programming questions

1. Secure Access Control System

A company has implemented a multi-level access control system for employees. The access
is determined based on:

●​ Role: 1 (Admin), 2 (Manager), 3 (Employee), 4 (Guest)

●​ Time of Access: 9 AM - 6 PM (only Admin and Manager can enter anytime)
●​ Weekend Restriction: Only Admins can enter on weekends.
●​ Incorrect Password: After three failed attempts, the user is locked out.

Task:

Write a C program that:

1.​ Asks the user to input their role (1-4) and password.
2.​ Checks if the password is correct (for simplicity, assume password = 1234 for all
roles).
3.​ Validates whether the user can enter based on their role, time, and weekday/weekend.
4.​ If the user enters the wrong password three times, deny further access.

Example Input & Output:

Enter your role (1-4): 2
Enter the current hour (0-23): 18
Enter the day (1 for weekday, 0 for weekend): 1
Enter password: 1111
Incorrect password! Try again.
Enter password: 2222
Incorrect password! Try again.
Enter password: 1234
Access granted! Welcome, Manager.​
​

Hints:

●​ Use if-else statements for role-based conditions.

●​ Use a loop to track password attempts.
●​ Implement time-based and weekend restrictions.
2. Online Exam Submission System

A university has an online exam system with the following rules:

●​ A student can submit their exam only if:

○​ The exam timer hasn’t reached zero.
○​ They have answered at least 50% of the questions.
●​ If less than 50% of questions are answered, approval is needed.
●​ If a student logs in from two locations, they are disqualified.
●​ If the student attempts to submit more than twice, they are logged out.

Task:

Write a C program that:

1.​ Takes number of questions, answered questions, timer (minutes left), and login
attempt status (0 or 1 for multiple logins) as input.
2.​ Checks conditions and decides if the student can submit, needs approval, is
auto-submitted, or is disqualified.

Example Input & Output:​

Enter total number of questions: 10

Enter number of answered questions: 4
Enter remaining time (minutes): 5
Is there a multiple login detected? (1 for Yes, 0 for No): 0
Approval needed to submit.

Hints:

●​ Use if-else to check answered questions and timer status.

●​ Implement nested conditions for login attempts.
●​ Track submission attempts and restrict to two tries.
3. Restaurant Order Processing System (Switch-Case & If-Else)

A restaurant billing system allows customers to place orders using item codes. Each item
has a fixed price:

Item Code Item Price ($)

1 Burger 5.99

2 Pizza 8.49

3 Pasta 6.99

4 Coffee 2.99

5 Juice 3.49

●​ If the total bill is $20 or more, the customer gets a 10% discount.
●​ If the customer orders more than 5 items, they get a free coffee.
●​ If the total bill is $50 or more, they get a 15% discount.

Task:

Write a C program that:

1.​ Asks the user to select items (1-5) and quantity.

2.​ Calculates the total bill amount.
3.​ Applies discounts based on the total bill.
4.​ Checks if the customer qualifies for a free coffee.

Example Input & Output:

Enter item code (1-5): 2
Enter quantity: 3
Enter item code (1-5): 3
Enter quantity: 2
Enter item code (1-5): 4
Enter quantity: 1

Total bill before discount: $36.94

10% Discount applied.
Final bill: $33.24​
Hints:

●​ Use a switch-case for item selection.

●​ Use if-else conditions for discount logic.
●​ Use a loop to allow multiple item selection.
Programs on Looping Statement

4. Employee Payroll System (For Loop & If-Else)

A company calculates employee salaries based on the following conditions:

●​ Employees work for 5 days a week, with 8 hours per day as standard working
hours.
●​ If an employee works more than 8 hours in a day, the extra hours are considered
overtime.
●​ Overtime pay is 1.5 times the regular hourly rate.
●​ If an employee works for less than 5 days, a 20% salary deduction is applied.
●​ The hourly rate is $20 per hour.

Task:

Write a C program that:

1.​ Takes the number of days worked and daily working hours as input.
2.​ Uses a for loop to calculate the total salary, including overtime pay.
3.​ Applies deductions if the employee worked less than 5 days.

Example Input & Output:

Enter number of days worked: 5
Enter daily working hours (5 values): 8 9 10 8 7

Total salary before deduction: $860

Final salary: $860

Enter number of days worked: 4

Enter daily working hours (4 values): 8 9 10 6

Total salary before deduction: $580

20% deduction applied.
Final salary: $464

Hints:

●​ Use a for loop to iterate through daily hours.

●​ Check for overtime hours and calculate extra pay.
●​ Apply salary deduction if required.
5. ATM Withdrawal Simulation (While Loop & Break Condition)

An ATM allows customers to withdraw money under the following conditions:

●​ The maximum withdrawal limit is $500 per transaction.

●​ The ATM only dispenses $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills.
●​ A user can attempt withdrawal up to 3 times before the ATM locks them out.
●​ If the user enters an amount that cannot be dispensed with available bills, they are
asked to retry.

