Introduction to Programming in C++

Seventh Edition

Chapter 3:
Variables and Constants
 Chapter Objectives

• Distinguish among a variable, a named constant, and a

literal constant
• Explain how data is stored in memory
• Select an appropriate name, data type, and initial value
for a memory location
• Declare a memory location in C++

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 Beginning Step 4 in the Problem-Solving
Process
• After Step 3, programmer has an algorithm and has
desk-checked it
• The fourth step in the process is coding the algorithm
into a program
• The step begins by assigning a descriptive name, data
type, and (optionally) initial value to each unique input,
processing, and output item in the IPO chart
• These are used to store the item in the computer’s
internal memory

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 Internal Memory

• Computer’s internal memory is composed of memory

locations, each with a unique numeric address
• Similar to collection of storage bins
• Each address can store one item at a time
• Address can contain numbers, text, or program
instructions
• To use a memory location, programmer must reserve
the address, called declaring

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 Internal Memory (cont’d.)

• Declaring a memory location is done with an instruction

that assigns a name, data type, and (optional) initial
value
• The name allows the programmer to refer to the
memory location elsewhere in the program using a
descriptive word, rather than the numeric address
• The data type indicates what type of information the
address will store (e.g., number or text)

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 Internal Memory (cont’d.)

• Two types of memory locations can be declared:

variables and named constants
• Variables are memory locations whose values can
change during runtime (when the program is running)
• Most memory locations are variables
• Named constants are memory locations whose values
cannot change during program execution

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 Internal Memory (cont’d.)

Figure 3-1 Illustration of storage bins

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 Selecting a Name for a Memory Location

• Name (identifier) assigned to a memory location should

be descriptive
• Should help the programmer/other programmers
remember/understand the memory location’s purpose
• Should be as short as possible while still being
descriptive (especially if referenced often)
• Short names are easier to read and result in more
concise code

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 Selecting a Name for a Memory Location
(cont’d.)
• Rules for memory location names in C++
1. Name must begin with a letter and contain only letters,
numbers, and the underscore character
2. No punctuation marks, spaces, or other special
characters (such as $ or %) are allowed
3. Cannot be a keyword (word that has special meaning in
C++)
4. Names are case sensitive
• Example: discount is different from DISCOUNT and
from Discount

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 Selecting a Name for a Memory Location
(cont’d.)
• Most programmers use uppercase letters for named
constants and lowercase for variables
– Example: PI (constant), radius (variable)
• If constants contain more than one word, separate
words with underscores
– Example: TAX_RATE
• If variables contain more than one word, capitalize the
first letter of each word after the first (called camel
case)
– Example: adjustedGrossIncome

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 Selecting a Name for a Memory Location
(cont’d.)

Figure 3-2 How to name a memory location in C++

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Revisiting the Treyson Mobley Problem

Figure 3-3 Problem specification, IPO chart,

and desk-check table from Chapter 2
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Revisiting the Treyson Mobley Problem

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 Revisiting the Treyson Mobley Problem
(cont’d.)
• IPO chart contains five input, processing, and output
items
• Five memory locations are needed to store the values
of the items
• Memory locations will be variables since their values
will change during runtime

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 Revisiting the Treyson Mobley Problem
(cont’d.)

Figure 3-4 Names of the variables for the Treyson Mobley problem

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 Selecting a Data Type for a Memory
Location
• Memory locations come in different types and sizes
• Type and size you choose depends on the item you
want to store
• A memory location will only accept an item that
matches its data type
• Data type of a memory location is determined by the
programmer when declaring the location

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 Selecting a Data Type for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)
• Fundamental data types are basic data types built into
C++
– Also called primitive or built-in data types
– Include short, int, float, double, bool, and
char
• bool data type stores Boolean values (true and false)
• short and int types store integers (numbers without
a decimal place)
– Differences are range of values and memory used (int
has the greater of both)

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 Selecting a Data Type for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)
• float and double types store real numbers
(numbers with a decimal place)
– Differences are range of values, precision, and memory
used (double has the greater of each)
• char type stores characters (letter, symbol, or number
that will not be used in a calculation)
– Only one character stored at a time
• string data type is a user-defined data type (defined
with a class, or group of instructions)
– Can store zero or more characters

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 Selecting a Data Type for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)

Figure 3-5 Most commonly used data types in C++

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 Selecting a Data Type for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)

Figure 3-6 Data type assigned to each

variable for the Treyson Mobley problem

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 How Data Is Stored in Internal Memory

• Numbers represented in internal memory using binary

(base 2) number system (two digits, 0 and 1)
• We are used to the decimal (base 10) number system
(ten digits, 0 through 9)
• Character data is stored using ASCII codes
– Eight-bit codes (bit = binary digit, 0 or 1)
– Upper- and lowercase versions of letters have distinct
codes
• Computer distinguishes between numbers and ASCII
codes based on data type

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 How Data Is Stored in Internal Memory
(cont’d.)

