Unit
The output unit consists of devices with the help of which we get the information from the
computer. This unit is a link between the computer and the users. Output devices translate the
computer's output into a form understandable by the users.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) consists of the following features −

 CPU is considered as the brain of the computer.

 CPU performs all types of data processing operations.
 It stores data, intermediate results, and instructions (program).
 It controls the operation of all parts of the computer.
CPU itself has following three components.

 Memory or Storage Unit

 Control Unit
 ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)

Memory or Storage Unit

This unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate results. This unit supplies information to
other units of the computer when needed. It is also known as internal storage unit or the main
memory or the primary storage or Random Access Memory (RAM).

Its size affects speed, power, and capability. Primary memory and secondary memory are two
types of memories in the computer. Functions of the memory unit are −

 It stores all the data and the instructions required for processing.
 It stores intermediate results of processing.
 It stores the final results of processing before these results are released to an output device.
 All inputs and outputs are transmitted through the main memory.

Control Unit

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This unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but does not carry out any actual data
processing operations.

Functions of this unit are −

 It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among other units of a
computer.
 It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.
 It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the operation of
the computer.
 It communicates with Input/Output devices for transfer of data or results from storage.
 It does not process or store data.

ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)

This unit consists of two subsections namely,

 Arithmetic Section
 Logic Section
Arithmetic Section
Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division. All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of the
above operations.

Logic Section
Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as comparing, selecting, matching,
and merging of data.

Flowchart, Need, Symbols, Examples

Flowcharts are the ideal diagrams for visually representing business processes. For example, if you
need to show the flow of a custom-order process through various departments within your
organization, you can use a flowchart. This paper provides a visual representation of basic
flowchart symbols and their proposed use in communicating the structure of a well-developed web
site, as well as their correlation in developing on-line instructional projects. A typical flowchart
from older Computer Science textbooks may have the following kinds of symbols:

Start and And, Process, Decision, Document and Sub Process.

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Flowcharts may contain other symbols, such as connectors, usually represented by circles, to
represent converging paths in the flow chart. Circles will have more than one arrow coming into
them but only one going out. Some flow charts may just have an arrow pointing to another arrow
instead. These are useful to represent an iterative process (in Computer Science this is called a
loop). A loop may, for example, consists of a connector where control first enters, processing steps,
a conditional with one arrow exiting in the loop, and one going back to the connector. Off-page
connectors are often used to signify a connection to a (part of a) process held on another sheet or
screen.

A flowchart is described as "cross-functional" when the page is divided into different "lanes"
describing the control of different organization units. An unit appearing in a particular "lane" is
within the control of that organizational unit. This technique allows the analyst to locate the
responsibility for performing an action or making a decision correctly, allowing the relationship
between different organizational units with responsibility over a single process.

Standard Flowchart Symbols

Flowcharts use special shapes to represent different types of actions or steps in a process. Lines
and arrows show the sequence of these steps, and the relationships between them.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 6

Algorithm, Need, Steps, Examples

An algorithm specifies a series of steps that perform a particular computation or task. Algorithms
were originally born as part of mathematics – the word “algorithm” comes from the Arabic writer
Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, – but currently the word is strongly associated with computer
science. Throughout this book we’ll examine a number of different algorithms to perform a variety
of tasks.

Algorithms resemble recipes. Recipes tell you how to accomplish a task by performing a number
of steps. For example, to bake a cake the steps are: preheat the oven; mix flour, sugar, and eggs
throughly; pour into a baking pan; and so forth.

However, “algorithm” is a technical term with a more specific meaning than “recipe”, and calling
something an algorithm means that the following properties are all true:

 An algorithm is an unambiguous description that makes clear what has to be implemented. In a

recipe, a step such as “Bake until done” is ambiguous because it doesn’t explain what “done”
means. A more explicit description such as “Bake until the cheese begins to bubble” is better.

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 In a computational algorithm, a step such as “Choose a large number” is vague: what is large?
1 million, 1 billion, or 100? Does the number have to be different each time, or can the same
number be used on every run?
 An algorithm expects a defined set of inputs. For example, it might require two numbers where
both numbers are greater than zero. Or it might require a word, or a list of zero or more
numbers.
 An algorithm produces a defined set of outputs. It might output the larger of the two numbers,
an all-uppercase version of a word, or a sorted version of the list of numbers.
 An algorithm is guaranteed to terminate and produce a result, always stopping after a finite
time. If an algorithm could potentially run forever, it wouldn’t be very useful because you
might never get an answer.
 Most algorithms are guaranteed to produce the correct result. It’s rarely useful if an algorithm
returns the largest number 99% of the time, but 1% of the time the algorithm fails and returns
the smallest number instead. [1]
 If an algorithm imposes a requirement on its inputs (called a precondition), that requirement
must be met. For example, a precondition might be that an algorithm will only accept positive
numbers as an input. If preconditions aren’t met, then the algorithm is allowed to fail by
producing the wrong answer or never terminating.

Studying algorithms is a fundamental part of computer science. There are several different
characteristics of an algorithm that are useful to know:

1. Does an algorithm actually exist to perform a given task?

2. If someone proposes an algorithm to solve a task, are we sure that the algorithm works for all
possible inputs?
3. How long does the algorithm take to run? How much memory space does it require?
4. Once we know it’s possible to solve a problem with an algorithm, a natural question is whether
the algorithm is the best possible one. Can the problem be solved more quickly?

Most of these questions will be discussed for the algorithms covered in this book.

An Example Algorithm
Let’s look at a very simple algorithm called find_max() .

Problem: Given a list of positive numbers, return the largest number on the list.

Inputs: A list L of positive numbers. This list must contain at least one number. (Asking for the
largest number in a list of no numbers is not a meaningful question.)

Outputs: A number n , which will be the largest number of the list.

Algorithm:

1. Set max to 0.

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2. For each number x in the list L , compare it to max . If x is larger, set max to x .
3. max is now set to the largest number in the list.

An implementation in Python:

def find_max (L):

max = 0
for x in L:
if x > max:
max = x
return max
Does this meet the criteria for being an algorithm?

 Is it unambiguous? Yes. Each step of the algorithm consists of primitive operations, and
translating each step into Python code is very easy.
 Does it have defined inputs and outputs? Yes.
 Is it guaranteed to terminate? Yes. The list L is of finite length, so after looking at every
element of the list the algorithm will stop.
 Does it produce the correct result? Yes. In a formal setting you would provide a careful proof
of correctness. In the next section I’ll sketch a proof for an alternative solution to this problem.

Programming Machines-Compiler, Assembler, Interpreter, Compilation Process

Assembler: A computer will not understand any program written in a language, other than its
machine language. The programs written in other languages must be translated into the machine
language. Such translation is performed with the help of software. A program which translates an
assembly language program into a machine language program is called an assembler. If an
assembler which runs on a computer and produces the machine codes for the same computer then it
is called self assembler or resident assembler. If an assembler that runs on a computer and
produces the machine codes for other computer then it is called Cross Assembler.
Assemblers are further divided into two types: One Pass Assembler and Two Pass
Assembler. One pass assembler is the assembler which assigns the memory addresses to the
variables and translates the source code into machine code in the first pass simultaneously. A Two
Pass Assembler is the assembler which reads the source code twice. In the first pass, it reads all the
variables and assigns them memory addresses. In the second pass, it reads the source code and
translates the code into object code.

Compiler: It is a program which translates a high level language program into a machine language
program. A compiler is more intelligent than an assembler. It checks all kinds of limits, ranges,
errors etc. But its program run time is more and occupies a larger part of the memory. It has slow
speed. Because a compiler goes through the entire program and then translates the entire program
into machine codes. If a compiler runs on a computer and produces the machine codes for the same
computer then it is known as a self compiler or resident compiler. On the other hand, if a compiler
runs on a computer and produces the machine codes for other computer then it is known as a cross
compiler.
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Interpreter: An interpreter is a program which translates statements of a program into machine
code. It translates only one statement of the program at a time. It reads only one statement of
program, translates it and executes it. Then it reads the next statement of the program again
translates it and executes it. In this way it proceeds further till all the statements are translated and
executed. On the other hand, a compiler goes through the entire program and then translates the
entire program into machine codes. A compiler is 5 to 25 times faster than an interpreter.
By the compiler, the machine codes are saved permanently for future reference. On
the other hand, the machine codes produced by interpreter are not saved. An interpreter is a small
program as compared to compiler. It occupies less memory space, so it can be used in a smaller
system which has limited memory space.

Linker: In high level languages, some built in header files or libraries are stored. These libraries
are predefined and these contain basic functions which are essential for executing the program.
These functions are linked to the libraries by a program called Linker. If linker does not find a
library of a function then it informs to compiler and then compiler generates an error. The compiler
automatically invokes the linker as the last step in compiling a program.
Not built in libraries, it also links the user defined functions to the user defined
libraries. Usually a longer program is divided into smaller subprograms called modules. And these
modules must be combined to execute the program. The process of combining the modules is done
by the linker.

Loader: Loader is a program that loads machine codes of a program into the system
memory. In Computing, a loader is the part of an Operating System that is responsible for loading
programs. It is one of the essential stages in the process of starting a program. Because it places
programs into memory and prepares them for execution. Loading a program involves reading the
contents of executable file into memory. Once loading is complete, the operating system starts the
program by passing control to the loaded program code. All operating systems that support
program loading have loaders. In many operating systems the loader is permanently resident in
memory.

Compilation Process:
Stage 1: Preprocessing
o Performed by a program called the preprocessor
o Modifies the source code (in RAM) according to preprocessor directives
(preprocessor commands) embedded in the source code
o Strips comments and whitespace from the code
o The source code as stored on disk is not modified.
Stage 2: Compilation
o Performed by a program called the compiler
o Translates the preprocessor-modified source code into object code (machine code)
o Checks for syntax errors and warnings
o Saves the object code to a disk file, if instructed to do so (we will not do this).
o If any compiler errors are received, no object code file will be generated.
o An object code file will be generated if only warnings, not errors, are
received.
Stage 3: Linking
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 o Combines the program object code with other object code to produce the executable
file.
o The other object code can come from the Run-Time Library, other libraries, or
object files that you have created.
o Saves the executable code to a disk file. On the Linux system, that file is called
a.out.
o If any linker errors are received, no executable file will be generated.

Problem Solving with Examples

 A problem is an obstacle which makes it difficult to achieve a desired goal, objective or

purpose.
 It refers to a situation, condition, or issue that is yet unresolved.
 In a broad sense, a problem exists when an individual becomes aware of a significant
difference between what actually is and what is desired.
 Every problem in the real world needs to be identified and solved. Trying to find a solution
to a problem is known as problem solving.
 Problem solving becomes a part of our day to day activity. Especially, when we use
computers for performing our day to day activity.
 Problem-solving is a process that involves analyzing and solving problems.
 Goal of problem-solving is-
- To overcome obstacles
- find a solution that best resolves the issue.
 Problem Solving Techniques:-
Analyze the problem
Outline the problem requirements
Design steps (algorithm) to solve the problem

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 1. State the problem carefully
– Acknowledge complexities
– Avoid assumptions and prejudices

State what appears to be the problem.

The real problem may not surface until facts have been gathered and
analyzed. Therefore, start with what you assume to be the problem,
that can later be confirmed or corrected.
• What triggers the problem?
• State the problem
• Question the constraints of the problem statement
• Identify the essential elements
• What is the scope of the problem?
• Restate problem, if necessary

2. Specify the objectives

What Objectives Do
• Help determine what information to seek
• Explain your choices to others
• Determine the importance of, time and effort devoted to the problem
How to identify objectives
• Separate the ends from the means
• Clarify what you mean by each objective
• Test your objectives

3. Create imaginative alternatives

• Generate ideas. Do not eliminate any possible solutions until several have been discussed.
• Think your alternatives before consulting others
• Learn from past experience
• Then ask others for suggestions
How to generate alternatives
• Brainstorming-Purpose: To generate a large number of ideas in a short period of time.
• Stop when you’ve thought through alternatives
• One solution would satisfy you
• But still have a range of alternatives
Evaluate Alternatives
• Which will provide the optimum solution?
• Will the solution create new problems?

4. Understand the consequences of the alternative

• List the consequences of each alternative

• Assess the future consequences of each alternative
• Create a free-form description of the consequences
• Eliminate any clearly inferior alternatives
• Organize descriptions of remaining alternatives into a table
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 12
 • Try to develop a common scale to measure consequences
• Use qualitative and quantitative data
• Use experts if necessary
• Use scales that reflect appropriate levels of precision

5. Grapple with your tradeoffs

• Eliminate alternatives clearly dominated by others

• Then swaps between alternatives using measures
• Value incremental improvements
• Make consistent tradeoffs

6. Clarify uncertainties

• What are the key uncertainties?

• What are the possible outcomes of these uncertainties?
• What are the changes of the outcomes, given these uncertainties?
• What are the consequences of each outcome?
• Identify the key uncertainties
• Define the possible outcomes
• Assign chance of occurrence of each outcome
• Clarify consequences using quantitative and qualitative measures
• Create a decision tree

7. Think about your risk tolerance and the risks of each alternative

• How much risk do you want to handle?

• How much are others affected by your decision?
• Quantify the risks, if possible
• Seek to lessen the risks but avoid foolish optimism
• Don’t avoid making risky decisions just because they are complex
How to lessen risk
• Seek risk reducing information
• Diversify the risk
• Hedge the risk
• Insure against the risk

8. Consider linked decisions

– Each alternative opens or closes future options

• Choose options that leave future flexibility intact

• Get timing right on decision tree
• Describe the consequences at the end points

Program, Steps in Program Development

In programming we deal with three kind of things:

• Data
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 – Representing objects we want to manipulate.
• Procedures
– Descriptions or rules that define how to manipulate data.
• Program
– A translation of the algorithm/flowchart into a form that can be processed by a
computer.
– Typically written in a high-level language like C, C++, Java, etc.

