CSE 06131223  CSE 06131224

Structured Programming
Lecture 5
Overview of C Language

Prepared by________________________________
Md. Mijanur Rahman, Prof. Dr.
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Bangladesh
www.mijanrahman.com
 Contents
OVERVIEW OF C LANGUAGE

• The C Programming Language • How C Programming Language Works?

• History of the C Language • C Environment
• Features of C Language • Key Uses and Applications
• Preparing to C Program • Why Learn C Language?
• The C Development Cycle • Sample C Programs
• Your First C Program

Overview of C Language 2
 C Programming Language
• C is a general-purpose, high-level language that was originally developed by Dennis M. Ritchie
to develop the UNIX operating system at Bell Labs in 1972.
• ‘C’ programming language contains all the features of the earlier languages:
‘ALGOL’, ‘BCPL’ and ‘B’.
• C is extremely popular, simple, and flexible to use.
• C is a structured programming language that is machine-independent and extensively used to
write various applications, Operating Systems like Windows, and many other complex
programs like Oracle database, Git, Python interpreter, and more.

Overview of C Language 3
 C Programming Language
• C was invented to write an operating system called UNIX. The UNIX operating system, the C
compiler, and essentially all UNIX application programs have been written in C.
• Today ‘C’ runs under a variety of operating systems and hardware platforms.
• Today C is the most widely used and popular System Programming Language. Most of the
state-of-the-art software have been implemented using C.
• Thus, C is a base for the programming. If you know ‘C,’ you can easily grasp the knowledge of
the other programming languages that uses the concept of ‘C’.

Overview of C Language 4
 C Programming Language
• C has now become a widely used professional language for various reasons:
• C is base for the programming
• High-level language, easy to learn
• Structured language, flexible to use
• It produces efficient programs for various applications
• It can handle low-level activities
• It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms

Overview of C Language 5
 C Programming Language
• IEEE-the best 10 top programming language in 2018

Overview of C Language 6
 History of C Language
• C was created by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone
Laboratories in 1972.
• The C Programming Language, written by Brian Kernighan
and Dennis Ritchie in 1978.
• The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) formed
a committee in 1983 to establish a standard definition of
C, which became known as ANSI Standard C.
• The C language is so named because its predecessor was
called B. The B language was developed by Ken Thompson
of Bell Labs.
• Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson also the inventors of
the UNIX Operating System.
Ken Thompson
Overview of C Language 7
 History of C Language
• In 1960, ‘ALGOL’ was first introduced the concept of structured programming to the
developer community. ‘ALGOL, is the base or father of programming languages.
• In 1967, a new computer programming language was announced called as ‘BCPL’
which stands for Basic Combined Programming Language. BCPL was designed and
developed by Martin Richards, especially for writing system software. This was the era
of programming languages.
• In 1970, a new programming language called ‘B’ was introduced by Ken Thompson
that contained multiple features of ‘BCPL.’ This programming language was created
using UNIX operating system at AT&T and Bell Laboratories. Both the ‘BCPL’ and ‘B’
were system programming languages.

Overview of C Language 8
 History of C Language
• In 1972, a great computer scientist Dennis Ritchie created a new programming language called
‘C’ at the Bell Laboratories. It was created from ‘ALGOL’, ‘BCPL’ and ‘B’ programming
languages. ‘C’ programming language contains all the features of these languages.
• Initially ‘C’ programming was limited to the UNIX operating system, but today ‘C’ runs under a
variety of operating systems and hardware platforms.
• In 1989, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) defined a commercial standard for
‘C’ language. Later, it was approved by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in 1990.
• Thus, ‘C’ programming language is also called as ‘ANSI C’.

Overview of C Language 9
 History of C Language
• Languages, such as C++/Java are developed from
‘C’. These languages are widely used in various
technologies.
• Thus, ‘C’ forms a base for many other languages
that are currently in use.

Overview of C Language 10
 C and the ANSI Standard
• The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to build a standard for the C language in
1983. ANSI approved the application and formed the X3J11 Technical Committee to work on
the C standard.
• By the end of 1989, the committee approved the ANSI standard for the C programming
language.
• The ANSI standard for C enhances the K&R standard and defines a group of commonly used C
functions that are expected to be found in the ANSI C standard library.
• Now, all C compilers have the standard library, along with some other compiler-specific
functions.

Overview of C Language 11
 Major Features of C Language
• There are several reasons why many computer professionals feel that C is at the top of the list:
o C is a powerful and flexible language. C is used for projects as diverse as operating systems, word processors,
graphics, spreadsheets, and even compilers for other languages.
o C is a popular language preferred by professional programmers. As a result, a wide variety of C compilers and
helpful accessories are available.
o C is a portable language. Portable means that a C program written for one computer system (an IBM PC, for
example) can be compiled and run on another system (a DEC VAX system, perhaps) with little or no
modification. Portability is enhanced by the ANSI standard for C, the set of rules for C compilers.
o C is a language of few words, containing only a handful of terms, called keywords, which serve as the base
on which the language's functionality is built. As you program with C, you will find that it can be programmed
to do any task.
o C is modular. C code can (and should) be written in routines called functions. These functions can be reused
in other applications or programs. By passing pieces of information to the functions, you can create useful,
reusable code.