Task:

Write a C program that:

1.​ Uses a while loop to allow up to 3 attempts for withdrawal.

2.​ Checks if the amount is within the allowed range (≤ $500).
3.​ Ensures the amount can be dispensed using available bills.
4.​ If the user fails 3 times, they are locked out.

Example Input & Output:

Enter withdrawal amount: 530
Invalid amount! Try again.
Enter withdrawal amount: 275
Invalid amount! Try again.
Enter withdrawal amount: 500
Transaction successful! Dispensed: 5 x $100

Enter withdrawal amount: 55

Invalid amount! Try again.
Enter withdrawal amount: 62
Invalid amount! Try again.
Enter withdrawal amount: 23
Invalid amount! You are locked out.

Hints:

●​ Use a while loop to track attempts.

●​ Check if the entered amount is divisible by available denominations.
●​ Use break when a valid amount is entered.
6. Number Guessing Game (Do-While Loop & Random Number Generation)

A simple number guessing game where the user must guess a randomly generated number
between 1 and 100.

●​ The user gets unlimited attempts but must guess within 10 tries to win.
●​ After each guess, the program should give hints:
○​ "Too high!" if the guess is greater than the target number.
○​ "Too low!" if the guess is lower than the target number.
●​ If the user fails within 10 attempts, they lose the game.

Task:

Write a C program that:

1.​ Uses a do-while loop to keep asking for guesses.

2.​ Ends when the user guesses correctly or exceeds 10 attempts.
3.​ Displays appropriate messages after each attempt.

Example Input & Output:

Guess a number (1-100): 50

Too high! Try again.
Guess a number (1-100): 30
Too low! Try again.
Guess a number (1-100): 40
Congratulations! You guessed it right in 3 attempts.

Guess a number (1-100): 80

Too high! Try again.
Guess a number (1-100): 70
Too high! Try again.
(After 10 attempts)
Sorry! You couldn't guess the number. The correct number was 45.

Hints:

●​ Use rand() function from stdlib.h to generate the random number.

●​ Use a do-while loop to keep asking for input.
●​ Track attempts and end the game after 10 tries
7. Password Strength Checker (For Loop & Character Validation)

A company requires strong passwords with the following rules:

●​ The password must be at least 8 characters long.

●​ It must contain at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, and
one special character (@, #, $, %, &, !, etc.).
●​ The program should keep asking for a password until a valid one is entered.

Task:

Write a C program that:

1.​ Uses a for loop to validate each character of the entered password.
2.​ Uses a while loop to keep asking for a password until a valid one is entered.

Example Input & Output:

Enter a password: pass123
Weak password! It must contain at least one uppercase letter and one special character.
Enter a password: Pass@word1
Strong password! Registration successful.

Hints:

●​ Use a for loop to check each character in the string.

●​ Use flags (int hasUpper = 0;) to track required conditions.
●​ Use while(1) loop to keep asking until a valid password is entered.
Functions with Arrays:​
Question 8: Array Rotation using Functions

A company maintains a list of employees based on their joining order. However, due to a
shift change, the list needs to be rotated.

Task:

●​ Write a function rotateArray(int arr[], int n, int k, char direction)

that rotates an array of n elements k times.
●​ If direction == 'L', rotate left.
●​ If direction == 'R', rotate right.
●​ Call this function from main(), input an array from the user, and display the
rotated array.

Example:

Input: arr[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, k = 2, direction = 'L'

Output: {3, 4, 5, 1, 2}

Input: arr[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, k = 3, direction = 'R'

Output: {3, 4, 5, 1, 2}

Constraints:

●​ Use modulus (%) to handle cases where k > n.

●​ Use functions for modularity.
Question 9: Frequency Count of Array Elements Using Functions

A teacher wants to analyze student test scores. You are given an array of test scores, and your
task is to find how many times each unique score appears.

Task:

●​ Write a function countFrequency(int arr[], int n) that prints each unique

number and its frequency.
●​ Do not use built-in libraries (like map or unordered_map).
●​ Call the function from main().

Example:
Input: arr[] = {90, 85, 90, 78, 85, 85, 92}
Output:
90 → 2 times
85 → 3 times
78 → 1 time
92 → 1 time

Constraints:

●​ You must use a secondary array to store counted elements.

●​ No duplicate printing (i.e., 85 should be counted only once).

Question 10: Matrix Row and Column Sum using Functions

A developer needs a system to quickly calculate the sum of each row and column in a 2D
matrix.

Task:

●​ Write a function rowSum(int mat[][SIZE], int rows, int cols) that

calculates and prints the sum of each row.
●​ Write another function colSum(int mat[][SIZE], int rows, int cols) that
calculates and prints the sum of each column.
●​ Call both functions from main(), inputting the matrix from the user.