Steps in Program Development

1. Define the problem
2. Outline the solution
3. Develop the outline into an algorithm
4. Test the algorithm for correctness
5. Code the algorithm into a programming language
6. Run the program on computer
7. Document and maintain the program

1. Define the problem into three separate components:

– inputs
– outputs
– processing steps to produce required outputs.
2. Outline the solution.
– Decompose the problem to smaller steps.
– Establish a solution outline.
– Initial outline may include:
• major processing steps involved
• major subtasks
• user interface
• major control structures
• major variable and record structures
• mainline logic
3. Develop the outline into an algorithm.
– The solution outline is now expanded into an algorithm.
– Pseudo code will be used to represent the solution algorithm
4. Test the algorithm for correctness.
– Very important in the development of a program
– Major logic errors can be detected and corrected
– Go through the algorithm step-by-step with test data to ensure the program will
actually do what it is supposed to do.
5. Code the algorithm into a specific programming language.
– Start to code the program into a chosen programming language after all design
considerations.
6. Run the program on the computer.
– This step uses a program compiler and programmer-designed test data to machine-
test the code for
• syntax errors
• logic errors
7. Document and maintain the program.
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 14
 – Is really an ongoing task from the initial definition of the problem to the final test
– Documentation involves:
• external documentation
• internal documentation

Importance of Discipline in Programming

1. We have some problem.

2. We have to solve the problem.
3. We can solve the problem, but we don’t want to repeatedly solve the similar problems.
4. We want to use the computer to do this task for us whenever required.
5. We have to tell the computer, “How to solve the problem.”

Good Programs and Bad Programs

• If program produces what is required, and is correct in its output, then is this a ‘good’
program.
• Program executes successfully for n number of test cases.
• Characteristics of good program include:
• Run-time efficient
• User Friendly
• Self Documenting code (uses meaningful names for identifiers)
• Portable
• Reusable
• Robust (can handle unexpected conditions)
• Characteristics of bad program:
• Messy, unreadable code
• Bugs, bugs everywhere
• Not well tested
• No documentation / comments
• Not well organised
• No indentation
• No robustness

Fundamentals of C

C Language Overview, Facts about C, Why to use C ?

The C programming language is a general-purpose, high-level language that was
originally developed by Dennis M. Ritchie to develop the UNIX operating system at Bell
Labs. C was originally first implemented on the DEC PDP-11 computer in 1972.

In 1978, Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie produced the first publicly available
description of C, now known as the K&R standard.

The UNIX operating system, the C compiler, and essentially all UNIX applications programs
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 15
 have been written in C. The C has now become a widely used professional language for
various reasons.

 Easy to learn
 Structured language
 It produces efficient programs.
 It can handle low-level activities.
 It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms.

Facts about C
 C was invented to write an operating system called UNIX.
 C is a successor of B language, which was introduced around 1970.
 The language was formalized in 1988 by the American National Standard Institute. (ANSI).
 The UNIX OS was totally written in C by 1973.
 Today, C is the most widely used and popular System Programming Language.
 Most of the state-of-the-art softwares have been implemented using C.
 Today's most ][popular Linux OS and RBDMS MySQL have been written in C.

Why to use C?

C was initially used for system development work, in particular the programs that make up
the operating system. C was adopted as a system development language because it produces
code that runs nearly as fast as code written in assembly language. Some examples of the use
of C might be:
 Operating Systems
 Language Compilers
 Assemblers
 Text Editors
 Print Spoolers
 Network Drivers
 Modern Programs
 Databases
 Language Interpreters
 Utilities

C Program Structure, C Hello World Example, Compile & Execute C Program

A C program basically consists of the following parts:

 Preprocessor Commands

 Functions

 Variables

 Statements & Expressions

 Comments

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 Let us look at a simple code that would print the words "Hello World":

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
/* my first program in C
*/ printf("Hello, World! \
n");

return 0;
}

Let us look various parts of the above program:

1. The first line of the program #include <stdio.h> is a preprocessor command, which tells a C
compiler to include stdio.h file before going to actual compilation.

2. The next line int main() is the main function where program execution begins.

3. The next line /*...*/ will be ignored by the compiler and it has been put to add additional
comments in the program. So such lines are called comments in the program.

4. The next line printf(...) is another function available in C which causes the message "Hello,
World!" to be displayed on the screen.

5. The next line return 0; terminates main()function and returns the value 0.

C Basic Syntax- Tokens in C, Semicolons, Comments, Identifiers, Keywords,

Whitespace in C, Header Files
Tokens in C

A C program consists of various tokens and a token is either a keyword, an identifier, a

constant, a string literal, or a symbol. For example, the following C statement consists of five
tokens:

printf("Hello, World! \n");

The individual tokens are:

print
f (
"Hello, World! \n"
)
;

Semicolons ;

In C program, the semicolon is a statement terminator. That is, each individual statement

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 17

 must be ended with a semicolon. It indicates the end of one logical entity.

For example, following are two different statements:

printf("Hello, World! \
n"); return 0;

Comments

Comments are like helping text in your C program and they are ignored by the compiler.
They start with /* and terminates with the characters */ as shown below:

/* my first program in C */

You cannot have comments within comments and they do not occur within a string or
character literals.

Identifiers

A C identifier is a name used to identify a variable, function, or any other user-defined item.
An identifier starts with a letter A to Z or a to z or an underscore _ followed by zero or more
letters, underscores, and digits (0 to 9).

C does not allow punctuation characters such as @, $, and % within identifiers. C is a case
sensitive programming language. Thus, Manpower and manpower are two different
identifiers in C. Here are some examples of acceptable identifiers:

mohdzara abc move_namea_123

myname50_temp j a23b9 retVal

Keywords

The following list shows the reserved words in C. These reserved words may not be used as
constant or variable or any other identifier names.

auto else Long switch

break enum register typedef
case extern return union
char float short unsigned
const for signed void
continue goto sizeof volatile
default if static while
do int struct _packed
double

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 18

 Whitespace in C

A line containing only whitespace, possibly with a comment, is known as a blank line, and a
C compiler totally ignores it.

Whitespace is the term used in C to describe blanks, tabs, newline characters and comments.
Whitespace separates one part of a statement from another and enables the compiler to
identify where one element in a statement, such as int, ends and the next element begins.
Therefore, in the following statement:

int age;

There must be at least one whitespace character (usually a space) between int and age for the
compiler to be able to distinguish them. On the other hand, in the following statement:

fruit = apples + oranges; // get the total fruit

No whitespace characters are necessary between fruit and =, or between = and apples,
although you are free to include some if you wish for readability purpose.

C Data Types- Integer Types, Floating-Point Types, The void Type, Character Type

In the C programming language, data types refer to an extensive system used for
declaring variables or functions of different types. The type of a variable determines how
much space it occupies in storage and how the bit pattern stored is interpreted.

The types in C can be classified as follows:

S Types and Description

. Basic Types:
1 They are arithmetic types and consists of the two types: (a) integer
types and (b) floating- point types.

Enumerated types:
2 They are again arithmetic types and they are used to define variables
that can only be assigned certain discrete integer values throughout
The type void:
3 The type specifier void indicates that no value is available.

Derived types:
4 They include (a) Pointer types, (b) Array types, (c) Structure types,
(d) Union types and

The array types and structure types are referred to collectively as the aggregate types. The
type of a function specifies the type of the function's return value. We will see basic types in

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 19

 the following section, whereas, other types will be covered in the upcoming #s.

Integer Types

Following table gives you details about standard integer types with its storage sizes and value
ranges:

Type Storage Value range

Char size
1 byte -128 to 127 or 0 to 255
unsigned 1 byte 0 to 255
char
signed 1 byte -128 to 127
char
Int 2 or 4 -32,768 to 32,767 or -2,147,483,648 to
unsigned bytes
2 or 4 2,147,483,647
0 to 65,535 or 0 to 4,294,967,295
int
Short bytes
2 bytes -32,768 to 32,767
unsigned 2 bytes 0 to 65,535
short
Long 4 bytes -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
unsigned 4 bytes 0 to 4,294,967,295
long
To get the exact size of a type or a variable on a particular platform, you can use the
sizeof operator. The expressions sizeof(type) yields the storage size of the object or type in
bytes. Following is an example to get the size of int type on any machine:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <limits.h>

int main()
{
printf("Storage size for int : %d \n", sizeof(int));

return 0;
}

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result on
Linux:

Storage size for int : 4

Floating-Point Types

Following table gives you details about standard floating-point types with storage sizes and
value ranges and their precision:

Type Storage Value range Precision

float size
4 byte 1.2E-38 to 3.4E+38 6 decimal
places
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 20
 double 8 byte 2.3E-308 to 1.7E+308 15 decimal
long 10 byte 3.4E-4932 to places
19 decimal
double 1.1E+4932 places

The void Type

The void type specifies that no value is available. It is used in three kinds of situations:

S Types and Description

. Function returns as void
There are various functions in C which do not return value or you can
1 say they return void. A function with no return value has the return
type as void. For example, void exit (int status);
Function arguments as void
2 There are various functions in C which do not accept any parameter. A
function with no parameter can accept as a void. For example, int
Pointers to void
3 A pointer of type void * represents the address of an object, but not its
type. For example, a memory allocation function void *malloc( size_t
size ); returns a pointer to void which can be casted to any data type.
The void type may not be understood to you at this point, so let us proceed and we will cover
these concepts in the upcoming chapters.

C Variables, Lvalues and Rvalues in C, C Constants and Literals, Integer literals, Floating-
point literals, Character constants, String literals, Defining Constants

A variable is nothing but a name given to a storage area that our programs can
manipulate. Each variable in C has a specific type, which determines the size and layout of
the variable's memory; the range of values that can be stored within that memory; and the set
of operations that can be applied to the variable.

The name of a variable can be composed of letters, digits, and the underscore character. It
must begin with either a letter or an underscore. Upper and lowercase letters are distinct
because C is case-sensitive. Based on the basic types explained in previous #, there will be
the following basic variable types:

Type Description
Char Typically a single octet(one byte). This is an integer type.
Int The most natural size of integer for the machine.
Float A single-precision floating point value.
Double A double-precision floating point value.
Void Represents the absence of type.

C programming language also allows to define various other types of variables, which we
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 21
 will cover in subsequent #s like Enumeration, Pointer, Array, Structure, Union, etc. For this
#, let us study only basic variable types.

Variable Definition in C:
A variable definition means to tell the compiler where and how much to create the storage
for the variable. A variable definition specifies a data type and contains a list of one or more
variables of that type as follows:

type variable_list;

Here, type must be a valid C data type including char, w_char, int, float, double, bool or any
user- defined object, etc., and variable_list may consist of one or more identifier names
separated by commas. Some valid declarations are shown here:

int i, j, k;
char c, ch;
float f,
salary; double
d;

The line int i, j, k; both declares and defines the variables i, j and k; which instructs the
compiler to create variables named i, j and k of type int.

Variables can be initialized (assigned an initial value) in their declaration. The initializer
consists of an equal sign followed by a constant expression as follows:

type variable_name = value;

Some examples are:

extern int d = 3, f = 5; // declaration of d and f.

int d = 3, f = 5; byte z = 22;
// definition and initializing d and f.
char x = 'x'; // definition and initializes z.
// the variable x has the value 'x'.

For definition without an initializer: variables with static storage duration are implicitly
initialized with NULL (all bytes have the value 0); the initial value of all other variables is
undefined.

Variable Declaration in C:
A variable declaration provides assurance to the compiler that there is one variable existing
with the given type and name so that compiler proceed for further compilation without
needing complete detail about the variable. A variable declaration has its meaning at the time

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 22

 of compilation only, compiler needs actual variable declaration at the time of linking of the
program.

A variable declaration is useful when you are using multiple files and you define your
variable in one of the files, which will be available at the time of linking of the
program. You will
use extern keyword to declare a variable at any place. Though you can declare a variable
multiple times in your C program but it can be defined only once in a file, a function or a
block of code.
Example
Try the following example, where variables have been declared at the top, but they have been
defined and initialized inside the main function:

#include <stdio.h>

// Variable
definition: extern int
a, b;
extern int c;
extern float
f;

int main ()
{
// Variable
definition: int a, b;
int c;
float
f;

// actual
initialization a =10;
b =20;
c = a + b;

printf("value of c : %d \n",

c); f = 70.0/3.0;
printf("value of f : %f \n", f);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of c : 30
value of f : 23.333334

Same concept applies on function declaration where you provide a function name at the time
of its declaration and its actual definition can be given anywhere else. For example:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 23

 // function
declaration int
func();

int main()
{
// function
call int i =
func();
}
// function
definition int func()
{
return 0;

Lvalues and Rvalues in C

There are two kinds of expressions in C:

1. lvalue: An expression that is an lvalue may appear as either the left-hand or right-hand side of
an assignment.

2. rvalue: An expression that is an rvalue may appear on the right- but not left-hand side of an
assignment.

Variables are lvalues and so may appear on the left-hand side of an assignment. Numeric
literals are rvalues and so may not be assigned and cannot appear on the left-hand side.
Following is a valid statement:

int g = 20;

But following is not a valid statement and would generate compile-time error:
10 = 20;

C Constants and Literals

The constants refer to fixed values that the program may not alter during its execution.
These fixed values are also called literals.

Constants can be of any of the basic data types like an integer constant, a floating constant,
a character constant, or a string literal. There are also enumeration constants as well.

The constants are treated just like regular variables except that their values cannot be
modified after their definition.

Integer literals

An integer literal can be a decimal, octal, or hexadecimal constant. A prefix specifies the
base or radix: 0x or 0X for hexadecimal, 0 for octal, and nothing for decimal.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 24

 An integer literal can also have a suffix that is a combination of U and L, for unsigned and
long, respectively. The suffix can be uppercase or lowercase and can be in any order.

Here are some examples of integer literals:

212 /* Legal */
215u /* Legal */
0xFeeL 078 /* Legal */
032UU /* Illegal: 8 is not an octal digit */
/* Illegal: cannot repeat a suffix */

Following are other examples of various types of Integer literals:

Following are other examples of various types of Integer literals:

85 /* decimal */
0213 /* octal */
0x4b 30 /* hexadecimal */
30u 30l 30ul
/* int */
/* unsigned int */
/* long */
/* unsigned long */

Floating-point literals

A floating-point literal has an integer part, a decimal point, a fractional part, and an exponent
part. You can represent floating point literals either in decimal form or exponential form.

