CS1010E Programming Methodology

Basic C Elements
The building blocks of C.

Lecture Overview

Overview of

Basic C Elements

C language
Run Cycle

Various Statements

Programming Styles

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C Language: A brief history

C Programming Language

Originally designed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972

The 1978 book The C Programming Language

Standardized:

by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie

Gave the first specification of the language
in 1990: ANSI C ( ISO C, C89/C90 )
The most widespread version
Used in this course

Evolved:

in 1999: C99

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C Language: Characteristics
C Programming language is a:
Compiled language

Program written in C (source code) must be compiled

into machine code (executable)
Using C Compiler

High Level Programming Language

Follow a set of rules (grammar) to express algorithm

General purpose language

Imperative language

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Run Cycle for Compiled Language

Run Cycle:

The process of writing, compiling and

executing a program

Writing

Executing

Compiling

Tool: Editor

Tool: Compiler

Tool: None

Produce:
Source Code

Produce:
Executable

Produce:
Result

Compilation Error
Runtime Error
Logic Error
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Environment and Tools in this Course

Environment:

Tools:

Cygwin: Emulate Linux (Unix-like) under

Windows

Editor: vim, nano, etc (You only need one)

Compiler: gcc (GNU C Compiler)

Comments and Rationale:

Tools look primitive but very flexible and powerful

Explicitly show the run cycle step by step

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Run Cycle: Writing a Program

Use an editor to write a program following C

syntax

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Using vim
editor under
cygwin
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Run Cycle: Compiling the Source Code

Use a compiler to translate C Source Code

into Machine Code

Source code with syntax errors will fail to compile

Known as Compilation Errors

Using gcc
compiler
under cygwin

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Run Cycle: Executing the Executable

The executable can be directly executed

May terminate unexpectedly due to errors

Runtime Error

May terminate successfully but give the wrong result

Logic Error

A successful
run of the an
executable
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Run Cycle: A reminder

Run Cycle happens in the Implementation

step of the problem solving process

You should have designed the before you attempt

to write the program
Analysis

Writing

Compiling

Executing

Design
Tool: Editor
Produce:
Source Code

Tool:
Compiler
Produce:
Executable

Tool: None
Produce:
Result

Implementation

Testing

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Your very first C Program

The famous Hello World! program

Simple program to show a message on screen

Preprocessor
Directive

#include <stdio.h>

int main( )
{
Main
function

printf("Hello World!\n");
return 0;

function
body

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C Elements: Preprocessor Directive

Specific instructions for the preprocesor
(part of the compiler)
SYNTAX

#directive_name [additional information]

USAGE

#include XXXX
Meaning:
Add the file XXXX for compilation
Example:
#include <stdio.h>

We will introduce other directives when we

encounter them in future

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C Elements: Preprocessor Directive

Another commonly used directive

USAGE

#define Name Value

Meaning:
Substitute all occurrences of Name in the source
code with Value
Example:
#define MAXIMUM 5000

This directive is useful when:

There is a constant value used multiple time in the code
Allow easy modification in future
We will introduce other directives when we encounter them
in future

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C Elements: The main Function

The main function is the starting point of

your program

SYNTAX

Execution starts from here

a special case of function (lecture 3)
int main( )
{
[0 or more statements]
return 0;
}

Caution:

C is case sensitive, e.g. Main is not the same as main

Pay attention to the braces: ( ) and { }

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C Elements: Statements

Statements form the major element of a C

program:

Basically represent a step in algorithm

In this course, we categorise the C

statements as:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Declaration Statements
Assignment Statements
Function Call Statements
Control Structure (Control Flow) Statements

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C Statement: Function Call Statement

Function Call Statement:

A Function:

SYNTAX

Use (invoke) a function

Is a well defined program unit that performs a task
can be predefined (already written) or user defined
more in lecture 3

function_name (

[function_arguments] );

Function arguments:
Information needed by the function to perform
the task

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The printf() function: Brief look

The printf( ) function is a:

predefined function provided by C standard

library
defined in the <stdio.h> header file

Purpose:

SYNTAX

This is why we have the #include <stdio.h> directive

prepare and show a message on the output device
(usually your screen)

printf ( " message_to_be_shown " );

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C Statement: Control-Flow Statement

Control flow statement changes the default

sequential execution of the program
There are a number of control flow statements
we have a return statement in the sample
program

Return Statement:
SYNTAX

return value;

Terminates the current function

Give (return) the value to the caller (user) of this function

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Programming Style: The role of Spaces

White spaces:

Generally ignored by compiler, as long as:

space, empty line, tab

You place them between elements in the program

They are not part of a message (i.e. in between )

We use them to improve program readability

#include <stdio.h>
int main( ){
printf(Hello World!\n);
return 0;}

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The same Hello World Program,

but a lot harder to read.

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Variables and Arithmetic

Expressions

Problem: Area and Circumference of a Circle

Problem Description:

Given the radius R, calculate the area and

circumference of the corresponding circle

A simple algorithm:
1. Get the radius R from user
2. Area PI * R * R
3. Circumference 2 * PI * R
4. Print the result Area and Circumference

However, our C knowledge is not enough to

implement it at this point

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C Statement: Declaration Statement

Variable:

A C variable is specified by:

Storage for temporary result (data) during execution

Identifier: Name of the variable

Data Type: Type of value stored in the variable

Visualization:

variable is like a box to store data

result
Identifier

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12345

Actual Value
Data Type describe
what kind of value you
can find in the box
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C Statement: Declaration Statement

Declaration Statement

Specify the information of a variable to the compiler

Variable must be declared before usage

SYNTAX

datatype identifier;
datatype identifier1, identifier2, ...;
datatype identifier = initial_value;

Data Type

int

Description
Integer (whole number) with no fractional part

double

Real number with fractional part

Other

To be covered later in the course

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C Statement: Declaration Statement

Identifier:

Can be declared only once in a function

Must follow naming rule

Identifier Naming rule:

Consists of only letters, digits and underscores

Cannot begin with a digit
Cannot use keywords (words with special
meaning in C)

E.g. return, int, double,

Should not redefine identifiers defined in C library

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C Statement: Declaration Statement

Examples:

Check for validity

Can you figure out the meaning?

double area;
double area, circumference;
double area = 0.0;
double area = 0.0, circumference = 1.0;
double 1area;
double area_of_circle;
double return;
double printf;
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Programming Style: Meaningful Identifiers

Additional requirement when naming

identifier for readability:

The name should be short and meaningful

Identifier with multiple words should be avoided
If you must use identifier with multiple words, use
one of the following styles consistently:

Separate word with _ (underscore)

E.g. radius_of_circle

Capitalise the first letter of each word beyond the first:

E.g. radiusOfCircle

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Programming Style: Declare Together!

In a function, you should place all the
declaration statements together before other
types of statements
SYNTAX

int main( )
{
[0 or more declaration statements]
[0 or more other statements]
return 0;
}

You can easily find out all the variable used

in a function at the top part of function in this
way

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C Element: Assignment Statement

Assignment Statement:
The main way to change the value stored in a
variable

SYNTAX

variable = value;
variable = expression;

Execution:
1.

2.

Evaluate (calculate) the Right Hand Side

(R.H.S) to a single value V
Place V in the variable on L.H.S.

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C Element: Assignment Statement

Simple Examples:

Assume variables are declared

area = 1.23;
result = x + y;
result = result + 4;

The expression can be quite complicated:

answer = (x + y) * 5 / 1.23;

Lets look at the expression in depth:

Operator
Precedence, Associative Rule and Bracket

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Assignment Statement: Operators

Binary Operators:

Works on two arguments: arg1 op arg2

Example:

+, * (multiplication)
/ (dividision)
% (modulo, remainder, only for whole numbers)

Unary Operators:

Works on one argument: op arg1

Example:

+ (positive): +1
- (negative): -7.14

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Assignment Statement: Operators

Operators are ordered by precedence:

+, -

Unary +, -

Remainder

*, /

Multiplication, Division

+, -

Addition, Subtraction

Operators with the same precedence are

ordered by associative rule
Binary Operator: Left Associative
a + b + c (a + b ) + c

Unary Operator: Right Associative

x- -y x (-y)

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Assignment Statement: Brackets

Precedence and Associative rule can be

tricky:

It is best to avoid them

You can either:

Break a complicated expression into several

statements

OR, use brackets to avoid logical error

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Assignment Statement: Conversion

Datatype conversion will happen automatically

during evaluation and assignment

Example:

Safe Conversion:

intVar = 1 / 2;
doubleVar = 1 / 2;
doubleVar = 1 / 2.0;

No information is lost during conversion

e.g. 123 123.0

Unsafe Conversion:

Information is lost during conversion

e.g. 123.45 123

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Simple Input and Output

(I/O)

#include <stdio.h>

SYNTAX

You need to include the above header file in order to

use the function
scanf( "format_string" [, input_list] );

Example

HEADER

scanf(): Predefined Function for Input

scanf( "%d", &integerVar );

Placeholder to
indicate what
datatype to expect
from user
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Variable to store the

value entered by user.
Note the (&) symbol.

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scanf(): Predefined Function for Input

Placeholder:
%d

for integer value

%lf

for double floating point value

Variable:

Must match the datatype specified by the placeholder

Need a & symbol in front

A single scanf() can read in multiple values:

Example

Will be explained in lecture 6

scanf( "%d%d", &intVar1, &intVar2 );

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SYNTAX

#include <stdio.h>

printf( "format_string" [, print_list] );

Example

HEADER

printf(): Predefined Function for Output

printf( "Answer is %d", intVar );

Note the usage of placeholder in the format

string

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printf(): Predefined Function for Output

By using placeholder, we can show

computed values to the user:

Example

Value stored in a variable

Value evaluated by an expression

printf( "%d, %lf", intVar, 3.14 * 1.23);

Value stored in
intVar will be
printed

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Result of this
expression will be
printed

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printf(): Predefined Function for Output

Special Control Characters:

\n

go to newline

\t

jump to next tab

\\

to print out \

to print out (the double quote character)

Try it out:
Example

also known as escape sequence

mainly used to control the movement of cursor

printf( "To print \" you need to \\\"\n");

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The Circle Program

1. Get the radius R from user

2. Area PI * R * R
3. Circumference 2 * PI * R
4. Print the result Area and Circumference

From Algorithm to Code

Convert the "Circle algorithm" to code:

#include <stdio.h>
#define PI 3.14159
int main( )
{
double radius, area, circumference;
printf( Enter Radius = " );
scanf( "%lf", &radius );
area = PI * radius * radius;
circumference = 2 * PI * radius;
printf( The area is %lf, Circumference is %lf\n",
area, circumference);
return 0;
}

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C Elements: Comments

You can add descriptive messages in the

code for explanation and extra information
SYNTAX

// a single line comment

Comments are for humans only

/* a multiple
lines comment
*/

ignored by compiler

You can also comment off a chunk of actual code

to hide them from compilation

Useful when you are looking for errors in a big

program

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Programming Style: Useful Comments

We expect you to write useful comments in

your code:

Explain a piece of complicated logic

Explain the purpose of a function (more on this
later)

Dont overdo it:

There is no need to comment on every line of

code
Excessive comment is actually bad programming
style

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2. Another Example Program

preprocessor
directives

standard header file

constant
reserved
words
comments

variables
standard identifiers
special
symbols

punctuations
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Problem 1: What time is it?

Problem statement:

Given a start time ST and end time ET, expressed

by the hour (0 to 23) and minute (0 to 59)
Show the total elapsed time (hour and minute)
between start time and end time

For simplicity:

You can assume that ST and ET are in the same

day, so ST is always smaller than ET

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Summary
C Elements

Declaration Statements
Assignment Statements
- arithmetic expressions
Control Flow Statements
- return statement

Programming Style

Function Call statements

Use white space for readability
Place declarations before other type of
statements
Use meaningful identifiers
Use comments

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