Figure 3-7 How to use the decimal (base 10) number system

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 How Data Is Stored in Internal Memory
(cont’d.)

Figure 3-8 How to use the binary (base 2) number system

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 How Data Is Stored in Internal Memory
(cont’d.)

Figure 3-9 Partial ASCII chart

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 Figure 3-9 Partial ASCII chart
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 Selecting an Initial Value for a Memory
Location
• Setting an initial value for a variable or named constant
is called initializing
• Required for constants; recommended for variables
• Memory locations are usually initialized with a literal
constant (item of data that can appear in a program
instruction and be stored in memory)
• Data type of literal constant should match data type of
memory location it is assigned to

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 Selecting an Initial Value for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)

• Numeric literal constants initialize short, int, float,

and double data types
– Can contain digits 0 through 9, +, -, ., and e or E (for
scientific notation)
• Character literal constants initialize char data types
– Consist of one character in single quotation marks
• String literal constants initialize string data types
– Zero or more characters enclosed in double quotation
marks
– Empty string (“”) is a valid string literal constant

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 Selecting an Initial Value for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)
• Before assigning initial value to a memory location,
computer checks that value’s data type matches
location’s data type
• If they don’t match, computer performs implicit type
conversion to match them
– If initial value is converted to type that holds larger
numbers, value is promoted
– If initial value is converted to type that only holds smaller
numbers, value is demoted
• Promoting will not usually have adverse effects, but
demoting can (information is lost)
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 Selecting an Initial Value for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)

• Important to initialize memory locations with values of

the same data type
• Named constants should be initialized with the value
they will hold for the duration of the program
• Variables whose initial values are not known should still
be initialized
– short and int types usually initialized to 0
– float and double types usually initialized to 0.0
– string types usually initialized to empty string (“”)
– bool types initialized to either true or false
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 Selecting an Initial Value for a Memory
Location (cont’d.)

Figure 3-10 Initial values for the variables

in the Treyson Mobley problem

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 Declaring a Memory Location

• Variables and named constants are declared using a

statement (C++ instruction)
• A statement that declares a variable causes the
computer to set aside a memory location with the given
name, data type, and initial value
• Statements must follow correct syntax (rules of a
programming language)
• In C++, all statements must end with a semicolon

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 Declaring a Memory Location (cont’d.)

• When declaring variables, a data type and name must

be provided
• Syntax for declaring a variable in C++
– dataType variableName [= initialValue];
• After variable is declared, you use its name to refer to it
later in the program
• Initial value is optional but recommended
• If variable is not initialized, it contains the previous
value of that memory location, which may be the wrong
type (called a garbage value)

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 Declaring a Memory Location (cont’d.)

• Syntax for declaring a named constant in C++

– const dataType constantName = value;
• The const keyword indicates that the memory location
is a named constant (value cannot be changed during
runtime)
• Initial value required for constants, unlike variables
• As with variables, after declaring a constant, you can
use its name to refer to it later in the program

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 Declaring a Memory Location (cont’d.)

• Several advantages to using named constants when

appropriate
1. Make program more self-documenting (meaningful
words in place of numbers)
2. Value cannot be inadvertently changed during runtime
3. Typing a name is less error-prone than a long number
4. Mistyping a constant’s name will trigger a compiler
error; mistyping a number will not
5. If the constant needs to be changed when modifying the
program, it only needs to be changed in one place
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 Declaring a Memory Location (cont’d.)

Figure 3-11 How to declare a variable in C++

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 Declaring a Memory Location (cont’d.)

Figure 3-12 C++ declaration statements for the

variables in the Treyson Mobley problem

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 Declaring a Memory Location (cont’d.)

Figure 3-13 How to declare a named constant in C++

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