While representing using decimal form, you must include the decimal point, the exponent, or
both and while representing using exponential form, you must include the integer part, the
fractional part, or both. The signed exponent is introduced by e or E.

Here are some examples of floating-point literals:

3.14159 /* Legal */
314159E-5L /* Legal */
510E /* Illegal: incomplete exponent */
210f /* Illegal: no decimal or exponent */
.e55 /* Illegal: missing integer or fraction */

Character constants

Character literals are enclosed in single quotes, e.g., 'x' and can be stored in a simple variable
of char type.

A character literal can be a plain character (e.g., 'x'), an escape sequence (e.g., '\t'), or a
universal character (e.g., '\u02C0').

There are certain characters in C when they are preceded by a backslash they will have

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 25

 special meaning and they are used to represent like newline (\n) or tab (\t). Here, you have a
list of some of such escape sequence codes:

Escape
sequence Meaning
\\ \ character
\' ' character
\" " character
\? ? character
\a Alert or bell
\b Backspace
\f Form feed
\n Newline
\r Carriage return
\t Horizontal tab
\v Vertical tab
\ooo Octal number of one to three digits
\xhh . . . Hexadecimal number of one or more digits

Following is the example to show few escape sequence characters:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
printf("Hello\tWorld\n\n");

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Hello World

String literals

String literals or constants are enclosed in double quotes "". A string contains characters that
are similar to character literals: plain characters, escape sequences, and universal characters.

You can break a long line into multiple lines using string literals and separating them using
whitespaces.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 26

 Here are some examples of string literals. All the three forms are identical strings.

"hello,

dear"

"hello, \

dear"

The #define Preprocessor, The const keyword

Defining Constants

There are two simple ways in C to define constants:

1. Using #define preprocessor.

2. Using const keyword.

The #define Preprocessor

Following is the form to use #define preprocessor to define a constant:

#define identifier value

Following example explains it in detail:

#include <stdio.h>

#define LENGTH 10
#define WIDTH 5
#define NEWLINE '\n'

int main()
{

int area;

area = LENGTH * WIDTH;

printf("value of area : %d",
area); printf("%c", NEWLINE);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of area : 50

The const Keyword

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 27

 You can use const prefix to declare constants with a specific type as follows:

const type variable = value;

#include <stdio.h>
Following example explains it in detail:
int main()
{
const int LENGTH = 10;
const int WIDTH = 5;
const char NEWLINE = '\
n'; int area;

area = LENGTH * WIDTH;

printf("value of area : %d",
area); printf("%c", NEWLINE);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of area : 50

Note that it is a good programming practice to define constants in CAPITALS.

C Operators- Arithmetic Operators, Relational Operators, Logical Operators, Bitwise

Operators, Assignment Operators, Misc Operators - sizeof & ternary, Operators
Precedence in C

An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical
manipulations. C language is rich in built-in operators and provides the following types of
operators:

 Arithmetic Operators

 Relational Operators

 Logical Operators

 Bitwise Operators

 Assignment Operators

 Misc Operators

This tutorial will explain the arithmetic, relational, logical, bitwise, assignment and other
operators one by one.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 28

 Arithmetic Operators

Following table shows all the arithmetic operators supported by C language. Assume
variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

O Description Example
pe
+ Adds two operands A + B will
- Subtracts second operand from the first give
A - B30will give
* Multiplies both operands -10
A * B will give
/ Divides numerator by de-numerator 200
B / A will give
% Modulus Operator and remainder of after an 2B % A will
integer division give 0
++ Increments operator increases integer value A++ will give
-- by one
Decrements operator decreases integer value 11
A-- will give 9
by one
Try the following example to understand all the arithmetic operators available in C
programming language:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int a =
21; int b
= 10; int
c ;

c = a + b;
printf("Line 1 - Value of c is %d\n", c
); c = a - b;
printf("Line 2 - Value of c is %d\n", c
); c = a * b;
printf("Line 3 - Value of c is %d\n", c
); c = a / b;
printf("Line 4 - Value of c is %d\n", c
); c = a % b;
printf("Line 5 - Value of c is %d\n", c
); c = a++;
printf("Line 6 - Value of c is %d\n", c
); c = a--;
printf("Line 7 - Value of c is %d\n", c );

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:

L 1 - o c i 3
iL 2 Va
- fo c si 11
iL Va
3 - fo c si 12
i Va f s 1
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 29
 L 4 - o c i 2
iL 5 Va
- fo c si 1
iL 6 Va
- fo c si 2
iL 7 Va
- fo c si 12
i Va f s 2
Relational Operators

Following table shows all the relational operators supported by C language. Assume variable
A holds 10 and variable B holds 20, then:

O Description Example
pe
Checks if the values of two operands are
== equal or not, if yes then condition (A == B) is not
Checks if the values of two operands are true.
!= equal or not, if values are not equal then (A != B) is true.
Checks if the value of left operand is
> greater than the value of right operand, if (A > B) is not
yes then condition becomes true. true.
Checks if the value of left operand is less
< than the value of right operand, if yes (A < B) is true.
Checks if the value of left operand is
>= greater than or equal to the value of right (A >= B) is not
operand, if yes then condition becomes true.
Checks if the value of left operand is less
<= than or equal to the value of right (A <= B) is true.
operand, if yes then condition becomes

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 30

 Try the following example to understand all the relational operators available in C

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int a =
21; int b
= 10; int
c ;

if( a == b )
{
printf("Line 1 - a is equal to b\n" );
}
else
{
printf("Line 1 - a is not equal to b\n" );
}
if ( a < b )
{
printf("Line 2 - a is less than b\n" );
}
else
{
printf("Line 2 - a is not less than b\n" );
}
if ( a > b )
{
printf("Line 3 - a is greater than b\n" );
}
else
{
printf("Line 3 - a is not greater than b\n" );
}
/* Lets change value of a and b
*/ a = 5;
b = 20;
if ( a <= b )
{
printf("Line 4 - a is either less than or equal to b\n" );
}
if ( b >= a )
{
printf("Line 5 - b is either greater than or equal to b\n" );
}
}
programming language:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 31

 When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - a is not equal to b

Line 2 - a is not less than
b Line 3 - a is greater than
b

Line 4 - a is either less than or equal to b

Logical Operators

Following table shows all the logical operators supported by C language. Assume variable
A holds 1 and variable B holds 0, then:

O Description Example
pe
& Called Logical AND operator. If both the (A && B)
& operands are non-zero, then condition becomes is false.
Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two
|| operands is non- zero, then condition becomes (A || B) is
Called Logical NOT Operator. Use to reverses true.
! the logical state of its operand. If a condition is !(A && B)
true, then Logical NOT operator will make is true.

Try the following example to understand all the logical operators available in C
programming language:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int a = 5;
int b =
20; int c
;

if ( a && b )
{
printf("Line 1 - Condition is true\n" );
}
if ( a || b )
{

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 32

 printf("Line 2 - Condition is true\n" );
}
/* lets change the value of a and b
*/ a = 0;
b = 10;
if ( a && b )
{
printf("Line 3 - Condition is true\n" );
}
else
{
printf("Line 3 - Condition is not true\n" );
}
if ( !(a && b) )
{
printf("Line 4 - Condition is true\n" );
}
}

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:

Line 1 - Condition is true

Line 2 - Condition is true
Line 3 - Condition is not
true

Bitwise Operators

Bitwise operator works on bits and performs bit-by-bit operation. The truth tables for &, |,
and ^ are as follows:

P q p&q p|q p^q

0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 1 0
1 0 0 1 1

Assume if A = 60; and B = 13; now in binary format they will be as follows: A = 0011 1100
B = 0000 1101

----------------- A&B = 0000 1100

A|B = 0011 1101

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 33

 A^B = 0011 0001

~A = 1100 0011

The Bitwise operators supported by C language are listed in the following table. Assume
variable A holds 60 and variable B holds 13, then:

O Description Example
pe Binary AND Operator
& copies a bit to the result if it (A & B) will give 12, which is
Binary OR Operator copies a 0000 1100
| bit if it exists in either (A | B) will give 61, which is
Binary XOR Operator copies 0011 1101
^ the bit if it is set in one (A ^ B) will give 49, which is
Binary Ones Complement 0011 0001
~ Operator is unary and has (~A ) will give -60, which is
Binary Left Shift Operator. 1100 0011
The left operands value is
<< moved left by the number of A << 2 will give 240, which is
bits specified by the right 1111 0000
Binary Right Shift Operator.
The left operands value is
>> moved right by the number A >> 2 will give 15, which is
of bits specified by the right 0000 1111

Try the following example to understand all the bitwise operators available in C
programming language:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 34

 #include <stdio.h>

main()
{

unsigned int a = 60;/* 60 = 0011 1100 */

unsigned int b = 13;/* 13 = 0000 1101 */ int c = 0;

c = a & b; /* 12 = 0000 1100 */

printf("Line 1 - Value of c is %d\n", c );

c = a | b; /* 61 = 0011 1101 */
printf("Line 2 - Value of c is %d\n", c );

c = a ^ b; /* 49 = 0011 0001 */
printf("Line 3 - Value of c is %d\n", c );

c = ~a; /*-61 = 1100 0011 */

printf("Line 4 - Value of c is %d\n", c );

c = a << 2; /* 240 = 1111 0000 */

printf("Line 5 - Value of c is %d\n", c );

c = a >> 2; /* 15 = 0000 1111 */

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 35

 printf("Line 6 - Value of c is %d\n", c );
}

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:

L 1 - o c i 1
iL 2 Va
- fo c si 26
iL 3 Va
- fo c si 14
iL 4 Va
- fo c si 9-
iL 5 Va
- fo c si 62
iL 6 Va
- fo c si 41
i Va f s 5
Assignment Operators

There are following assignment operators supported by C language:

Opearator Description Example

Simple assignment operator, Assigns values from right side C = A + B will
= operands to left side operand assign value of A
Add AND assignment operator, It adds right operand to the left
+= operand and assign the result to left operand C += A is
equivalent to C =
Subtract AND assignment operator, It subtracts right operand
-= from the left operand and assign the result to left operand C -= A is
equivalent to C =
Multiply AND assignment operator, It multiplies right operand
*= with the left operand and assign the result to left operand C *= A is
equivalent to C =
Divide AND assignment operator, It divides left operand with the
/= right operand and assign the result to left operand C /= A is
equivalent to C =
Modulus AND assignment operator, It takes modulus using two
%= operands and assign the result to left operand C %= A is
equivalent to C =
<<= Left shift AND assignment operator C <<= 2 is same
>>= Right shift AND assignment operator as C=C
C >>= <<same
2 is 2
&= Bitwise AND assignment operator as C =2Cis>>
C &= 2
same
^= bitwise exclusive OR and assignment operator as C =2 C
C ^= is & 2 as
same
|= bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operator C
C=|= C2 ^is2same as
C=C|2
Try the following example to understand all the assignment operators available in C
programming language:
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 37
 #include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int a =
21; int c
;

c = a;
printf("Line 1 - = Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c += a;
printf("Line 2 - += Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c -= a;
printf("Line 3 - -= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c *= a;
printf("Line 4 - *= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c /= a;
printf("Line 5 - /= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c = 200;
c %= a;
printf("Line 6 - %= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c <<= 2;
printf("Line 7 - <<= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c >>= 2;
printf("Line 8 - >>= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c &= 2;
printf("Line 9 - &= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c ^= 2;
printf("Line 10 - ^= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

c |= 2;
printf("Line 11 - |= Operator Example, Value of c = %d\n", c );

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:

L 1 - Op Exa V o c = 2
iL 2 - erat
Op mpl
Exa aV fo c = 14
iL 3 - erat
Op mpl
Exa aV fo c = 22
iL 4 - erat
Op mpl
Exa aV fo c = 14
iL 5 - erat
Op mpl
Exa aV fo c = 42
iL 6 - erat
Op mpl
Exa aV fo c = 11
Linei 7 - <<= erat
Operator mpl
Example, Value a of fc = 44 1Line 8 - >>= Operator Example, Value o

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 38

 Line 9 - &= Operator Example, Value of c = 2
Line 10 - ^= Operator Example, Value of c =
0

Misc Operators ↦sizeof & ternary

There are few other important operators including sizeof and ? : supported by C Language.

O Description Example
pe sizeof(a), where a is
siz Returns the size of an variable. integer, will return
eof &a; will give actual
& Returns the address of an variable. address of the
* Pointer to a variable. *a; will pointer to a
variable.
If Condition is
?: Conditional Expression true ? Then value X
Operators Precedence in C

Operator precedence determines the grouping of terms in an expression. This affects how an
expression is evaluated. Certain operators have higher precedence than others; for example,
the multiplication operator has higher precedence than the addition operator.

For example, x = 7 + 3 * 2; here, x is assigned 13, not 20 because operator * has higher
precedence than +, so it first gets multiplied with 3*2 and then adds into 7.

Here, operators with the highest precedence appear at the top of the table, those with the
lowest appear at the bottom. Within an expression, higher precedence operators will be
evaluated first.

Category Operator Associativity

Postfix () [] -> . ++ - - Left to right
Unary + - ! ~ ++ - - (type)* & Right to left
Multiplicative sizeof
*/% Left to right
Additive +- Left to right
Shift << >> Left to right
Relational < <= > >= Left to right
Equality == != Left to right
Bitwise AND & Left to right
Bitwise XOR ^ Left to right

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 39

 Bitwise OR | Left to right

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 40

 Logical AND && Left to right
Logical OR || Left to right
Conditional ?: Right to left
Assignment = += -= *= /= %=>>= <<= Right to left
Comma &=
, ^= |= Left to right

Try the following example to understand the operator precedence available in C programming
language:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int a = 20; int b = 10; int c = 15; int d = 5; int e;

e = (a + b) * c / d;

// ( 30 * 15 ) / 5
printf("Value of (a + b) * c / d is : %d\n",e );

e = ((a + b) * c) / d; // (30 * 15 ) / 5
printf("Value of ((a + b) * c) / d is: %d\n" ,e );

e = (a + b) * (c / d);// (30) * (15/5) printf("Value of (a + b) * (c / d) is: %d\

e = a + (b * c) / d; //20 + (150/5)
printf("Value of a + (b * c) / d is: %d\n" ,e );

return 0;
}

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result:

Value of (a + b) * c / d is : 90
Value of ((a + b) * c) / d is :
90 Value of (a + b) * (c / d) is :
90

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 41

 #define identifier value

Following example explains it in detail:

#include <stdio.h>

#define LENGTH 10
#define WIDTH 5
#define NEWLINE '\n'

int main()
{

int area;

area = LENGTH * WIDTH;

printf("value of area : %d",
area); printf("%c", NEWLINE);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of area : 50

The const Keyword: You can use const prefix to declare constants with a specific type as
follows:

const type variable = value;

Following example explains it in detail:

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
const int LENGTH = 10;
const int WIDTH = 5;
const char NEWLINE = '\
n'; int area;

area = LENGTH * WIDTH;

printf("value of area : %d",
area); printf("%c", NEWLINE);

return 0;
}

value of area : 50

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 42

Note that it is a good programming practice to define
constants in CAPITALS.

