Chapter 3

Fundamental of C Programming
Language
and
Basic Input/Output Function

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 1

Chapter 3: Fundamental of C and
Input/Output
In this chapter you will learn about:
C Development Environment
C Program Structure
Basic Data Types
Input/Output function
Common Programming Error

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 2

 C Development Environment
Program is
Phase 1 : Editor Disk created using the
Editor and
stored on Disk.

Preprocessor
Preprocessor program
Phase 2 : Disk
processes the
code.

Compiler
Phase 3 : Compiler Disk creates object
code and stores
it on Disk.

Linker Linker links object

Phase 4 : Disk code with libraries,
creates a.out and
stores it on Disk

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 3

 C Development Environment
cont
Primary
Memory
Phase 5 : Loader
Loader puts
Program in
: Memory
.

Primary
Memory
Phase 6 : C P U (execute) CPU takes each
instruction and
executes it, storing
: new data values as
. the program executes.

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 4

Entering, translating, and running a High-Level
Language Program

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 5

C Program Structure
An example of simple program in C

#include <stdio.h>

void main(void)
{
printf(“I love programming\n”);
printf(“You will love it too once ”);
printf(“you know the trick\n”);
}

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 6

The output
The previous program will produce the following
output on your screen

I love programming
You will love it too once you know the trick

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 7

Preprocessor directives
a C program line begins with # provides an
instruction to the C preprocessor
It is executed before the actual compilation is
done.
Two most common directives :
#include
#define
In our example (#include<stdio.h>) identifies
the header file for standard input and output
needed by the printf().

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 8

Function main
Identify the start of the program
Every C program has a main ( )
'main' is a C keyword. We must not use it
for any other variable.
4 common ways of main declaration
int main(void) void main(void) main(void) main( )
{ { { {

return 0;
} } } }

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 9

The curly braces { }
Identify a segment / body of a program
The start and end of a function
The start and end of the selection or repetition
block.

Since the opening brace indicates the start of

a segment with the closing brace indicating
the end of a segment, there must be just as
many opening braces as closing braces
(this is a common mistake of beginners)

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 10

Statement
A specification of an action to be taken by the
computer as the program executes.
Each statement in C needs to be terminated with
semicolon (;)
Example:
#include <stdio.h>
void main(void)
{
printf(“I love programming\n”); statement

printf(“You will love it too once ”); statement

printf(“you know the trick\n”); statement

}
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 11
Statement cont…
Statement has two parts :
Declaration
The part of the program that tells the compiler
the names of memory cells in a program
Executable statements
Program lines that are converted to machine
language instructions and executed by the
computer

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 12

C program skeleton
In short, the basic skeleton of a C program
looks like this:

#include <stdio.h> Preprocessor directives

void main(void) Function main

{ Start of segment

statement(s);

} End of segment

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 13

Identifiers
Words used to represent certain program
entities (variables, function names, etc).
Example:
int my_name;
my_name is an identifier used as a program
variable
void CalculateTotal(int value)
CalculateTotal is an identifier used as a
function name

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 14

Rules for naming identifiers
Rules Example
Can contain a mix of characters and numbers. H2o
However it cannot start with a number

First character must be a letter or underscore Number1; _area

Can be of mixed cases including underscore XsquAre

character my_num
Cannot contain any arithmetic operators R*S+T
… or any other punctuation marks… #@x%!!

Cannot be a C keyword/reserved word struct; printf;

Cannot contain a space My height
… identifiers are case sensitive Tax != tax

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 15

Variables
Variable  a name associated with a
memory cell whose value can change

Variable Declaration: specifies the type of a

variable
Example: int num;

Variable Definition: assigning a value to the

declared variable
Example: num = 5;

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 16

Basic Data Types
There are 4 basic data types :
int
float
double
char
int
used to declare numeric program variables of
integer type
whole numbers, positive and negative
keyword: int
int number;
number = 12;
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 17
Basic Data Types cont…
float
fractional parts, positive and negative
keyword: float
float height;
height = 1.72;
double
used to declare floating point variable of higher
precision or higher range of numbers
exponential numbers, positive and negative
keyword: double
double valuebig;
valuebig = 12E-3;
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 18
Basic Data Types cont…
char
equivalent to ‘letters’ in English language
Example of characters:
Numeric digits: 0 - 9
Lowercase/uppercase letters: a - z and A - Z
Space (blank)
Special characters: , . ; ? “ / ( ) [ ] { } * & % ^ < > etc
single character
keyword: char
char my_letter; The declared character must be
my_letter = 'U'; enclosed within a single quote!