Overview of C Language 12
 Major Features of C Language
• High-level programming languages, including C, have the following advantages:
o Readability: Programs are easy to read.
o Maintainability: Programs are easy to maintain.
o Portability: Programs are easy to port across different computer platforms.
• The C language's readability and maintainability benefit directly from its relative
closeness to human languages, especially English.

Overview of C Language 13
 Preparing to C Program
• When creating a program in C (or for that matter, a computer program in any
language), you should follow a similar sequence of steps:
1. Determine the objective(s) of the program.
2. Determine the methods you want to use in writing the program.
3. Create the program to solve the problem.
4. Run the program to see the results.

Overview of C Language 14
 Fig: The steps involved in C
program development.

The C Development Cycle

• Step 1: Editing
o Use an editor to write your source code. By tradition, C source code files
have the extension .C (for example, MYPROG.C, DATABASE.C, and so on).

• Step 2: Compiling
o Compile the program using a compiler. If the compiler doesn't find any
errors in the program, it produces an object file. The compiler produces
object files with an .OBJ extension and the same name as the source code
file (for example, MYPROG.C compiles to MYPROG.OBJ).
o If the compiler finds errors, it reports them. You must return to step 1 to
make corrections in your source code.

Overview of C Language 15
 Fig: The steps involved in C
program development.

The C Development Cycle

• Step 3: Linking
o Link the program using a linker. If no errors occur, the linker produces an
executable program located in a disk file with an .EXE extension and the
same name as the object file (for example, MYPROG.OBJ is linked to
create MYPROG.EXE).

• Step 4: Executing
o Execute the program. You should test to determine whether it functions
properly. If not, start again with step 1 and make modifications and
additions to your source code.

Overview of C Language 16
 Your First C Program
• A C program can vary from 3 lines to millions of lines and it should be written into one or more text files
with extension ".c"; for example, hello.c. This demonstration uses a program named HELLO.C, which
does nothing more than display the words Hello, World! on-screen.
• The source code for HELLO.C :
1: /* This is my first C program */
2: #include <stdio.h>
3: #include <conio.h>
4: int main()
5: {
6: printf("Hello, World!\n");
7: return 0;
8: getch();
9: }
Overview of C Language 17
 Your First C Program
• Once your compiler and editor are ready, follow these steps to enter, compile, and execute HELLO.C.
• Entering and Compiling HELLO.C
• You have just entered, compiled, and run your first C program. Admittedly, HELLO.C is a simple program that doesn't do
anything useful, but it's a start.
• Comments
• The first line contains a comment:
/* This is my first C program */
• You notice that this line starts with a combination of a slash and an asterisk, /*, and ends with */. In C, /* is called the opening
comment mark, and */ is the closing comment mark. The C compiler ignores everything between the opening comment mark and
closing comment mark. Most C compilers allow you to write a comment that crosses more than one line. For instance, you can
write a comment in C like this:
/* This comment does not increase the size of the executable file (binary code), nor does it affect the performance speed.*/
• You can also use double slash // for single line comment, like:
// This is my first C program

Overview of C Language 18
 Your First C Program
• The #include Directive
#include <stdio.h>
• You see that this line starts with a pound sign, #, which is followed by include. In C, #include forms a
preprocessor directive that tells the C preprocessor to look for a file and place the contents of the file in the
location where the #include directive indicates.
• The preprocessor is a program that does some preparations for the C compiler before your code is compiled.
• Header Files
• The files that are required by the #include directive, like stdio.h, are called header files because the #include
directives are almost always placed at the head of C programs. Actually, the extension name of .h does mean
"header." Besides stdio.h, there are more header files, such as stdlib.h, string.h, math.h, and so on.

Overview of C Language 19
 Your First C Program
• The main() Function
• This is a very special function in C. Every C program must have a main() function, and every C program can
only have one main() function. You can put the main() function wherever you want in your C program.
However, the execution of your program always starts with the main() function.
• The Newline Character (\n)
• In the printf() function, one thing worth mentioning at this moment is the newline character, \n. Usually
suffixed at the end of a message, the newline character tells the computer to generate a carriage-return and
line-feed sequence so that anything printed out after the message will start on the next new line on the
screen.
• The return Statement
• All functions in C can return values. For instance, when you make a function to add two numbers, you can make such
a function that returns to you the value of the addition.
• The main() function itself returns a value. By default, main() returns an integer. In C, integers are decimal numbers
without fraction portions.
Overview of C Language 20
 Your First C Program
• Following are the basic commands in C programming language:

Overview of C Language 21
 How C Programming Language Works?
• C is a compiled language. A compiler is a special tool that compiles the program and converts
it into the object file which is machine readable.
• After the compilation process, the linker will combine different object files and creates a
single executable file to run the program.
• The following diagram shows the execution of a ‘C’ program.