Type Casting, Integer Promotion

Type Casting

Type casting is a way to convert a variable from one data type to another data type.
For example, if you want to store a long value into a simple integer then you can type cast
long to int. You can convert values from one type to another explicitly using the cast
operator as follows:

(type_name) expression

Consider the following example where the cast operator causes the division of one integer
variable by another to be performed as a floating-point operation:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int sum = 17, count =
5; double mean;

mean = (double) sum / count;

printf("Value of mean : %f\n", mean
);

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of mean : 3.400000

It should be noted here that the cast operator has precedence over division, so the value of
sum is first converted to type double and finally it gets divided by count yielding a double
value.

Type conversions can be implicit which is performed by the compiler automatically, or it

can be specified explicitly through the use of the cast operator. It is considered good
programming practice to use the cast operator whenever type conversions are necessary.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 43

Integer Promotion

The Integer promotion is the process by which values of integer type "smaller" than
int or unsigned int are converted either to int or unsigned int. Consider an example of
adding a character in an int:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int i = 17;
char c = 'c'; /* ascii value is 99
*/ int sum;

sum = i + c;
printf("Value of sum : %d\n", sum );

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of sum : 116

Here, value of sum is coming as 116 because compiler is doing integer promotion and
converting the value of 'c' to ascii before performing actual addition operation.

Usual Arithmetic Conversion

The usual arithmetic conversions are implicitly performed to cast their values in a
common type. Compiler first performs integer promotion, if operands still have different
types then they are converted to the type that appears highest in the following hierarchy:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 44

 The usual arithmetic conversions are not performed for the assignment operators, nor for
the logical operators && and ||. Let us take following example to understand the concept:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
int i = 17;
char c = 'c'; /* ascii value is 99
*/ float sum;

sum = i + c;
printf("Value of sum : %f\n", sum );

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of sum : 116.000000

Here, it is simple to understand that first c gets converted to integer but because final value
is double, so usual arithmetic conversion applies and compiler convert i and c into float
and add them yielding a float result.

Input Output Functions- The Standard Files, The getchar() & putchar() functions, The
gets() & puts() functions, The scanf() and printf() functions

When we are saying Input that means to feed some data into program. This can
be given in the form of file or from command line. C programming language provides a set
of built-in functions to read given input and feed it to the program as per requirement.

When we are saying Output that means to display some data on screen, printer or in any
file. C programming language provides a set of built-in functions to output the data on the
computer screen as well as you can save that data in text or binary files.

The Standard Files

C programming language treats all the devices as files. So devices such as the display are
addressed in the same way as files and following three file are automatically opened when
a program executes to provide access to the keyboard and screen.

Standard File File Pointer Device

Standard input stdin Keyboard
Standard output stdout Screen
Standard error stderr Your screen

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 45

 The file points are the means to access the file for reading and writing purpose. This
section will explain you how to read values from the screen and how to print the result on
the screen.

The getchar() & putchar() functions

The int getchar(void) function reads the next available character from the screen and
returns it as an integer. This function reads only single character at a time. You can use
this method in the loop in case you want to read more than one characters from the screen.

The int putchar(int c) function puts the passed character on the screen and returns the same
character. This function puts only single character at a time. You can use this method
in the loop in case you want to display more than one character on the screen. Check the
following example:

#include
<stdio.h> int
main( )
{
int c;

printf( "Enter a
value :"); c = getchar( );

printf( "\nYou entered:

"); putchar( c );

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it waits for you to input some text when
you enter a text and press enter then program proceeds and reads only a single character
and displays it as follows:

$./a.out
Enter a value : this is test
You entered: t

The gets() & puts() functions

The char *gets(char *s) function reads a line from stdin into the buffer pointed to by
s until either a terminating newline or EOF.

The int puts(const char *s) function writes the string s and a trailing newline to stdout.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 46

 #include
<stdio.h> int
main( )
{
char str[100];

printf( "Enter a
value :"); str = gets( str
);

printf( "\nYou entered:

"); puts( str );

return 0;
When the above code is compiled and executed, it waits for you to input some text when
you enter a text and press enter then program proceeds and reads the complete line till end
and displays it as follows:

$./a.out
Enter a value : this is test

You entered: This is test

The scanf() and printf() functions

The int scanf(const char *format, ...) function reads input from the standard input stream
stdin and scans that input according to format provided.

The int printf(const char *format, ...) function writes output to the standard output stream
stdout and produces output according to a format provided.

The format can be a simple constant string, but you can specify %s, %d, %c, %f, etc., to
print or read strings, integer, character or float respectively. There are many other
formatting options available which can be used based on requirements. For a complete
detail you can refer to a man page for these function. For now let us proceed with a simple
example which makes things clear:

#include
<stdio.h> int
main( )
{
char
str[100]; int
i;

printf( "Enter a
value :"); scanf("%s %d",
str, &i);

printf( "\nYou entered: %s, %d ", str,

When the above codei); isreturn

compiled
0; and executed, it waits for you to input some text when
you enter a text and press enter then program proceeds and reads the input and displays it

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 47

 as follows:

$./a.out
Enter a value : seven 7
You entered: seven 7

Here, it should be noted that scanf() expect input in the same format as you provided %s
and %d, which means you have to provide valid input like "string integer", if you provide
"string string" or "integer integer" then it will be assumed as wrong input. Second, while
reading a string scanf() stops reading as soon as it encounters a space so "this is test" are
three strings for scanf().

Control structure in C

if statement, Syntax, Flow Diagram, Example

if statement

An if statement consists of a boolean expression followed by one or more statements.

Syntax

The syntax of an if statement in C programming language is:

if(boolean_expression)
{
/* statement(s) will execute if the boolean expression is true */
}

If the boolean expression evaluates to true, then the block of code inside the if statement
will be executed. If boolean expression evaluates to false, then the first set of code after
the end of the if statement (after the closing curly brace) will be executed.

C programming language assumes any non-zero and non-null values as true and if it is
either zero or null then it is assumed as false value.

Flow Diagram

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 48

 Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 10;

/* check the boolean condition using if statement

*/ if( a < 20 )
{
/* if condition is true then print the following
*/ printf("a is less than 20\n" );
}
printf("value of a is : %d\n", a);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

a is less than 20;

value of a is : 10

if...else statement, Syntax, Flow Diagram, Example

if...else statement

An if statement can be followed by an optional else statement, which executes when the
boolean expression is false.

Syntax

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 49

 The syntax of an if...else statement in C programming language is:

if(boolean_expression)
{
/* statement(s) will execute if the boolean expression is true */
}
else
{
/* statement(s) will execute if the boolean expression is false */
}

If the boolean expression evaluates to true, then the if block of code will be executed,
otherwise else block of code will be executed.

C programming language assumes any non-zero and non-null values as true and if it is
either zero or null then it is assumed as false value.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 50

 Flow Diagram

Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 100;

/* check the boolean condition

*/ if( a < 20 )
{
/* if condition is true then print the following
*/ printf("a is less than 20\n" );
}
else
{
/* if condition is false then print the following
*/ printf("a is not less than 20\n" );
}
printf("value of a is : %d\n", a);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

a is not less than 20;

value of a is : 100

The if...else if...else Statement, Syntax, Flow Diagram, Example

The if...else if...else Statement

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 51

 An if statement can be followed by an optional else if...else statement, which is very useful
to test various conditions using single if...else if statement.

When using if , else if , else statements there are few points to keep in mind:

 An if can have zero or one else's and it must come after any else if's.

 An if can have zero to many else if's and they must come before the else.

 Once an else if succeeds, none of the remaining else if's or else's will be tested.

Syntax

The syntax of an if...else if...else statement in C programming language is:

if(boolean_expression 1)
{
/* Executes when the boolean expression 1 is true */
}
else if( boolean_expression 2)
{
/* Executes when the boolean expression 2 is true */
}
else if( boolean_expression 3)
{
/* Executes when the boolean expression 3 is true */
}
else
{
/* executes when the none of the above condition is true */
}

Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 100;

/* check the boolean condition

*/ if( a == 10 )
{
/* if condition is true then print the following
*/ printf("Value of a is 10\n" );
}
else if( a == 20 )
{
/* if else if condition is true
*/ printf("Value of a is 20\n" );

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 52

 }
else if( a == 30 )
{
/* if else if condition is true

*/ printf("Value of a is 30\n" );
}
else
{
/* if none of the conditions is true */
printf("None of the values is matching\n"
);
}
printf("Exact value of a is: %d\n", a );

return 0;

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

None of the values is matching

Exact value of a is: 100

switch statement, Nested switch statements, Syntax, Flow Diagram, Example

switch statement

A switch statement allows a variable to be tested for equality against a list of values. Each
value is called a case, and the variable being switched on is checked for each switch case.

Syntax

The syntax for a switch statement in C programming language is as follows:

switch(expression){
case constant-expression

: statement(s);
break; /* optional */
case constant-expression

:
statement(s);
break; /* optional */

/* you can have any number of case statements

*/ default : /* Optional */

The following rules apply to a switch statement:

 The expression used in a switch statement must have an integral or enumerated type, or be of
a class type in which the class has a single conversion function to an integral or
enumerated type.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 53

 You can have any number of case statements within a switch. Each case is followed by the
value to be compared to and a colon.

 The constant-expression for a case must be the same data type as the variable in the switch,
and it must be a constant or a literal.
 When the variable being switched on is equal to a case, the statements following that case will
execute until a break statement is reached.
 When a break statement is reached, the switch terminates, and the flow of control jumps to
the next line following the switch statement.
 Not every case needs to contain a break. If no break appears, the flow of control will fall
through to subsequent cases until a break is reached.
 A switch statement can have an optional default case, which must appear at the end of the
switch. The default case can be used for performing a task when none of the cases is true.
No break is needed in the default case.

Flow Diagram

Example

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 54

 #include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ char grade = 'B';

switch(grade)
{
case 'A' :
printf("Excellent!\n"
); break;
case 'B' :
case 'C' :
printf("Well done\n"
); break;
case 'D' :
printf("You passed\n"
); break;
case 'F' :
printf("Better try again\n"
); break;
default :
printf("Invalid grade\n" );
}
printf("Your grade is %c\n", grade );

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Well done
Your grade is B

Nested switch statements

It is possible to have a switch as part of the statement sequence of an outer switch. Even
if the case constants of the inner and outer switch contain common values, no conflicts will
arise.

Syntax

The syntax for a nested switch statement is as follows:

switch(ch1)
{ case
'A':
printf("This A is part of outer switch"
); switch(ch2) {
case 'A':
printf("This A is part of inner switch"
); break;
case 'B': /* case code */
}
Computer Programming &break;
Utilization (UCT-144)Page 55
case 'B': /* case code */
}
 Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 100;
int b = 200;

switch(a) {
case
100:
printf("This is part of outer switch\n", a
); switch(b) {
case 200:
printf("This is part of inner switch\n", a );
}
}
printf("Exact value of a is : %d\n", a
); printf("Exact value of b is : %d\n",
b );

return 0;
}

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 56

When the above code is compiled and
executed, it produces the following
result:

This is part of outer

switch This is part of
inner switch Exact value of
a is : 100

C Loops- while loop, for loop, do...while

loop, nested loops, Syntax, Flow
Diagram, Example
C Loops

There may be a situation, when you need to execute a block of code several number
of times. In general, statements are executed sequentially: The first statement in a function
is executed first, followed by the second, and so on.

Programming languages provide various control structures that allow for more complicated
execution paths.

A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of statements multiple times

and following is the general form of a loop statement in most of the programming
languages

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 57

 C programming language provides the following types of loops to handle looping
requirements.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 58

 while loop in C

A while loop statement in C programming language repeatedly executes a target statement

as long as a given condition is true.

Syntax

The syntax of a while loop in C programming language is:

while(condition)
{
statement(s);
}

Here, statement(s) may be a single statement or a block of statements. The

condition may be any expression, and true is any nonzero value. The loop iterates while
the condition is true.

When the condition becomes false, program control passes to the line immediately
following the loop.

Flow Diagram

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 59

 Here, key point of the while loop is that the loop might not ever run. When the condition is
tested and the result is false, the loop body will be skipped and the first statement after the
while loop will be executed.

Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 10;

/* while loop execution

*/ while( a < 20 )
{
printf("value of a: %d\n",
a); a++;
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of a:
10 value of
a: 11 value
of a: 12
value of a:
13 value of
a: 14 value
of a: 15
value of a:
16 value of
a: 17 value
for loop in C

A for loop is a repetition control structure that allows you to efficiently write a loop that
needs to execute a specific number of times.
Syntax

The syntax of a for loop in C programming language is:

for ( init; condition; increment )

{
statement(s);
}

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 60

 Here is the flow of control in a for loop:

1. The init step is executed first, and only once. This step allows you to declare and initialize
any loop control variables. You are not required to put a statement here, as long as a
semicolon appears.

2. Next, the condition is evaluated. If it is true, the body of the loop is executed. If it is false, the
body of the loop does not execute and flow of control jumps to the next statement just after
the for loop.

3. After the body of the for loop executes, the flow of control jumps back up to the
increment statement. This statement allows you to update any loop control variables. This
statement can be left blank, as long as a semicolon appears after the condition.