In addition, there are void, short, long, etc.

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 19
Constants
Entities that appear in the program code as fixed values.
Any attempt to modify a CONSTANT will result in error.
4 types of constants:
Integer constants
Positive or negative whole numbers with no fractional part
Example:
– const int MAX_NUM = 10;
– const int MIN_NUM = -90;
Floating-point constants (float or double)
Positive or negative decimal numbers with an integer part, a
decimal point and a fractional part
Example:
– const double VAL = 0.5877e2; (stands for
0.5877 x 102)
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 20
Constants cont…
Character constants
A character enclosed in a single quotation mark
Example:
– const char letter = ‘n’;
– const char number = ‘1’;
– printf(“%c”, ‘S’);
» Output would be: S

Enumeration
Values are given as a list
Example: enum Language {
Malay,
English,
Arabic
};
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 21
Constant example – volume of a
cone
#include <stdio.h>

void main(void)
{
const double pi = 3.412;
double height, radius, base, volume;

printf(“Enter the height and radius of the cone:”);

scanf(“%lf %lf”,&height, &radius);

base = pi * radius * radius;

volume = (1.0/3.0) * base * height;

printf(“\nThe volume of a cone is %f ”, volume);

}

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 22

#define
You may also associate constant using #define preprocessor
directive
#include <stdio.h>
#define pi 3.412

void main(void)
{
double height, radius, base, volume;

printf(“Enter the height and radius of the cone:”);

scanf(“%lf %lf”,&height,&radius);

base = pi * radius * radius;

volume = (1.0/3.0) * base * height;

printf(“\nThe volume of a cone is %f ”, volume);

}
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 23
Input/Output Operations
Input operation
an instruction that copies data from an input
device into memory

Output operation
an instruction that displays information stored
in memory to the output devices (such as the
monitor screen)

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 24

Input/Output Functions
A C function that performs an input or output
operation
A few functions that are pre-defined in the
header file stdio.h such as :
printf()
scanf()
getchar() & putchar()

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 25

The printf function
Used to send data to the standard output
(usually the monitor) to be printed
according to specific format.
General format:
printf(“string literal”);
A sequence of any number of characters
surrounded by double quotation marks.
printf(“format string”, variables);
Format string is a combination of text,
conversion specifier and escape sequence.

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 26

The printf function cont…
Example:
printf(“Thank you”);
printf (“Total sum is: %d\n”, sum);
%d is a placeholder (conversion specifier)
– marks the display position for a type integer
variable
\n is an escape sequence
– moves the cursor to the new line

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 27

Escape Sequence
Escape Sequence Effect
\a Beep sound
\b Backspace
\f Formfeed (for printing)
\n New line
\r Carriage return
\t Tab
\v Vertical tab
\\ Backslash
\” “ sign
\o Octal decimal
\x Hexadecimal
\O NULL

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 28

Placeholder / Conversion
Specifier
No Conversion Output Type Output Example
Specifier
1 %d Signed decimal integer 76
2 %i Signed decimal integer 76
3 %o Unsigned octal integer 134
4 %u Unsigned decimal integer 76
5 %x Unsigned hexadecimal (small letter) 9c
6 %X Unsigned hexadecimal (capital letter) 9C
7 %f Integer including decimal point 76.0000
8 %e Signed floating point (using e notation) 7.6000e+01
9 %E Signed floating point (using E notation) 7.6000E+01
10 %g The shorter between %f and %e 76
11 %G The shorter between %f and %E 76
12 %c Character ‘7’
13 %s String ‘76'

