UNIT 1

PROBLEM SOLVING

Problem Solving

Structure
1.0
1.1
1.2

Introduction
Objectives
Problem - Solving Techniques
1.2.1
1.2.2

1.3

Design of Algorithms
1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.3.4

1.4

Definition
Features of Algorithm
Criteria to be followed by an Algorithm
Top Down Design

Analysis of Algorithm Efficiency

1.4.1
1.4.2
1.4.3
1.4.4
1.4.5

1.5

Steps for Problem - Solving

Using Computer as a Problem-Solving Tool

Redundant Computations
Referencing Array Elements
Inefficiency Due to Late Termination
Early Detection of Desired Output Condition
Trading Storage for Efficient Gains

Analysis of Algorithm Complexity

1.5.1
1.5.2
1.5.3
1.5.4

Computational Complexity
The Order of Notation
Rules for using the Big - O Notation
Worst and Average Case Behavior

1.6

Flowcharts

1.7
1.8
1.8

Summary
Solutions / Answers
Further Readings

1.6.1

1.0

Basic Symbols used in Flowchart Design

INTRODUCTION

In our daily life, we routinely encounter and solve problems. We pose problems that
we need or want to solve. For this, we make use of available resources, and solve
them. Some categories of resources include: the time and efforts of yours and others;
tools; information; and money. Some of the problems that you encounter and solve are
quite simple. But some others may be very complex.
In this unit we introduce you to the concepts of problem-solving, especially as they
pertain to computer programming.
The problem-solving is a skill and there are no universal approaches one can take to
solving problems. Basically one must explore possible avenues to a solution one by
one until s/he comes across a right path to a solution. In general, as one gains
experience in solving problems, one develops ones own techniques and strategies,
though they are often intangible. Problem-solving skills are recognized as an integral
component of computer programming. It is a demand and intricate process which is
equally important throughout the project life cycle especially study, designing,
development, testing and implementation stages. The computer problem solving
process requires:

Problem anticipation
Careful planning
Proper thought process
Logical precision
Problem analysis
Persistence and attention.
7

An Introduction to C

At the same time it requires personal creativity, analytic ability and expression. The
chances of success are amplified when the problem solving is approached in a
systematic way and satisfaction is achieved once the problem is satisfactorily solved.
The problems should be anticipated in advance as far as possible and properly defined
to help the algorithm definition and development process.
Computer is a very powerful tool for solving problems. It is a symbol-manipulating
machine that follows a set of stored instructions called a program. It performs these
manipulations very quickly and has memory for storing input, lists of commands and
output. A computer cannot think in the way we associate with humans. When using
the computer to solve a problem, you must specify the needed initial data, the
operations which need to be performed (in order of performance) and what results you
want for output. If any of these instructions are missing, you will get either no results
or invalid results. In either case, your problem has not yet been solved. Therefore,
several steps need to be considered before writing a program. These steps may free
you from hours of finding and removing errors in your program (a process called
debugging). It should also make the act of problem solving with a computer a much
simpler task.
All types of computer programs are collectively referred to as software. Programming
languages are also part of it. Physical computer equipment such as electronic circuitry,
input/output devices, storage media etc. comes under hardware. Software governs the
functioning of hardware. Operations performed by software may be built into the
hardware, while instructions executed by the hardware may be generated in software.
The decision to incorporate certain functions in the hardware and others in the
software is made by the manufacturer and designer of the software and hardware.
Normal considerations for this are: cost, speed, memory required, adaptability and
reliability of the system. Set of instructions of the high level language used to code a
problem to find its solution is referred to as Source Program. A translator program
called a compiler or interpreter, translates the source program into the object
program. This is the compilation or interpretation phase. All the testing of the source
program as regards the correct format of instructions is performed at this stage and the
errors, if any, are printed. If there is no error, the source program is transformed into
the machine language program called Object Program. The Object Program is
executed to perform calculations. This stage is the execution phase. Data, if required
by the program, are supplied now and the results are obtained on the output device.

Source
Program

Computer
System

Object
Program

Results

1.1

OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit, you should be able to:

apply problem solving techniques;

define an algorithm and its features;
describe the analysis of algorithm efficiency;
discuss the analysis of algorithm complexity; and
design flowcharts.

Data,
if
required

1.2

PROBLEM - SOLVING TECHNIQUES

Problem Solving

Problem solving is a creative process which defines systematization and

mechanization. There are a number of steps that can be taken to raise the level of
ones performance in problem solving.

1.2.1

Steps for Problem - Solving

A problem-solving technique follows certain steps in finding the solution to a problem.