4. The condition is now evaluated again. If it is true, the loop executes and the process repeats
itself (body of loop, then increment step, and then again condition). After the condition
becomes false, the for loop terminates.

Flow Diagram

Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 61

 {
/* for loop execution */
for( int a = 10; a < 20; a = a + 1 )
{
printf("value of a: %d\n", a);
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of a:
10 value of
a: 11 value
of a: 12
value of a:
13 value of
a: 14 value
of a: 15
value of a:
16 value of
a: 17 value
do...while loop in C

Unlike for and while loops, which test the loop condition at the top of the loop,
the do...while loop in C programming language checks its condition at the bottom of the
loop.

A do...while loop is similar to a while loop, except that a do...while loop is guaranteed to
execute at least one time.

Syntax

The syntax of a do...while loop in C programming language is:

do
{
statement(s);

}while( condition );

Notice that the conditional expression appears at the end of the loop, so the statement(s) in
the loop execute once before the condition is tested.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 62

 If the condition is true, the flow of control jumps back up to do, and the statement(s) in the
loop execute again. This process repeats until the given condition becomes false.

Flow Diagram

Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 10;

/* do loop execution
*/ do
{
printf("value of a: %d\n",
a); a = a + 1;
}while( a < 20 );

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of a:
10 value of
a: 11 value
of a: 12
value of a:
13

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 63

 value of a:
15 value of
a: 16 value
of a: 17
value of a:
18
nested loops in C

C programming language allows to use one loop inside another loop. Following section
shows few examples to illustrate the concept.

Syntax

The syntax for a nested for loop statement in C is as follows:

for ( init; condition; increment )

{
for ( init; condition; increment )
{
statement(s);
}
statement(s);
}

The syntax for a nested while loop statement in C programming language is as follows:

while(condition)
{
while(condition)
{
statement(s);
}
statement(s);
}

The syntax for a nested do...while loop statement in C programming language is as

follows:

do
{
statement(s)
; do
{
statement(s);
}while( condition );

}while( condition );

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 64

 2 is prime
3 is prime
5 is prime
7 is prime
11 is prime
13 is prime
17 is prime
19 is prime
23 is prime
29 is prime
#include <stdio.h>
31 is prime
int
37 ismain ()
prime
{
41 /*
is local
prime variable definition
*/ int i, j;
43 is prime
for(i=2; i<100; i++) {
47 is prime
for(j=2; j <= (i/j); j+
53 is +)
prime
if(!(i%j)) break; // if factor found, not
59 is prime
prime if(j > (i/j)) printf("%d is prime\n",
i);
61 }is prime
67 is prime
return 0;
71 is prime
73 is prime
79 is prime
83 is prime
89 is prime
97 is prime

A final note on loop nesting is that you can put any type of loop inside of any other type of
loop. For example, a for loop can be inside a while loop or vice versa.

Example

The following program uses a nested for loop to find the prime numbers from 2 to 100:

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 65

 break statement, continue statement, goto statement, Syntax, Flow Diagram,
Example

break statement in C

The break statement in C programming language has the following two usages:

1. When the break statement is encountered inside a loop, the loop is immediately terminated
and program control resumes at the next statement following the loop.

2. It can be used to terminate a case in the switch statement (covered in the next #).

If you are using nested loops (i.e., one loop inside another loop), the break statement will
stop the execution of the innermost loop and start executing the next line of code after the
block.

Syntax

The syntax for a break statement in C is as follows:

break;

Flow Diagram

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 66

 Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 10;

/* while loop execution

*/ while( a < 20 )
{
printf("value of a: %d\n",
a); a++;
if( a > 15)
{
/* terminate the loop using break statement
*/ break;
}
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of a:
10 value of
a: 11 value
of a: 12
value of a:
13 value of
a: 14
continue statement in C

The continue statement in C programming language works somewhat like the

break statement. Instead of forcing termination, however, continue forces the next iteration
of the loop to take place, skipping any code in between.

For the for loop, continue statement causes the conditional test and increment portions of
the loop to execute. For the while and do...while loops, continue statement causes the
program control passes to the conditional tests.

Syntax

The syntax for a continue statement in C is as follows:

continue;

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 67

 Flow Diagram

Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 10;

/* do loop execution
*/ do
{
if( a == 15)
{
/* skip the iteration
*/ a = a + 1;
continue;
}
printf("value of a: %d\n",
a); a++;

}while( a < 20

); return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of a: 10
value of a: 11

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 68

 value of a:
12 value of
a: 13 value
of a: 14
value of a:
16 value of
a: 17 value
of a: 18
goto statement in C

A goto statement in C programming language provides an unconditional jump from the

goto to a labeled statement in the same function.

NOTE: Use of goto statement is highly discouraged in any programming language

because it makes difficult to trace the control flow of a program, making the program hard
to understand and hard to modify. Any program that uses a goto can be rewritten so that it
doesn't need the goto.

Syntax

The syntax for a goto statement in C is as follows:

goto label;
..
.
label: statement;

Here label can be any plain text except C keyword and it can be set anywhere in the C
program above or below to goto statement.

Flow Diagram

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 69

 Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 10;

/* do loop execution
*/ LOOP:do
{
if( a == 15)
{
/* skip the iteration
*/ a = a + 1;
goto LOOP;
}
printf("value of a: %d\n",
a); a++;

}while( a < 20

); return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

value of a:
10 value of
a: 11 value
of a: 12
value of a:
13 value of
a: 14 value
of a: 16
value of a:
17 value of
The Infinite Loop, Syntax, Flow Diagram, Example

The Infinite Loop

A loop becomes infinite loop if a condition never becomes false. The for loop is
traditionally used for this purpose. Since none of the three expressions that form the for
loop are required, you can make an endless loop by leaving the conditional expression
empty.

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 70

 for( ; ; )
{
printf("This loop will run forever.\n");
}

return 0;
}

When the conditional expression is absent, it is assumed to be true. You may have an
initialization and increment expression, but C programmers more commonly use the for(;;)
construct to signify an infinite loop.

NOTE: You can terminate an infinite loop by pressing Ctrl + C keys.

UNIT-2

Array & String

Declaring Arrays, Syntax, Examples

C programming language provides a data structure called the array, which can store
a fixed-size sequential collection of elements of the same type. An array is used to store a
collection of data, but it is often more useful to think of an array as a collection of variables
of the same type.

Instead of declaring individual variables, such as number0, number1, ..., and number99,
you declare one array variable such as numbers and use numbers[0], numbers[1], and ...,
numbers[99] to represent individual variables. A specific element in an array is accessed
by an index.

All arrays consist of contiguous memory locations. The lowest address corresponds to the
first element and the highest address to the last element.

Declaring Arrays

To declare an array in C, a programmer specifies the type of the elements and the number
of elements required by an array as follows:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 71

 type arrayName [ arraySize ];

This is called a single-dimensional array. The arraySize must be an integer constant

greater than zero and type can be any valid C data type. For example, to declare a 10-
element array called balance of type double, use this statement:

double balance[10];

Now balance is a variable array which is sufficient to hold up-to 10 double numbers.

Initializing Arrays, Syntax, Examples

You can initialize array in C either one by one or using a single statement as follows:

double balance[5] = {1000.0, 2.0, 3.4, 17.0, 50.0};

The number of values between braces { } can not be larger than the number of elements
that we declare for the array between square brackets [ ]. Following is an example to assign
a single element of the array:

If you omit the size of the array, an array just big enough to hold the initialization is
created. Therefore, if you write:

double balance[] = {1000.0, 2.0, 3.4, 17.0, 50.0};

You will create exactly the same array as you did in the previous example.

balance[4] = 50.0;

The above statement assigns element number 5th in the array a value of 50.0. Array with
4th index will be 5th i.e. last element because all arrays have 0 as the index of their first
element which is also called base index. Following is the pictorial representation of the
same array we discussed above:

Accessing Array Elements, Syntax, Examples

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 72

 An element is accessed by indexing the array name. This is done by placing the index of
the element within square brackets after the name of the array. For example:

double salary = balance[9];

The above statement will take 10th element from the array and assign the value to salary
variable. Following is an example which will use all the above mentioned three concepts
viz. declaration, assignment and accessing arrays:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
int n[ 10 ]; /* n is an array of 10 integers
*/ int i,j;

/* initialize elements of array n to 0

*/ for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ )

{
n[ i ] = i + 100; /* set element at location i to i + 100 */
}

/* output each array element's value

*/ for (j = 0; j < 10; j++ )
{
printf("Element[%d] = %d\n", j, n[j] );
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
Element[0] = 100
Element[1] = 101
Element[2] = 102
Element[3] = 103
Element[4] = 104
Element[5] = 105
Element[6] = 106
Element[7] = 107
Element[8] = 108
Element[9] = 109

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 73

Multidimensional Arrays, Two Dimensional Arrays, Syntax, Examples

C programming language allows multidimensional arrays. Here is the general form of a

multidimensional array declaration:

type name[size1][size2]...[sizeN];

For example, the following declaration creates a three dimensional 5 . 10 . 4 integer array:

int threedim[5][10][4];

Two-Dimensional Arrays

The simplest form of the multidimensional array is the two-dimensional array. A two-
dimensional array is, in essence, a list of one-dimensional arrays. To declare a two-
dimensional integer array of size x, y you would write something as follows:

type arrayName [ x ][ y ];

Where type can be any valid C data type and arrayName will be a valid C identifier. A
two- dimensional array can be think as a table which will have x number of rows and y
number of columns. A 2-dimentional array a, which contains three rows and four columns
can be shown as below:

Thus, every element in array a is identified by an element name of the form a[ i ][ j ],

where a is the name of the array, and i and j are the subscripts that uniquely identify each
element in a.

Initializing Two Dimensional Arrays & Accessing Two Dimensional Array Elements,
Syntax, Examples

Multidimensional arrays may be initialized by specifying bracketed values for each row.
Following is an array with 3 rows and each row has 4 columns.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 74

 int a[3][4] = {
{0, 1, 2, 3} , /* initializers for row indexed by 0 */
{4, 5, 6, 7} , /* initializers for row indexed by 1 */ initializers for row inde
{8, 9, 10, 11} /*
};

The nested braces, which indicate the intended row, are optional. The following
initialization is equivalent to previous example:

int a[3][4] = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11};

Accessing Two-Dimensional Array Elements

An element in 2-dimensional array is accessed by using the subscripts, i.e., row index and
column index of the array. For example:

int val = a[2][3];

The above statement will take 4th element from the 3rd row of the array. You can verify it
in the above diagram. Let us check below program where we have used nested loop to
handle a two dimensional array:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* an array with 5 rows and 2 columns*/

int a[5][2] = { {0,0}, {1,2}, {2,4}, {3,6},{4,8}};

int i, j;

/* output each array element's value

*/ for ( i = 0; i < 5; i++ )
{
for ( j = 0; j < 2; j++ )
{
printf("a[%d][%d] = %d\n", i,j, a[i][j] );
}
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 75

 a[0][0]: 0
a[0][1]: 0
a[1][0]: 1
a[1][1]: 2
a[2][0]: 2
a[2][1]: 4
a[3][0]: 3
a[3][1]: 6
a[4][0]: 4
a[4][1]: 8

As explained above, you can have arrays with any number of dimensions, although it is
likely that most of the arrays you create will be of one or two dimensions.

Passing Arrays to Functions, Syntax, Examples

If you want to pass a single-dimension array as an argument in a function, you would have
to declare function formal parameter in one of following three ways and all three
declaration methods produce similar results because each tells the compiler that an integer
pointer is going to be received. Similar way you can pass multi-dimensional array as
formal parameters.

Way-1

Formal parameters as a pointer as follows. You will study what is pointer in next #.

void myFunction(int *param)

{
.
.
.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 76

 }
Way-2

Formal parameters as a sized array as follows:

void myFunction(int param[10])

{
.
.
.
}

Way-3

Formal parameters as an unsized array as follows:

void myFunction(int param[])

{
.
.
.
}
Example

Now, consider the following function, which will take an array as an argument along with
another argument and based on the passed arguments, it will return average of the numbers
passed through the array as follows:

double getAverage(int arr[], int size)

{
int i;
double
avg;
double
sum;

for (i = 0; i < size; ++i)

{
sum += arr[i];
}

avg = sum /

size; return

Now, let us call the above function as follows:

#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration */
double getAverage(int arr[], int size);

int main ()

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 77

 {
/* an int array with 5 elements */
int balance[5] = {1000, 2, 3, 17,
50}; double avg;

/* pass pointer to the array as an argument

*/ avg = getAverage( balance, 5 ) ;

/* output the returned value */

printf( "Average value is: %f ", avg
);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled together and executed, it produces the following result:

Average value is: 214.400000

As you can see, the length of the array doesn't matter as far as the function is concerned
because C performs no bounds checking for the formal parameters.

Return Array from a Function, Syntax, Examples

C programming language does not allow to return an entire array as an argument to a

function. However, you can return a pointer to an array by specifying the array's name
without an index. You will study pointer in next # so you can skip this # until you
understand the concept of Pointers in C.

If you want to return a single-dimension array from a function, you would have to declare
a function returning a pointer as in the following example:

int * myFunction()
{
.
.
.
}

Second point to remember is that C does not advocate to return the address of a local
variable to outside of the function so you would have to define the local variable
as static variable.

