C programming Language
For SSUET- Electronic Students
Introduction to C
Programming
Introduction
Books
“Turbo C Programming for PC”, Robert Lafore,
SAMS
Teach Yourself C : Herbert Schildt
Language?
Source of Communication between two
persons.
– Example: Human –To- Human
OR
Source of Communication between User
and Computer is called programming
language.
– Example: Human –To- Machine
Program
Set of instructions which perform any
specific task is called program.
What is programming?
Series of instructions to a computer to achieve a task
Instructions must be written in a way the computer can
understand
Programming languages are used to write programs
Once the code (language) of a program has been
written, it must be executed (run, started).
Some programming languages (like C, C++ or Java)
require the code to be compiled (translated to binary)
before it can be started.
History of C language
Year Language Developer
ALGOL
1960 Internal Committee
(Algorithmic Language)
BCPL
1967 (Basic Combined Programming Martin Richards
Language)
1970 B Ken Thompson
1972 C Dennis Ritchie
What is C?
C
A language written by Dennis
Ritchie in 1972 at AT&T Bell Labs
USA. This was to be the language
that UNIX was written in to become
the first "portable" language.
In recent years C has been used as a general-purpose
language because of its popularity with
programmers.
AT&T-American Telephone and Telegraph
UNIX-Uniplexed Information and Computing System or Service
Why C Still Useful?
C provides:
Efficiency, high performance and high quality
Provide functionality through rich set of function libraries
Gateway for other professional languages like C C++ Java
C is used:
System software, Compilers, Editors
Graphics and Geometry
Databases, operating systems, device drivers
Also used in application programs
Software Development Method
Requirement Specification
– Problem Definition
Analysis
– Refine, Generalize the problem definition
Design
– Develop Algorithm: (A formula or set of steps for solving a
particular problem)
Implementation
– Write Code
Verification and Testing
– Test and Debug the code
How do you write a program?
Decide what steps are needed to complete the task
Write the steps (Algorithm) in pseudo code (written in English)
or as a flowchart (graphic symbols)
Translate into the programming language
Try out the program and “debug”.
Getting started with C
Steps in learning English language
Alphabets Words Sentences Paragraph
Steps in learning C
Constants
Alphabets Instruction Program
Variables
Digits
Keywords
Special-symbols
Sample Pseudo code
Task: add two numbers
Pseudo code (Algorithm) :
1. Start
2. Get two numbers
3. Add them (a + b)
4. Print the answer
5. End
What does a flowchart look like?
Pseudo code Start
(Algorithm) :
Get 2 numbers
1. Start
2. Get two numbers
3. Add them (A + B) A+B
4. Print the answer
5. End
Print answer
End
Flow Chart symbols
START/END
INPUT/OUTPUT
PROCESS
DECISION
Integrated Development Environments
An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software
package that makes it possible to edit, compile, link, execute,
and debug a program without leaving the environment.
16
Header Files
The files that are specified in the include
section is called as header file
These are precompiled files that has some
functions defined in them
We can call those functions in our program by
supplying parameters
Header file is given an extension .h
C Source file is given an extension .c
Main Function
This is the entry point of a program
When a file is executed, the start point is the main function
From main function the flow goes as per the programmers
choice.
There may or may not be other functions written by user in a
program
Main function is compulsory for any c program
Simple C Program
/* A first C Program*/
#include <stdio.h>
void main(void)
{
printf("Hello World");
}
Simple C Program
/* A first C Program*/
#include <stdio.h> Header File
Preprocessor directive
void main() Main Function
{ Opening bracket
printf("Hello World"); Statement Part
} Closing Bracket
Simple C Program
Line 1: #include <stdio.h>
As part of compilation, the C compiler runs a program
called the C preprocessor. The preprocessor is able to
add and remove code from your source file.
In this case, the directive #include tells the
preprocessor to include code from the file stdio.h.
This file contains declarations for functions that the
program needs to use. A declaration for the printf
function is in this file.
Simple C Program
Line 2: void main(void)
This statement declares the main function.
A C program can contain many functions but must
always have one main function.
A function is a self-contained module of code that can
finish some task.
The "void" specifies the return type of main. In this case,
nothing is returned to the operating system.
Simple C Program
Line 3: {
This opening bracket denotes the start of the program.
Simple C Program
Line 4: printf("Hello World ");
Printf is a function from a standard C library that is used
to print strings to the standard output, normally your
screen.
The compiler links code from these standard libraries to
the code you have written to produce the final
executable.
If there were another printf in this program, its string
would print on the next line.
Simple C Program
Line 5: }
This closing bracket denotes the end of the program.
Comment
Single line comment
// (double slash)
– Termination of comment is by pressing enter key
Multi line comment
/*….
…….*/
It is used to increase the readability of the program.
Any number of comments can be given at any place in the
program.
Comment cannot be nested
example:
/* A first C Program*/
Running C Program
Type a program
Save it
Compile the program – This will generate an exe
file (executable)
Run the program (Actually the exe created out of
compilation will run and not the .c file)
In different compiler we have different option for
compiling and running. We give only the
concepts.
The C character Set
•A character denotes any alphabet, digit
or special symbol used to represent
information.
Alphabets A,B, …. ,Y, Z
a,b, ….. ,y, z
Digits 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Special Symbols ~‘!@#%^&*( )_-+=
|\{}[] :;“‘< > , .? /
Constants, Variable and keywords
The alphabets, numbers and special symbol
when properly combined form constants,
variables and keywords
A constant is a quantity that doesn’t change
A variable is a name given to the location in
memory where the constant is stored
Example: 3x + y = 20
3 & 20 are constants, which cannot change
x & y can vary or change hence are called variables
Keywords
• Keywords are the words whose meaning has
already been explained to the C compiler
• Sometimes called reserved words.
• They cannot be used as variable names.
• There are only 32 keywords available in c
auto double if static do
break else int struct goto
case enum long switch signed
char extern near typedef while
const float register union default
continue far return unsigned for
short void
Escape Sequence
Certain non printing characters can be expressed in terms
of escape sequences
\n new line
\t tab
\a alert
\\ backslash
\” double quote
\0 Null
\b Backspace
Data Types
• C Supports several different types of
data, each of which may be represented
differently within the computers memory.
• Basic data types are listed below:
Data Type Description Typical Memory
int integer quantity 2 bytes
char single character 1 bytes
float floating point number 4 bytes
Escape Sequences in C
Certain non printing characters can be expressed in terms of
escape sequences
Character Escape Sequence
bell \a
backspace \b
horizontal tab \t
vertical tab \v
newline \n
carriage return \r
quotation mark (“) \”
question mark(?) \?
backslash (\) \\
null \0
Development with C
Four stages
Editing: Writing the source code by using some IDE or editor
Preprocessing or libraries: Already available routines
compiling: translates or converts source to object code for a
specific platform source code -> object code
– linking: The object code of a program is linked with libraries
that are needed for execution of a program. The linker is used
to link the program with libraries. It creates a file
with '*.exe' extension.
Program Development
Editor
Source File
Preprocessor
Modified Source Code in RAM
Compiler
Program Object Code File
Linker
Executable File
Keywords
Sometimes called reserved words.
Are defined as a part of the C language.
Can not be used for anything else!
32 keywords in C
Examples:
– Int
– void
– while
– for