Example:
Input:
Matrix =
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

Output:
Row Sums: 6, 15, 24
Column Sums: 12, 15, 18

Constraints:

●​ The program should work for any NxM matrix, not just 3x3.
●​ The functions must not modify the original matrix.

Question 11: Swapping Pointers Without Using a Temporary Variable

You need to swap two integer pointers without using a temporary variable.

Task:

●​ Write a function swapPointers(int *a, int *b) that swaps two integer pointers
without using a third pointer.
●​ Call the function from main() and print the values before and after swapping.

Example:

int x = 10, y = 20;

int *ptr1 = &x, *ptr2 = &y;

Before Swap: ptr1 → 10, ptr2 → 20

After Swap: ptr1 → 20, ptr2 → 10

Constraints:

●​ Do not use temp or extra variables.

●​ Use pointer manipulation (* and &).
Question 12: Dynamic Memory Allocation & Array Reversal Using Pointers

Write a program that dynamically allocates an array, fills it with user input, and then
reverses it using only pointers.

Task:

●​ Allocate memory for an array of n integers using malloc().

●​ Use a function reverseArray(int *arr, int n) to reverse the array without
using indexing (arr[i])—only pointer arithmetic.
●​ Print the array before and after reversal.

Example:
Input: arr[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
Output:
Before: 1 2 3 4 5
After: 5 4 3 2 1

Constraints:

●​ No use of arr[i], only pointer arithmetic (*(arr + i)).

●​ Use malloc() and free().
Question 13: Function Pointer for Sorting in Ascending/Descending Order

Write a program that sorts an array in either ascending or descending order, depending
on the function pointer passed.

Task:

●​ Implement two functions:

○​ int ascending(int a, int b) → returns 1 if a > b
○​ int descending(int a, int b) → returns 1 if a < b
●​ Write a function void sort(int *arr, int n, int (*cmp)(int, int)) that
sorts the array based on the comparison function pointer.
●​ In main(), allow the user to choose ascending or descending sorting.

Input: arr[] = {5, 2, 9, 1, 6}, order = 'D'

Output: {9, 6, 5, 2, 1} (Descending)

Input: arr[] = {5, 2, 9, 1, 6}, order = 'A'

Output: {1, 2, 5, 6, 9} (Ascending)

Constraints:

●​ Use function pointers to decide sorting order.

●​ No built-in sorting functions (qsort, sort()).

Question 14: Nested Structures for Employee Database

A company stores employee details, including personal information and job details,
using nested structures.

Task:

●​ Define a structure Employee with:

○​ name (string)
○​ id (int)
○​ salary (float)
○​ A nested structure JobDetails containing:
■​ designation (string)
■​ experience (int)
●​ Write a function void display(Employee emp) to print all details of an
employee.
 ●​ Take input for N employees and display their details.

Example:
Input:
Name: John Doe, ID: 101, Salary: 50000, Designation: Manager, Experience: 5 years

Output:
Employee ID: 101
Name: John Doe
Salary: 50000
Designation: Manager
Experience: 5 years

Constraints:

●​ Use nested structures.

●​ Dynamically allocate memory for name and designation using malloc().

Question 15: Structure Array for Student Grade Management

A university tracks student scores and determines their grades based on the average
score.

Task:

●​ Define a structure Student with:

○​ name (string)
○​ roll_no (int)
○​ marks (array of 5 subjects)
○​ average (float)
○​ grade (char)
●​ Write a function void calculateGrade(Student *s) to compute the average
marks and assign a grade:
○​ A: average >= 90
○​ B: average 80-89
○​ C: average 70-79
○​ D: average 60-69
○​ F: average < 60
●​ Take input for N students, calculate grades, and display results.
Example:

Input:
John, Roll: 101, Marks: {85, 90, 78, 92, 88}

Output:
Name: John
Roll No: 101
Average: 86.6
Grade: B

Constraints:

●​ Use an array of structures.

●​ Use pointer notation to access structure members inside functions

Question 16: Pointer to Structure & Dynamic Memory Allocation

A hospital maintains patient records dynamically.

Task:

●​ Define a structure Patient with:

○​ name (string)
○​ age (int)
○​ disease (string)
○​ admission_date (string)
●​ Use dynamic memory allocation to create an array of N patients.
●​ Write a function void displayPatients(Patient *p, int n) to print details.
●​ Take input for N patients, display all records, and free memory.

Example:
Input:
Patient 1: John, Age: 45, Disease: Flu, Admission Date: 12-01-2024
Patient 2: Alice, Age: 30, Disease: Fever, Admission Date: 15-01-2024

Output:
Patient Name: John
Age: 45
Disease: Flu
Admission Date: 12-01-2024

Patient Name: Alice

Age: 30
Disease: Fever
Admission Date: 15-01-2024

Constraints:

●​ Use malloc() to dynamically allocate structure memory.

●​ Use a pointer to structure in the function.