Now, consider the following function which will generate 10 random numbers and return
them using an array and call this function as follows:

#include <stdio.h>

/* function to generate and return random numbers

*/ int * getRandom( )
{
Computer Programming & Utilization
static int (UCT-144)Page 78
r[10]; int i;
 /* set the seed */
srand( (unsigned)time( NULL ) )
; for ( i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
{
r[i] = rand();
printf( "r[%d] = %d\n", i, r[i]);

return r;
}

/* main function to call above defined function

*/ int main ()
{
/* a pointer to an int
*/ int *p;
int i;

p = getRandom();
for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ )
{
printf( "*(p + %d) : %d\n", i, *(p + i));
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled together and executed, it produces result something as
follows:

r[0] = 313959809
r[1] = 1759055877
r[2] = 1113101911
r[3] = 2133832223
r[4] = 2073354073
r[5] = 167288147
r[6] = 1827471542
r[7] = 834791014
r[8] = 1901409888
r[9] = 1990469526
*(p + 0) : 313959809
*(p + 1) : 1759055877
*(p + 2) : 1113101911
*(p + 3) : 2133832223
*(p + 4) : 2073354073
*(p + 5) : 167288147
*(p + 6) : 1827471542
*(p + 7) : 834791014
*(p + 8) : 1901409888
*(p + 9) : 1990469526
Strings, Syntax, Examples

The string in C programming language is actually a one-dimensional array of

characters which is terminated by a null character '\0'. Thus a null-terminated string
contains the characters that comprise the string followed by a null.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 79

 The following declaration and initialization create a string consisting of the word "Hello".
To hold the null character at the end of the array, the size of the character array containing
the string is one more than the number of characters in the word "Hello".

char greeting[6] = {'H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', '\0'};

Memory Allocation of a String, Syntax, Examples

If you follow the rule of array initialization then you can write the above statement as
follows:

char greeting[] = "Hello";

Following is the memory presentation of above-defined string in C/C++:

Actually, you do not place the null character at the end of a string constant. The C compiler
automatically places the '\0' at the end of the string when it initializes the array. Let us try
to print above mentioned string:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
char greeting[6] = {'H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', '\

0'}; printf("Greeting message: %s\n", greeting );

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces result something as follows:

Greeting message: Hello

Built-in String Functions, Syntax, Examples

C supports a wide range of functions that manipulate null-terminated strings:

S Function & Purpose

. strcpy(s1, s2);
1 Copies string s2 into string s1.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 80

 strcat(s1, s2);
2 Concatenates string s2 onto the end of string s1.
3 strlen(s1);
Returns the length of string s1.
4 strcmp(s1, s2);
Returns 0 if s1 and s2 are the same; less than 0 if s1<s2; greater than 0 if
strchr(s1, ch);
5 Returns a pointer to the first occurrence of character ch in string s1.
strstr(s1, s2);
6 Returns a pointer to the first occurrence of string s2 in string s1.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

int main ()
{
char str1[12] =
"Hello"; char str2[12]
= "World"; char
str3[12];
int len ;

/* copy str1 into str3

*/ strcpy(str3, str1);
printf("strcpy( str3, str1) : %s\n", str3 );

/* concatenates str1 and str2

*/ strcat( str1, str2);
printf("strcat( str1, str2): %s\n", str1 );

/* total lenghth of str1 after concatenation

*/ len = strlen(str1);
printf("strlen(str1) : %d\n", len );

return 0;
}
Following example makes use of few of the above-mentioned functions:

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces result something as follows:

strcpy( str3, str1) : Hello

strcat( str1, str2): HelloWorld

strlen(str1) : 10

You can find a complete list of C string related functions in C Standard Library.

Functions
Defining a function, Syntax, Examples, Function Declarations, Syntax, Examples, Calling a
function, Syntax, Examples

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 81

 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.

You can divide up your code into separate functions. How you divide up your code among
different functions is up to you, but logically the division usually is so each function
performs a specific task.

A function declaration tells the compiler about a function's name, return type, and
parameters. A function definition provides the actual body of the function.

The C standard library provides numerous built-in functions that your program can call.
For example, function strcat() to concatenate two strings, function memcpy() to copy one
memory location to another location and many more functions.

A function is known with various names like a method or a sub-routine or a procedure, etc.

Defining a Function

The general form of a function definition in C programming language is as follows:

return_type function_name( parameter list )

{
body of the function
}

A function definition in C programming language consists of a function header and

a function body. Here are all the parts of a function:

 Return Type: A function may return a value. The return_type is the data type of the value
the function returns. Some functions perform the desired operations without returning a
value. In this case, the return_type is the keyword void.
 Function Name: This is the actual name of the function. The function name and the
parameter list together constitute the function signature.
 Parameters: A parameter is like a placeholder. When a function is invoked, you pass a value
to the parameter. This value is referred to as actual parameter or argument. The
parameter list refers to the type, order, and number of the parameters of a function.
Parameters are optional; that is, a function may contain no parameters.
 Function Body: The function body contains a collection of statements that define what the
function does.

Example

Following is the source code for a function called max(). This function takes two
parameters num1 and num2 and returns the maximum between the two:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 82

 /* function returning the max between two numbers
*/ int max(int num1, int num2)
{
/* local variable declaration
*/ int result;

if (num1 > num2)

result =
num1;
else
result = num2;

return result;
}
Function Declarations

A function declaration tells the compiler about a function name and how to call the
function. The actual body of the function can be defined separately.

A function declaration has the following parts:

return_type function_name( parameter list );

For the above defined function max(), following is the function declaration:

int max(int num1, int num2);

Parameter names are not important in function declaration only their type is required, so
following is also valid declaration:

int max(int, int);

Function declaration is required when you define a function in one source file and you call
that function in another file. In such case you should declare the function at the top of the
file calling the function.

Calling a Function

While creating a C function, you give a definition of what the function has to do. To use a
function, you will have to call that function to perform the defined task.

When a program calls a function, program control is transferred to the called function. A
called function performs defined task, and when its return statement is executed or when
its function-ending closing brace is reached, it returns program control back to the main
program.

To call a function, you simply need to pass the required parameters along with function

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 83

 name, and if function returns a value, then you can store returned value. For example:

#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration */
int max(int num1, int
num2);

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 100;
int b =
200; int
ret;

/* calling a function to get max value

*/ ret = max(a, b);

printf( "Max value is : %d\n", ret

); return 0;
}

/* function returning the max between two numbers

*/ int max(int num1, int num2)
{
/* local variable declaration
*/ int result;

if (num1 > num2)

result =
num1;
else
result = num2;

I kept max() function along with main() function and compiled the source code. While
running final executable, it would produce the following result:

Max value is : 200

Function Arguments, Syntax, Examples

Function Arguments

If a function is to use arguments, it must declare variables that accept the values of the
arguments. These variables are called the formal parameters of the function.

The formal parameters behave like other local variables inside the function and are created
upon entry into the function and destroyed upon exit.

Call by Value, Syntax, Examples

While calling a function, there are two ways that arguments can be passed to a function:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 84

 Function call by value

The call by value method of passing arguments to a function copies the actual value of an
argument into the formal parameter of the function. In this case, changes made to the
parameter inside the function have no effect on the argument.

By default, C programming language uses call by value method to pass arguments. In

general, this means that code within a function cannot alter the arguments used to call the
function. Consider the function swap() definition as follows.

/* function definition to swap the values

*/ void swap(int x, int y)
{
int temp;

temp = x; /* save the value of x

*/ x = y; /* put y into x */
y = temp; /* put x into y */

return;
}

Now, let us call the function swap() by passing actual values as in the following example:

#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration
*/ void swap(int x, int
y);

int main ()
{
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 100;
int b = 200;

printf("Before swap, value of a : %d\n", a

); printf("Before swap, value of b : %d\n",
b );

/* calling a function to swap the values

*/ swap(a, b);

printf("After swap, value of a : %d\n", a

); printf("After swap, value of b : %d\n",
b );

Let us put above code in a single C file, compile and execute it, it will produce the
following result:

After swap, value of a :100

After swap, value of b :200

Which shows that there is no change in the values though they had been changed inside the

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 85

 function.

Before swap, value of a :100

Before swap, value of b :200

Call by Reference, syntax, Examples

The call by reference method of passing arguments to a function copies the address of an
argument into the formal parameter. Inside the function, the address is used to access the
actual argument used in the call. This means that changes made to the parameter affect the
passed argument.

To pass the value by reference, argument pointers are passed to the functions just like any
other value. So accordingly you need to declare the function parameters as pointer types as
in the following function swap(), which exchanges the values of the two integer variables
pointed to by its arguments.

/* function definition to swap the values

*/ void swap(int *x, int *y)
#include <stdio.h>
{
int temp;
/* function declaration
temp = *x; /* save the value at address x */
*/ void swap(int *x, int
*x = *y; /* put y into x */
*y);
*y = temp; /* put x into y */
int main ()
return;
{
}
/* local variable definition
*/ int a = 100;
int b = 200;

printf("Before swap, value of a : %d\n", a

); printf("Before swap, value of b : %d\n",
b );

/* calling a function to swap the values.

* &a indicates pointer to a ie. address of variable a and
* &b indicates pointer to b ie. address of variable b.
*/
swap(&a, &b);

printf("After swap, value of a : %d\n", a

); printf("After swap, value of b : %d\n",
b );
return 0;
Let us call the function swap() by passing values by reference as in the following example:
Let us put above code in a single C file, compile and execute it, it will produce the following
result:

Before swap, value of

a :100 Before swap, value
of b :200 After swap, value
of a :200
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 86
 Which shows that there is no change in the values though they had been changed inside the
function.

Recursive Function, Syntax, Examples

Recursion is the process of repeating items in a self-similar way. Same applies in
programming languages as well where if a programming allows you to call a function
inside the same function that is called recursive call of the function as follows.

void recursion()
{
recursion(); /* function calls itself */
}

int main()
{
recursion();
}

The C programming language supports recursion, i.e., a function to call itself. But while
using recursion, programmers need to be careful to define an exit condition from the
function, otherwise it will go in infinite loop.

Recursive function are very useful to solve many mathematical problems like to calculate
factorial of a number, generating Fibonacci series, etc.

Number Factorial

Following is an example, which calculates factorial for a given number using a recursive
function:

#include <stdio.h>

int factorial(unsigned int i)

{
if(i <= 1)
{
return 1;
}
return i * factorial(i - 1);
}
int main()

{
int i = 15;
printf("Factorial of %d is %d\n", i,
factorial(i)); return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 87

 Factorial of 15 is 2004310016

Fibonacci Series

Following is another example, which generates Fibonacci series for a given number using a
recursive function:

#include <stdio.h>

int fibonaci(int i)
{
if(i == 0)
{
return 0;
}
if(i == 1)
{
return 1;
}
return fibonaci(i-1) + fibonaci(i-2);
}

int main()
{
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 10; i++)
{
printf("%d\t%n", fibonaci(i));
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34

Predefined Macros, Parameterized Macros, Syntax, Examples

ANSI C defines a number of macros. Although each one is available for your use in
programming, the predefined macros should not be directly modified.

Macro Description
DATE The current date as a character literal in "MMM DD YYYY"
TIME format
The current time as a character literal in "HH:MM:SS" format
FILE This contains the current filename as a string literal.
LINE This contains the current line number as a decimal constant.
STDC Defined as 1 when the compiler complies with the ANSI
standard.
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 88
 Let's try the following example:

#include <stdio.h>

main()

{
printf("File :%s\n", FILE );
printf("Date :%s\n", DATE );
printf("Time :%s\n", TIME );
printf("Line :%d\n", LINE );
printf("ANSI :%d\n", STDC );

When the above code in a file test.c is compiled and executed, it produces the following
result:

File :test.c
Date :Jun 2
2012
Time :03:36:24
Line :8

Preprocessor Operators

The C preprocessor offers following operators to help you in creating macros:

Macro Continuation (\)

A macro usually must be contained on a single line. The macro continuation operator is
used to continue a macro that is too long for a single line. For example:

#define message_for(a, b) \
printf(#a " and " #b ": We love you!\n")

Stringize (#)

The stringize or number-sign operator ('#'), when used within a macro definition, converts
a macro parameter into a string constant. This operator may be used only in a macro that
has a specified argument or parameter list. For example:

#include <stdio.h>

#define message_for(a, b) \
printf(#a " and " #b ": We love you!\n")

int main(void)
{
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page
message_for(Carole, Debra); 89
return 0;
}
 When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Carole and Debra: We love you!

Token Pasting (##)

The token-pasting operator (##) within a macro definition combines two arguments. It
permits two separate tokens in the macro definition to be joined into a single token. For
example:

#include <stdio.h>

#define tokenpaster(n) printf ("token" #n " = %d", token##n)

int main(void)
{
int token34 = 40;

tokenpaster(34);
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

token34 = 40

How it happened, because this example results in the following actual output from the
preprocessor:

printf ("token34 = %d", token34);

This example shows the concatenation of token into token34 and here we have used both
stringize and token-pasting.

The defined() Operator

The preprocessor defined operator is used in constant expressions to determine if an

identifier is defined using #define. If the specified identifier is defined, the value is true
(non-zero). If the symbol is not defined, the value is false (zero). The defined operator is
specified as follows:

#include <stdio.h>

#if !defined (MESSAGE)

#define MESSAGE "You wish!"
#endif

int main(void)
{
Computer Programming & Utilization is
printf("Here (UCT-144)Page
the message:90%s\n", MESSAGE);
return 0;
}
 When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Here is the message: You wish!

Parameterized Macros

One of the powerful functions of the CPP is the ability to simulate functions using
parameterized macros. For example, we might have some code to square a number as
follows:

int square(int x) {
return x * x;
}

We can rewrite above code using a macro as follows:

#define square(x) ((x) * (x))

Macros with arguments must be defined using the #define directive before they can be
used. The argument list is enclosed in parentheses and must immediately follow the macro
name. Spaces are not allowed between and macro name and open parenthesis. For
example:

#include <stdio.h>

#define MAX(x,y) ((x) > (y) ? (x) : (y))

int main(void)
{
printf("Max between 20 and 10 is %d\n", MAX(10, 20));
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Max between 20 and 10 is 20

Preprocessing, Preprocessor Operators, Examples

A header file is a file with extension .h which contains C function declarations and
macro definitions and to be shared between several source files. There are two types of
header files: the files that the programmer writes and the files that come with your
compiler.

You request the use of a header file in your program by including it, with the C
preprocessing directive #include like you have seen inclusion of stdio.h header file. which

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 91

 comes along with your compiler.

Including a header file is equal to copying the content of the header file but we do not do it
because it will be very much error-prone and it is not a good idea to copy the content of
header file in the source files, specially if we have multiple source file comprising our
program.

A simple practice in C or C++ programs is that we keep all the constants, macros, system
wide global variables, and function prototypes in header files and include that header file
wherever it is required.

