C Programming Language: Introduction

C programming languages can be defined by the following

ways:
 Mother language

► Most of the compilers, JVMs, Kernels, etc. are written in C

language
► Most of the programming languages follow C syntax
System programming language
► Used to develop system software(e.g. OS, drivers, kernels,
etc.).
Procedure-oriented programming language
► In C, variables and function prototypes must be declared
before being used.
 Introduction (cont’d)
 Structured programming language
► Structure means to break a program into parts or
blocks so that it may be easy to understand.
► A structured programming language is a subset of the
procedural language
► In the C language, we break the program into parts using
functions.
 Mid-level programming language
 It supports the feature of both low and high-level

 As low level PLs: convert a program into assembly code, it

supports pointer arithmetic

 As high level PLs: machine independent
 Introduction (cont’d)

Reading Assignments
 History of C Language
 Features of C Language
 How to install C
First C Program

Frist C program
C program of components
► Header Files ► Additional Information
► Main Function ► Preprocessor Directives:
► Variable Declarations ► Data Types:
► Statements and Expressions ► Control Structures:
► Comments ► Error Handling:
► Functions ► Modularization:
► Return Statement ► Etc.
► Standard I/O
C program of components (cont’d)

1. Header Files
► #include directives
► provide function prototypes and definitions that
allow the C compiler to understand the functions
used in the program..
2. Main Function
► Every C program starts with the main function.
► Program's entry point, and execution starts from
here.
► Has a return type of int, indicating that it should
return an integer value to the OS upon completion.
C program of components (cont’d)
3. Variable Declarations
► Before using any variables, you should declare them with
their data types.
► This section is typically placed after the main function's curly
opening brace
4. Statements and Expressions
► This section contains the actual instructions and logic of the
program
5. Comments
► Provide human-readable explanations within the code.
► Denoted by // for single-line comments
► /* */ for multi-line comments
C program of components (cont’d)

6. Functions
►C programs can include user-defined functions
and blocks of code that perform specific tasks.
►Functions help modularize the code and make it more
organized and manageable.
7. Return Statement
►Use the return statement to terminate a function
►A return statement with a value of 0 typically
indicates a successful execution in the main function
►non-zero value indicates an error or unexpected
termination.
C program of components (cont’d)

8. Functions
►C has library functions for reading user input
(scanf) and printing output to the console (printf).
►These functions are found in C programs and are
part of the standard I/O library (stdio.h header
file).
printf() and scanf()
► The printf() and scanf() functions are used for input and
output in C language.
► Both functions are inbuilt library functions, defined in

stdio.h
A. printf(): used for output
► It prints the given statement to the console.
Syntax: printf("format string",argument_list);

► The format string can be %d (integer), %c (character), %s

(string), %f (float) etc.
printf() and scanf() (cont’d)
B. scanf() function
► The scanf() function is used for input.
► It reads the input data from the console.
Syntax: scanf("format string",argument_list);

Example1: Program to print cube of given number

printf() and scanf() (cont’d)
Example1: Program to print the sum of two numbers
Variables in C
► A variable is the name of the memory location.
► It is used to store information
► Its value can be reused several times

Syntax: data_type variable_name;

► data_type: represents the type of data that variable can hold
► Example: int, float (floating-point number), char
(character), double (a double-precision floating-point
number).
► variable_name: It is the identifier for the variable
Variables in C(cont’d)
Reading Assignment
Rules for defining variables
Types of Variables in C
There are many types of variables in c:
1.local variable

2.global variable

3.static variable

4.automatic variable

5.external variable
Types of Variables in C (cont’d)
1. Local Variable
► A variable that is declared inside the function

► It must be declared at the start of the block.

► You must have to initialize the local variable before it is used.

2. Global Variable
► A variable that is declared outside the function or block

► Any function can change the value of the global variable

► It is available to all the functions

Types of Variables in C (cont’d)
Example

3. Static Variable
► A variable that is declared with the static keyword

► It retains its value between multiple function calls.

Example

► If you call this function1 many times,

► The local variable will print the same value for each function call,

► static variable will print the incremented value in each function call.
 Types of Variables in C (cont’d)
► Automatic Variable
► All variables in C that are declared inside the block, are

automatic variables by default.

► We can explicitly declare an automatic variable
using auto keyword.
 Types of Variables in C (cont’d)
External Variable
►We can share a variable in multiple C source files by

using an external variable.

►To declare an external variable, you need to use extern

keyword.
►Syntax: extern int x=10;//external variable
 Data Types in C
► A data type specifies the type of data that a variable can
store such as integer, floating, character, etc.
► There are the following data types in C language

Basic Data Type int, char, float, double

Derived Data Type array, pointer, structure, union

Enumeration Data Type enum

Void Data Type void

Data Types in C: Structures
► User defined data type that allows to combine data items of
different kinds; are used to represent a record.
Syntax: Defining a Structure

Example :
Data Types in C : Structures
► The structure tag is optional
► 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.
Data Types in C:Accessing Structure Members

► Use the member access operator (.)

► You would use the keyword struct to define variables of

structure type.
Example:
Data Types in C: Structures as Function Arguments

►We can pass a structure as a function argument in the

same way as you pass any other variable or pointer.
Example:
Data Types in C: Pointers to structures

► We can define pointers to structures in the same way as

you define pointer to any other variable
Data Types in C: union

► A union allows to store different data types in the same

memory location.
► Only one member can contain a value at any given time.

► Provide an efficient way of using the same memory

location for multiple-purpose.

► Defining a Union:
Data Types in C: union

► The union tag is optional and each member definition is

a normal variable definition,
► E.g. int i; or float f; or any other valid variable definition.
► At the end of the union's definition, before the final
semicolon, you can specify one or more union variables
but it is optional.
Example:
Data Types in C: Accessing union members
► To access any member of a union, we use the member
access operator (.)
► You would use the keyword union to define variables of

union type.
Reading Assignment
Keywords in C