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 29

The scanf function
Read data from the standard input device
(usually keyboard) and store it in a variable.
General format:
scanf(“Format string”, &variable);
Notice ampersand (&) operator :
C address of operator
it passes the address of the variable instead of
the variable itself
tells the scanf() where to find the variable to
store the new value

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 30

The scanf function cont…
Example :
int age;
printf(“Enter your age: “);
scanf(“%d”, &age);

Common Conversion Identifier used in printf and

scanf functions. printf scanf
int %d %d
float %f %f
double %f %lf
char %c %c
string %s %s
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 31
The scanf function cont…
If you want the user to enter more than one
value, you serialise the inputs.
Example:
float height, weight;
printf(“Please enter your height and weight:”);
scanf(“%f%f”, &height, &weight);

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 32

getchar() and putchar()
getchar() - read a character from standard
input
putchar() - write a character to standard
output
Example: #include <stdio.h>
void main(void)
{
char my_char;
printf(“Please type a character: ”);
my_char = getchar();
printf(“\nYou have typed this character: ”);
putchar(my_char);
}
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 33
 getchar() and putchar() cont
Alternatively, you can write the previous code
using normal scanf and %c placeholder.
Example
#include <stdio.h>
void main(void)
{
char my_char;
printf(“Please type a character: ”);
scanf(“%c”,&my_char);
printf(“\nYou have typed this character: %c ”, my_char);
}

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 34

Few notes on C program…
C is case-sensitive
Word, word, WorD, WORD, WOrD, worD, etc are all
different variables / expressions
Eg. sum = 23 + 7
What is the value of Sum after this addition ?

Comments (remember 'Documentation'; Chapter 2)

are inserted into the code using /* to start and */ to end a
comment
Some compiler support comments starting with ‘//’
Provides supplementary information but is ignored by the
preprocessor and compiler
/* This is a comment */
// This program was written by Hanly Koffman

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 35

Few notes on C program
cont…
Reserved Words
Keywords that identify language entities such
as statements, data types, language
attributes, etc.
Have special meaning to the compiler, cannot
be used as identifiers (variable, function
name) in our program.
Should be typed in lowercase.
Example: const, double, int, main, void,printf,
while, for, else (etc..)

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 36

Few notes on C program
cont…
Punctuators (separators)
Symbols used to separate different parts of
the C program.
These punctuators include:
[ ] ( ) { } , ; “: * #
Usage example:
void main (void)
{
int num = 10;
printf (“% d”,num);
}
Principles of Programming - NI 2005 37
Few notes on C program
cont…
Operators
Tokens that result in some kind of computation
or action when applied to variables or other
elements in an expression.
Example of operators:
*+=-/
Usage example:
result = total1 + total2;

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 38

Common Programming Errors
Debugging  Process removing errors
from a program
Three (3) kinds of errors :
Syntax Error
a violation of the C grammar rules, detected
during program translation (compilation).
statement cannot be translated and
program cannot be executed

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 39

Common Programming Errors
cont…
Run-time errors
An attempt to perform an invalid operation,
detected during program execution.
Occurs when the program directs the
computer to perform an illegal operation,
such as dividing a number by zero.
The computer will stop executing the
program, and displays a diagnostic
message indicates the line where the error
was detected

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 40

Common Programming Errors
cont…
Logic Error/Design Error
An error caused by following an incorrect
algorithm
Very difficult to detect - it does not cause run-
time error and does not display message
errors.
The only sign of logic error – incorrect program
output
Can be detected by testing the program
thoroughly, comparing its output to calculated
results
To prevent – carefully desk checking the
algorithm and written program before you
actually type it

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 41

Summary
In this chapter, you have learned the following items:
environment of C language and C programming
C language elements
Preprocessor directives, curly braces, main (),
semicolon, comments, double quotes
4 basics data type and brief explanation on variable
6 tokens : reserved word, identifier, constant, string
literal, punctuators / separators and operators.
printf, scanf, getchar and putchar
Usage of modifiers : placeholder & escape sequence
Common programming errors : syntax error, run-time
error and logic error

Principles of Programming - NI 2005 42