Include Syntax

Both user and system header files are included using the preprocessing directive #include.
It has following two forms:

#include <file>

This form is used for system header files. It searches for a file named file in a standard list
of system directories. You can prepend directories to this list with the -I option while
compiling your source code.

#include "file"

This form is used for header files of your own program. It searches for a file named file in
the directory containing the current file. You can prepend directories to this list with the -I
option while compiling your source code.

Include Operation

The #include directive works by directing the C preprocessor to scan the specified file as
input before continuing with the rest of the current source file. The output from the
preprocessor contains the output already generated, followed by the output resulting from
the included file, followed by the output that comes from the text after the
#include directive. For example, if you have a header file header.h as follows:

char *test (void);

and a main program called program.c that uses the header file, like this:

int x;
#include "header.h"

int main (void)

{
puts (test ());
}
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 92
 the compiler will see the same token stream as it would if program.c read

int x;
char *test (void);

int main (void)

{
puts (test ());
}

Once-Only Headers

If a header file happens to be included twice, the compiler will process its contents twice
and will result an error. The standard way to prevent this is to enclose the entire real
contents of the file in a conditional, like this:

#ifndef HEADER_FILE
#define HEADER_FILE

the entire header file file

#endif

This construct is commonly known as a wrapper #ifndef. When the header is included
again, the conditional will be false, because HEADER_FILE is defined. The preprocessor
will skip over the entire contents of the file, and the compiler will not see it twice.

Computed Includes

Sometimes it is necessary to select one of several different header files to be included into
your program. They might specify configuration parameters to be used on different sorts of
operating systems, for instance. You could do this with a series of conditionals as follows:

#if SYSTEM_1
# include "system_1.h"
#elif SYSTEM_2
# include "system_2.h"
#elif SYSTEM_3
...
#endif

But as it grows, it becomes tedious, instead the preprocessor offers the ability to use a
macro for the header name. This is called a computed include. Instead of writing a header
name as the direct argument of #include, you simply put a macro name there instead:

#define SYSTEM_H "system_1.h"

...
#include SYSTEM_H

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 93

 SYSTEM_H will be expanded, and the preprocessor will look for system_1.h as if
the #include had been written that way originally. SYSTEM_H could be defined by your
Makefile with a -D option.

Pointers
Pointers, Use, Syntax, Examples
Pointers in C are easy and fun to learn. Some C programming tasks are performed
more easily with pointers, and other tasks, such as dynamic memory allocation, cannot be
performed without using pointers. So it becomes necessary to learn pointers to become a
perfect C programmer. Let's start learning them in simple and easy steps.

As you know, every variable is a memory location and every memory location has its
address defined which can be accessed using ampersand (&) operator, which denotes an
address in memory.

Consider the following example, which will print the address of the variables defined:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
int var1;
char
var2[10];

printf("Address of var1 variable: %x\n", &var1

)
; printf("Address of var2 variable: %x\n", &var2
)
;

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces result something as follows:

Address of var1 variable: bff5a400

Address of var2 variable: bff5a3f6

So you understood what is memory address and how to access it, so base of the concept is
over. Now let us see what is a pointer.

What Are Pointers?

A pointer is a variable whose value is the address of another variable, i.e., direct address of
the memory location. Like any variable or constant, you must declare a pointer before you
can use it to store any variable address. The general form of a pointer variable declaration
is:

type *var-name;

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 94

 Here, type is the pointer's base type; it must be a valid C data type and var-name is the
name of the pointer variable. The asterisk * you used to declare a pointer is the same
asterisk that you use for multiplication. However, in this statement the asterisk is being
used to designate a variable as a pointer. Following are the valid pointer declaration:

int *ip; /* pointer to an integer */

double *dp; /* pointer to a double */
float*fp; char /* pointer to a float */
*ch /* pointer to a character */

The actual data type of the value of all pointers, whether integer, float, character, or
otherwise, is the same, a long hexadecimal number that represents a memory address. The
only difference between pointers of different data types is the data type of the variable or
constant that the pointer points to.

How to use Pointers?

There are few important operations, which we will do with the help of pointers very
frequently. (a) we define a pointer variable (b) assign the address of a variable to a pointer
and (c) finally access the value at the address available in the pointer variable. This is done
by using unary operator * that returns the value of the variable located at the address
specified by its operand. Following example makes use of these operations:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
int var = 20; /* actual variable declaration */
int *ip; /* pointer variable declaration
*/

ip = &var; /* store address of var in pointer

variable*/ printf("Address of var variable: %x\n", &var

);

/* address stored in pointer variable */

printf("Address stored in ip variable: %x\n", ip
);

/* access the value using the pointer */

printf("Value of *ip variable: %d\n", *ip

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces result something as follows:

Address of var variable: bffd8b3c

Address stored in ip variable:
bffd8b3c

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 95

Null Pointers, Syntax, Examples

It is always a good practice to assign a NULL value to a pointer variable in case you do
not have exact address to be assigned. This is done at the time of variable declaration. A
pointer that is assigned NULL is called a null pointer.

The NULL pointer is a constant with a value of zero defined in several standard libraries.
Consider the following program:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
int *ptr = NULL;

printf("The value of ptr is : %x\n", &ptr

; return 0;

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

The value of ptr is 0

On most of the operating systems, programs are not permitted to access memory at address
0 because that memory is reserved by the operating system. However, the memory address
0 has special significance; it signals that the pointer is not intended to point to an accessible
memory location. But by convention, if a pointer contains the null (zero) value, it is
assumed to point to nothing.

To check for a null pointer you can use an if statement as follows:

if(ptr) /* succeeds if p is not null */

if(!ptr) /* succeeds if p is null */

Pointer Arithmetic, Incrementing a Pointer, Decrementing a Pointer, Syntax, Examples

C pointer is an address, which is a numeric value. Therefore, you can perform arithmetic
operations on a pointer just as you can a numeric value. There are four arithmetic operators
that can be used on pointers: ++, --, +, and -

To understand pointer arithmetic, let us consider that ptr is an integer pointer which points
to the address 1000. Assuming 32-bit integers, let us perform the following arithmetic
operation on the pointer:

ptr++

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 96

 Now, after the above operation, the ptr will point to the location 1004 because each time
ptr is incremented, it will point to the next integer location which is 4 bytes next to the
current location. This operation will move the pointer to next memory location without
impacting actual value at the memory location. If ptr points to a character whose address
is 1000, then above operation will point to the location 1001 because next character will be
available at 1001.

Incrementing a Pointer

We prefer using a pointer in our program instead of an array because the variable pointer
can be incremented, unlike the array name which cannot be incremented because it is a
constant pointer. The following program increments the variable pointer to access each
succeeding element of the array:

#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX =

3; int main ()
{
int var[] = {10, 100, 200};
int i, *ptr;

/* let us have array address in pointer

*/ ptr = var;
for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++)
{

printf("Address of var[%d] = %x\n", i, ptr

); printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr
);

/* move to the next location

*/ ptr++;
}
return 0;
}
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces result something as follows:

Address of var[0] =
bf882b30 Value of var[0] =
10
Address of var[1] =
bf882b34 Value of var[1] =
100 Address of var[2] =

Decrementing a Pointer
bf882b38

The same considerations apply to decrementing a pointer, which decreases its value by the
number of bytes of its data type as shown below:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 97

 #include <stdio.h>

const int MAX =

3; int main ()
{
int var[] = {10, 100, 200};
int i, *ptr;

/* let us have array address in pointer

*/ ptr = &var[MAX-1];
for ( i = MAX; i > 0; i--)
{

printf("Address of var[%d] = %x\n", i, ptr

); printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr
);

/* move to the previous location

*/ ptr--;
}
return 0;
}
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces result something as follows:

Address of var[3] =
bfedbcd8 Value of var[3] =
200 Address of var[2] =
bfedbcd4 Value of var[2] =
100 Address of var[1] =
bfedbcd0

Pointer Comparisons, Syntax, Examples

Pointers may be compared by using relational operators, such as ==, <, and >. If p1 and p2
point to variables that are related to each other, such as elements of the same array, then p1
and p2 can be meaningfully compared.

The following program modifies the previous example one by incrementing the variable
pointer so long as the address to which it points is either less than or equal to the address of
the last element of the array, which is &var[MAX - 1]:

#include <stdio.h>

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 98

 const int MAX = 3;

int main ()
{
int var[] = {10, 100, 200};
int i, *ptr;

/* let us have address of the first element in pointer

*/ ptr = var;
i = 0;
while ( ptr <= &var[MAX - 1] )
{

printf("Address of var[%d] = %x\n", i, ptr

); printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr
);

/* point to the previous location

*/ ptr++;
i++;
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces result something as follows:

Address of var[0] =
bfdbcb20 Value of var[0] =
10 Address of var[1] =
bfdbcb24 Value of var[1] =
100 Address of var[2] =
bfdbcb28 Value of var[2] =
200

Pointer to an Array, Syntax, Examples

It is most likely that you would not understand this # until you are through the # related to
Pointers in C.

So assuming you have bit understanding on pointers in C programming language, let us

start: An array name is a constant pointer to the first element of the array. Therefore, in the
declaration:

double balance[50];

balance is a pointer to &balance[0], which is the address of the first element of the array
balance. Thus, the following program fragment assigns p the address of the first element
of balance:

double *p;
double balance[10];

p = balance;

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 99

 It is legal to use array names as constant pointers, and vice versa. Therefore, *(balance +
4) is a legitimate way of accessing the data at balance[4].

Once you store the address of first element in p, you can access array elements using *p,
*(p+1), *(p+2) and so on. Below is the example to show all the concepts discussed above:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* an array with 5 elements */
double balance[5] = {1000.0, 2.0, 3.4, 17.0, 50.0};
double
*p; int
i;

p = balance;

/* output each array element's value */

printf( "Array values using pointer\
n"); for ( i = 0; i < 5; i++ )
{
printf("*(p + %d) : %f\n", i, *(p + i) );
}

printf( "Array values using balance as address\

n"); for ( i = 0; i < 5; i++ )
{
printf("*(balance + %d) : %f\n", i, *(balance + i) );
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 100

 Array values using pointer
*(p + 0) : 1000.000000
*(p + 1) : 2.000000
*(p + 2) : 3.400000
*(p + 3) : 17.000000
*(p + 4) : 50.000000
Array values using balance as address
*(balance + 0) : 1000.000000
*(balance + 1) : 2.000000
*(balance + 2) : 3.400000
*(balance + 3) : 17.000000
*(balance + 4) : 50.000000

In the above example, p is a pointer to double, which means it can store address of a
variable of double type. Once we have address in p, then *p will give us value available at
the address stored in p, as we have shown in the above example.

Array of Pointers, Syntax, Examples

Before we understand the concept of arrays of pointers, let us consider the following
example, which makes use of an array of 3 integers:

#include

<stdio.h> const

int MAX = 3;

int main ()
{
int var[] = {10, 100, 200};
int i;

for (i = 0; i < MAX; i++)

{
printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, var[i] );
}
return 0;

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 101

 When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of var[0] = 10
Value of var[1] =
100

There may be a situation when we want to maintain an array, which can store pointers to
an int or char or any other data type available. Following is the declaration of an array of
pointers to an integer:

int *ptr[MAX];

This declares ptr as an array of MAX integer pointers. Thus, each element in ptr, now
holds a pointer to an int value. Following example makes use of three integers, which will
be stored in an array of pointers as follows:

#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX =

3; int main ()
{
int var[] = {10, 100, 200};
int i, *ptr[MAX];

for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++)

{
ptr[i] = &var[i]; /* assign the address of integer. */
}
for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++)
{
printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr[i] );
}
return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of var[0] = 10
Value of var[1] =
100

You can also use an array of pointers to character to store a list of strings as follows:

#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX =

4; int main ()
Computer Programming
{ & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 102
char *names[] = {
 "Zara
Ali",
"Hina
Ali",
"Nuha
Ali",
"Sara
Ali",
};
int i = 0;

for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++)

{
printf("Value of names[%d] = %s\n", i, names[i] );

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of names[0] = Zara

Ali Value of names[1] =
Hina Ali Value of names[2]
= Nuha Ali

Pointer to pointer, Syntax, Examples

A pointer to a pointer is a form of multiple indirection, or a chain of pointers. Normally, a

pointer contains the address of a variable. When we define a pointer to a pointer, the first
pointer contains the address of the second pointer, which points to the location that
contains the actual value as shown below.

A variable that is a pointer to a pointer must be declared as such. This is done by placing
an additional asterisk in front of its name. For example, following is the declaration to
declare a pointer to a pointer of type int:

int **var;

When a target value is indirectly pointed to by a pointer to a pointer, accessing that value
requires that the asterisk operator be applied twice, as is shown below in the example:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
int var;
int *ptr;
int

**pptr;
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 103
 /* take the address of var
*/ ptr = &var;

/* take the address of ptr using address of operator &

*/ pptr = &ptr;

/* take the value using pptr */

printf("Value of var = %d\n", var
);
printf("Value available at *ptr = %d\n", *ptr );
printf("Value available at **pptr = %d\n",
**pptr);

return 0;

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Value of var = 3000

Value available at *ptr = 3000
Value available at **pptr =
3000

Passing Pointers to Functions, Syntax, Examples

C programming language allows you to pass a pointer to a function. To do so, simply

declare the function parameter as a pointer type.

Following a simple example where we pass an unsigned long pointer to a function and
change the value inside the function which reflects back in the calling function:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

void getSeconds(unsigned long

*par); int main ()

{
unsigned long sec;

getSeconds( &sec );

/* print the actual value */

printf("Number of seconds: %ld\n", sec
);

return 0;
}

void getSeconds(unsigned long *par)

{
/* get the current number of seconds */
*par = time( NULL
); return;
}

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 104

 When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Number of seconds :1294450468

The function, which can accept a pointer, can also accept an array as shown in the
following example:

#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration */
double getAverage(int *arr, int size);

int main ()
{
/* an int array with 5 elements */
int balance[5] = {1000, 2, 3, 17,
50}; double avg;

/* pass pointer to the array as an argument

*/ avg = getAverage( balance, 5 ) ;

/* output the returned value */

printf("Average value is: %f\n", avg
);

return 0;
}

double getAverage(int *arr, int size)

{
int i, sum =
0; double avg;

for (i = 0; i < size; ++i)

{
sum += arr[i];
}

avg = (double)sum /

size; return avg;

}

When the above code is compiled together and executed, it produces the following result:

Average value is: 214.40000

Return Pointer from Functions, Syntax, Examples

C allows you to return a pointer from a function. To do so, you would have to declare a
function returning a pointer as in the following example:

int * myFunction()
{

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 105

 .
.
.
}

Second point to remember is that, it is not good idea to return the address of a local
variable to outside of the function so you would have to define the local variable
as static variable.