Overview of C Language 22
 C Environment
• If you want to set up your environment for C programming language, you need the following
two software tools available on your computer:
1. Text Editor, and
2. The C Compiler
• Text Editor
o This will be used to type your program. Examples of few a editors include Windows Notepad,
Notepad++, Netbeans, Code::Blocks, Eclipse CDT, CodeLite IDE, Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code Editor,
and vim or vi.
o The name and version of text editors can vary on different operating systems. For example, Notepad will
be used on Windows, and vim or vi can be used on windows as well as on Linux or UNIX.
o The files you create with your editor are called the source files and they contain the program source
codes. The source files for C programs are typically named with the extension “*.c".

Overview of C Language 23
 C Environment
• The C Compiler
o The source code written in source file is the human readable source for your program. It needs to
be "compiled", into machine language so that your CPU can actually execute the program as per
the instructions given.
o The compiler compiles the source codes into final executable programs. The most frequently used
and free available compiler is the GNU C/C++ compiler (GCC). Some other C compilers include:
Turbo C, Borland Turbo C, Clang, Microsoft’s C++ compiler, Visual C++, etc.
• Codeblocks is open-source IDE for writing programs in C. It supports GCC (GNU
Compiler Collection).

Overview of C Language 24
 C Environment
• The C compilation system consists of a compiler, an assembler, and a link editor.
The cc command invokes each of these components automatically unless you use command-
line options to specify otherwise.
• The following figure shows the organization of the C compilation system:

FIG: Organization of the C Compilation System

Overview of C Language 25
 Key Uses and Applications
• Where is C used?
o ‘C’ language is widely used in embedded systems.
o It is used for developing system applications.
o It is widely used for developing desktop applications.
o Most of the applications by Adobe are developed using ‘C’ programming language.
o It is used for developing browsers and their extensions.
o It is used to develop databases. MySQL is the most popular database software which is built using ‘C’.
o It is used in developing an operating system. Operating systems such as Apple’s OS X, Microsoft’s
Windows, Unix/Linux, and Symbian are developed using ‘C’ language. It is used for developing desktop
as well as mobile phone’s operating system.
o It is used for compiler production.
o It is widely used in IOT applications.
Overview of C Language 26
 Why learn C Language?
• As ‘C’ is a base language for many programming languages, so, learning ‘C’ as the main language will play an important
role while studying other programming languages.
• ‘C’ can be used widely in various applications. It is a simple language and provides faster execution. There are many jobs
available for a ‘C’ developer in the current market.
• ‘C’ is a structured programming language in which program is divided into various modules. Each module can be written
separately and together it forms a single ‘C’ program. This structure makes it easy for testing, maintaining and debugging
processes.
• ‘C’ contains 32 keywords, various data types and a set of powerful built-in functions that make programming very
efficient.
• Another feature of ‘C’ programming is that it can extend itself. A ‘C’ program contains various functions which are part of
a library. We can add our features and functions to the library. We can access and use these functions anytime we want in
our program. This feature makes it simple while working with complex programming.
• Various compilers are available in the market that can be used for executing programs written in this language.
• It is a highly portable language which means programs written in ‘C’ language can run on other machines. This feature is
essential if we wish to use or execute the code on another computer.
Overview of C Language 27
 Sample Programs
• Adding Two Numbers:
1. /* Write a C program to add two numbers. */
2. #include <stdio.h> Output:
Sum of two numbers: 30
3. int main()
4. {
5. int a = 10;
6. int b = 20;
7. int c = a + b;
8. printf("Sum of two numbers: %d",c);
9. return 0;
10. }

Overview of C Language 28
 Sample Programs
• Adding Two Numbers:
1. /* Write a C program to add two numbers. */
2. #include <stdio.h>
3. int main()
4. {
5. int a, b, c;
6. printf(“Enter two numbers: \n”);
7. scanf(“%d %d”, &a, &b);
8. c = a + b;
9. printf("Sum of two numbers: %d",c);
10. return 0; Output:
11. } Enter two numbers:
20 30
Sum of two numbers: 50
Overview of C Language 29
 Sample Programs
• Calculating the area of a circle:
1. /* Write a program to calculate the area of a circle */
2. #include <stdio.h>
3. int main()
4. {
5. float rad, area;
6. printf(“Enter the radius of a circle: \n”);
7. scanf(“%f”, &rad);
8. area = 3.14 * rad * rad;
9. printf(“The area is: %.2f", area);
10. return 0; Output:
11. } Enter the radius of a circle:
5.0
The area is: 78.05
Overview of C Language 30
 Sample Programs
• Print ASCII Value:
1. /* Program to Print ASCII Value */
2. #include <stdio.h>
3. int main()
4. {
5. char c;
6. printf("Enter a character: ");
7. scanf("%c", &c);
8. printf("ASCII value of %c = %d", c, c);
9. // %d displays the integer value
10. // %c displays the actual character Output:
11. return 0; Enter a character: A
12. } ASCII value of A = 65

Overview of C Language 31
? THE END
Overview of C Language 32