Now, consider the following function, which will generate 10 random numbers and returns
them using an array name which represents a pointer, i.e., address of first array element.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

/* function to generate and retrun random numbers.

*/ int * getRandom( )
{
static int

r[10]; int i;

/* set the seed */

srand( (unsigned)time( NULL ) )
; for ( i = 0; i < 10; ++i)
{
r[i] = rand();
printf("%d\n",
r[i] );
}

return r;
}

/* main function to call above defined function

*/ int main ()
{
/* a pointer to an int
*/ int *p;
int i;

p = getRandom();
for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ )
{
printf("*(p + [%d]) : %d\n", i, *(p + i) );
}

return 0;

When the above code is compiled together and executed, it produces result something as
follows:

1523198053
1187214107
1108300978
430494959
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 106
 UNIT-3
Structure

Defining a Structure, Syntax, Examples

C arrays allow you to define type of variables that can hold several data items of the same
kind but structure is another user defined data type available in C programming, which
allows you to combine data items of different kinds.

Structures are used to represent a record, suppose you want to keep track of your books in
a library. You might want to track the following attributes about each book:

 Title

 Author

 Subject

 Book ID
Defining a Structure

To define a structure, you must use the struct statement. The struct statement defines a
new data type, with more than one member for your program. The format of the struct
statement is this:

struct [structure tag]

{
member
definition;
member
definition;
...
member definition;

The structure tag is optional and each member definition is a normal variable definition,
such as int i; or float f; or any other valid variable definition. At the end of the structure's
definition, before the final semicolon, you can specify one or more structure variables but
it is optional. Here is the way you would declare the Book structure:

struct Books
{

char title[50];
char author[50];
char

subject[100]; int
book_id;

Accessing Structure Members, Syntax, Examples

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 107

 #include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

struct Books
{
chartitle[50]; charauthor[50]; charsubject[100]; intbook_id;
};

int main( )
{
struct Books Book1; struct Books Book2;

/* Declare Book1 of type Book */

/* Declare Book2 of type Book */

/* book 1 specification */
strcpy( Book1.title, "C Programming"); strcpy( Book1.author, "Nuha Ali");
strcpy( Book1.subject, "C Programming Tutorial"); Book1.book_id = 6495407;

/* book 2 specification */
strcpy( Book2.title, "Telecom Billing"); strcpy( Book2.author, "Zara Ali");
strcpy( Book2.subject, "Telecom Billing Tutorial"); Book2.book_id = 6495700;

/* print Book1 info */

printf( "Book 1 title : %s\n", Book1.title); printf( "Book 1 author : %s\n",

/* print Book2 info */

printf( "Book 2 title : %s\n", Book2.title); printf( "Book 2 author : %s\n",

return 0;

To access any member of a structure, we use the member access operator (.). The member
access operator is coded as a period between the structure variable name and the structure
member that we wish to access. You would use struct keyword to define variables of
structure type. Following is the example to explain usage of structure:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 108

 When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Book 1 title : C Programming

1 author
Book Book Book :Book
NuhaBook
Ali Book
Book 1
1
subject : C Programming Tutorial
2
book_id title
: 6495407
:
2
Telecom Billing
2
2
author : Zara Ali
subject : Telecom Billing Tutorial book_id : 6495700

Structures as Function Arguments, Syntax, Examples

You can pass a structure as a function argument in very similar way as you pass any other
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

struct Books
{
char title[50];
char author[50];
char

subject[100]; int
book_id;
};

/* function declaration */
void printBook( struct Books book
); int main( )
{
struct Books Book1; /* Declare Book1 of type Book */
struct Books Book2; /* Declare Book2 of type Book */

/* book 1 specification */
strcpy( Book1.title, "C
Programming"); strcpy( Book1.author,
"Nuha Ali");
strcpy( Book1.subject, "C Programming
Tutorial"); Book1.book_id = 6495407;

/* book 2 specification */
strcpy( Book2.title, "Telecom
Billing"); strcpy( Book2.author, "Zara
Ali");
strcpy( Book2.subject, "Telecom Billing
Tutorial"); Book2.book_id = 6495700;

/* print Book1 info */

variable or pointer. You would access structure variables in the similar way as you have accessed
in the above example:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 109

 printBook( Book2 );

return 0;
}
void printBook( struct Books book )
{
printf( "Book title : %s\n", book.title);
printf( "Book author : %s\n", book.author);
printf( "Book subject : %s\n",
book.subject); printf( "Book book_id : %d\
n", book.book_id);
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Book title : C
Programming Book author :
Nuha Ali
Book subject : C Programming
Tutorial Book book_id : 6495407
Book title : Telecom
Billing Book author : Zara
Ali

Pointer to Structures, Syntax, Examples

You can define pointers to structures in very similar way as you define pointer to any other
variable as follows:

struct Books *struct_pointer;

Now, you can store the address of a structure variable in the above defined pointer
variable. To find the address of a structure variable, place the & operator before the
structure's name as follows:

struct_pointer = &Book1;

To access the members of a structure using a pointer to that structure, you must use the
-> operator as follows:

struct_pointer->title;

Let us re-write above example using structure pointer, hope this will be easy for you to
understand the concept:

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 110

 #include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

struct Books
{
char title[50];
char author[50];
char

subject[100]; int
book_id;
};

/* function declaration */
void printBook( struct Books *book
); int main( )
{
struct Books Book1; /* Declare Book1 of type Book */
struct Books Book2; /* Declare Book2 of type Book */

/* book 1 specification */
strcpy( Book1.title, "C
Programming"); strcpy( Book1.author,
"Nuha Ali");
strcpy( Book1.subject, "C Programming
Tutorial"); Book1.book_id = 6495407;

/* book 2 specification */
strcpy( Book2.title, "Telecom
Billing"); strcpy( Book2.author, "Zara
Ali");
strcpy( Book2.subject, "Telecom Billing
Tutorial"); Book2.book_id = 6495700;

/* print Book1 info by passing address of Book1 */

printBook( &Book1 );

/* print Book2 info by passing address of Book2 */

printBook( &Book2 );

return 0;
}
void printBook( struct Books *book )
{
printf( "Book title : %s\n", book->title);
printf( "Book author : %s\n", book->author);

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:

Book title : C
Programming Book author :
Nuha Ali
Book subject : C Programming
Tutorial Book book_id : 6495407

Book title : Telecom Billing

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 111
 Dynamic memory allocation
Allocating Memory Dynamically- malloc and calloc, , Syntax, Examples

The C programming language provides several functions for memory allocation and
management. These functions can be found in the<stdlib.h> header file.

S Function and Description

. void *calloc(int num, int size);
1 This function allocates an array of num elements each of whose size in
2 void free(void *address);
This function release a block of memory block specified by address.
void *malloc(int num);
3 This function allocates an array of num bytes and leave them initialized.
void *realloc(void *address, int newsize);
4 This function re-allocates memory extending it upto newsize.
Allocating Memory Dynamically

While doing programming, if you are aware about the size of an array, then it is easy and
you can define it as an array. For example to store a name of any person, it can go max 100
characters so you can define something as follows:

char name[100];

But now let us consider a situation where you have no idea about the length of the text you
need to store, for example you want to store a detailed description about a topic. Here we
need to define a pointer to character without defining how much memory is required and
later based on requirement we can allocate memory as shown in the below example:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

int main()
{
char name[100];

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 112

 char *description;

strcpy(name, "Zara

Ali");

/* allocate memory dynamically */

description = malloc( 200 *
sizeof(char) ); if( description == NULL )
{
fprintf(stderr, "Error - unable to allocate
required memory\n");
}
else
{
strcpy( description, "Zara ali a DPS student in class 10th");
}
printf("Name = %s\n", name );
printf("Description: %s\n", description

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result.

Name = Zara Ali

Description: Zara ali a DPS student in class 10th

Same program can be written using calloc() only thing you need to replace malloc with
calloc as follows:

calloc(200, sizeof(char));

So you have complete control and you can pass any size value while allocating memory
unlike arrays where once you defined the size can not be changed.

Resizing and Releasing Memory, Syntax, Examples

When your program comes out, operating system automatically release all the memory
allocated by your program but as a good practice when you are not in need of memory
anymore then you should release that memory by calling the function free().

Alternatively, you can increase or decrease the size of an allocated memory block by
calling the functionrealloc(). Let us check the above program once again and make use of
realloc() and free() functions:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>

int main()
{
char name[100];
char
Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 113
*description;
 strcpy(name, "Zara Ali");

/* allocate memory dynamically */

description = malloc( 30 *
sizeof(char) ); if( description == NULL )
{
fprintf(stderr, "Error - unable to allocate
required memory\n");
}
else
{
strcpy( description, "Zara ali a DPS student.");
}
/* suppose you want to store bigger description */
description = realloc( description, 100 *
sizeof(char) ); if( description == NULL )
{
fprintf(stderr, "Error - unable to allocate
required memory\n");
}
else
{
strcat( description, "She is in class 10th");
}

printf("Name = %s\n", name );

printf("Description: %s\n", description
);

/* release memory using free() function

*/ free(description);
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result.

Name = Zara Ali

Description: Zara ali a DPS student.She is in class 10th

You can try above example without re-allocating extra memory and strcat() function will
give an error due to lack of available memory in description.

File management

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 114

Opening Files, Syntax, Examples

You can use the fopen( ) function to create a new file or to open an existing file, this call
will initialize an object of the type FILE, which contains all the information necessary to
control the stream. Following is the prototype of this function call:

FILE *fopen( const char * filename, const char * mode );

Here, filename is string literal, which you will use to name your file and access mode can
have one of the following values:

M Description
o
r Opens an existing text file for reading purpose.

Opens a text file for writing, if it does not exist then a new file is
w created. Here your program will start writing content from the
beginning of the file.
Opens a text file for writing in appending mode, if it does not exist then
a a new file is created. Here your program will start appending content in
the existing file content.
r Opens a text file for reading and writing both.
+
w Opens a text file for reading and writing both. It first truncate the file to
+ zero length if it exists otherwise create the file if it does not exist.

Opens a text file for reading and writing both. It creates the file if it
a does not exist. The reading will start from the beginning but writing can
+ only be appended.

If you are going to handle binary files then you will use below mentioned access modes
instead of the above mentioned:

"rb", "wb", "ab", "rb+", "r+b", "wb+", "w+b", "ab+", "a+b"

Closing a File, Syntax, Examples

To close a file, use the fclose( ) function. The prototype of this function is:

int fclose( FILE *fp );

The fclose( ) function returns zero on success, or EOF if there is an error in closing the file.
This function actually, flushes any data still pending in the buffer to the file, closes the file,

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 115

 and releases any memory used for the file. The EOF is a constant defined in the header
file stdio.h.

There are various functions provide by C standard library to read and write a file character
by character or in the form of a fixed length string. Let us see few of the in the next
section.

Writing a File, Syntax, Examples

Following is the simplest function to write individual characters to a stream:

int fputc( int c, FILE *fp );

The function fputc() writes the character value of the argument c to the output stream
referenced by fp. It returns the written character written on success otherwise EOF if there
is an error. You can use the following functions to write a null-terminated string to a
stream:

int fputs( const char *s, FILE *fp );

The function fputs() writes the string s to the output stream referenced by fp. It returns a
non-negative value on success, otherwise EOF is returned in case of any error. You can
use int fprintf(FILE *fp,const char *format, ...) function as well to write a string into a file.
Try the following example:

#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
FILE *fp;

fp = fopen("/tmp/test.txt", "w+");
fprintf(fp, "This is testing for fprintf...\
n"); fputs("This is testing for fputs...\n",
fp); fclose(fp);
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it creates a new file test.txt in /tmp
directory and writes two lines using two different functions. Let us read this file in next
section.

Reading a File, Syntax, Examples

Following is the simplest function to read a single character from a file:

int fgetc( FILE * fp );

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 116

 The fgetc() function reads a character from the input file referenced by fp. The return value
is the character read, or in case of any error it returns EOF. The following functions allow
you to read a string from a stream:

char *fgets( char *buf, int n, FILE *fp );

The functions fgets() reads up to n - 1 characters from the input stream referenced by fp. It
copies the read string into the buffer buf, appending a null character to terminate the string.

If this function encounters a newline character '\n' or the end of the file EOF before they
have read the maximum number of characters, then it returns only the characters read up to
that point including new line character. You can also use int fscanf(FILE *fp, const char
*format, ...) function to read strings from a file but it stops reading after the first space
#include <stdio.h>

main()
{
FILE *fp;
char buff[100];

fp = fopen("/tmp/test.txt",
"r"); fscanf(fp, "%s", buff);
printf("1 : %s\n", buff );

fgets(buff, 255,
(FILE*)fp); printf("2: %s\
n", buff );

fgets(buff, 255,
(FILE*)fp); printf("3: %s\
n", buff ); fclose(fp);

}
character encounters.

When the above code is compiled and executed, it reads the file created in previous section
and produces the following result:

1 : This
2: is testing for fprintf...

3: This is testing for fputs...

Let's see a little more detail about what happened here. First fscanf() method read just
This because after that it encountered a space, second call is for fgets() which read the
remaining line till it encountered end of line. Finally last call fgets() read second line
completely.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 117

Binary I/O Functions, Syntax, Examples

There are following two functions, which can be used for binary input and output:
Both of these functions should be used to read or write blocks of memories - usually arrays
size_t fread(void *ptr, size_t size_of_elements,
size_t number_of_elements, FILE *a_file);

size_t fwrite(const void *ptr, size_t size_of_elements,

size_t number_of_elements, FILE *a_file);
or structures.

Computer Programming & Utilization (UCT-144)Page 118