Let us look into the steps one by one:
Problem definition phase
The success in solving any problem is possible only after the problem has been fully
understood. That is, we cannot hope to solve a problem, which we do not understand.
So, the problem understanding is the first step towards the solution of the problem. In
problem definition phase, we must emphasize what must be done rather than how is it
to be done. That is, we try to extract the precisely defined set of tasks from the
problem statement. Inexperienced problem solvers too often gallop ahead with the
task of problem - solving only to find that they are either solving the wrong problem
or solving just one particular problem.
Getting started on a problem
There are many ways of solving a problem and there may be several solutions. So, it
is difficult to recognize immediately which path could be more productive. Sometimes
you do not have any idea where to begin solving a problem, even if the problem has
been defined. Such block sometimes occurs because you are overly concerned with
the details of the implementation even before you have completely understood or
worked out a solution. The best advice is not to get concerned with the details. Those
can come later when the intricacies of the problem has been understood.
The use of specific examples
To get started on a problem, we can make use of heuristics i.e., the rule of thumb. This
approach will allow us to start on the problem by picking a specific problem we wish
to solve and try to work out the mechanism that will allow solving this particular
problem. It is usually much easier to work out the details of a solution to a specific
problem because the relationship between the mechanism and the problem is more
clearly defined. This approach of focusing on a particular problem can give us the
foothold we need for making a start on the solution to the general problem.
Similarities among problems
One way to make a start is by considering a specific example. Another approach is to
bring the experience to bear on the current problem. So, it is important to see if there
are any similarities between the current problem and the past problems which we have
solved. The more experience one has the more tools and techniques one can bring to
bear in tackling the given problem. But sometimes, it blocks us from discovering a
desirable or better solution to the problem. A skill that is important to try to develop
in problem - solving is the ability to view a problem from a variety of angles. One
must be able to metaphorically turn a problem upside down, inside out, sideways,
backwards, forwards and so on. Once one has developed this skill it should be
possible to get started on any problem.
Working backwards from the solution
In some cases we can assume that we already have the solution to the problem and
then try to work backwards to the starting point. Even a guess at the solution to the

An Introduction to C

problem may be enough to give us a foothold to start on the problem. We can

systematize the investigations and avoid duplicate efforts by writing down the various
steps taken and explorations made. Another practice that helps to develop the problem
solving skills is, once we have solved a problem, to consciously reflect back on the
way we went about discovering the solution.

1.2.2

Using Computer as a Problem - Solving Tool

The computer is a resource - a versatile tool - that can help you solve some of the
problems that you encounter. A computer is a very powerful general-purpose tool.
Computers can solve or help to solve many types of problems. There are also many
ways in which a computer can enhance the effectiveness of the time and effort that
you are willing to devote to solving a problem. Thus, it will prove to be well worth the
time and effort you spend to learn how to make effective use of this tool.
In this section, we discuss the steps involved in developing a program. Program
development is a multi-step process that requires you to understand the problem,
develop a solution, write the program, and then test it. This critical process determines
the overall quality and success of your program. If you carefully design each program
using good structured development techniques, your programs will be efficient, errorfree, and easy to maintain. The following are the steps in detail:
1. Develop an Algorithm and a Flowchart.
2. Write the program in a computer language (for example say C programming
language).
3. Enter the program using some editor.
4. Test and debug the program.
5. Run the program, input data, and get the results.

1.3

DESIGN OF ALGORITHMS

The first step in the program development is to devise and describe a precise plan of
what you want the computer to do. This plan, expressed as a sequence of operations,
is called an algorithm. An algorithm is just an outline or idea behind a program.
something resembling C or Pascal, but with some statements in English rather than
within the programming language. It is expected that one could translate each pseudocode statement to a small number of lines of actual code, easily and mechanically.

1.3.1

Definition

An algorithm is a finite set of steps defining the solution of a particular problem. An

algorithm is expressed in pseudocode - something resembling C language or Pascal,
but with some statements in English rather than within the programming language.
Developing an efficient algorithm requires lot of practice and skill. It must be noted
that an efficient algorithm is one which is capable of giving the solution to the
problem by using minimum resources of the system such as memory and processors
time. Algorithm is a language independent, well structured and detailed. It will enable
the programmer to translate into a computer program using any high-level language.

1.3.2 Features of Algorithm

Following features should be present in an algorithm:
Proper understanding of the problem
For designing an efficient algorithm, the expectations from the algorithm should be
clearly defined so that the person developing the algorithm can understand the
expectations from it. This is normally the outcome of the problem definition phase.
10

Use of procedures / functions to emphasize modularity

Problem Solving

To assist the development, implementation and readability of the program, it is

usually helpful to modularize (section) the program. Independent functions perform
specific and well defined tasks. In applying modularization, it is important to watch
that the process is not taken so far to a point at which the implementation becomes
difficult to read because of fragmentation. The program then can be implemented as
calls to the various procedures that will be needed in the final implementations.
Choice of variable names
Proper variable names and constant names can make the program more meaningful
and easier to understand. This practice tends to make the program more self
documenting. A clear definition of all variables and constants at the start of the
procedure / algorithm can also be helpful. For example, it is better to use variable day
for the day of the weeks, instead of the variable a or something else.
Documentation of the program
Brief information about the segment of the code can be included in the program to
facilitate debugging and providing information. A related part of the documentation is
the information that the programmer presents to the user during the execution of the
program. Since, the program is often to be used by persons who are unfamiliar with
the working and input requirements of the program, proper documentation must be
provided. That is, the program must specify what responses are required from the user.
Care should also be taken to avoid ambiguities in these specifications. Also the
program should catch incorrect responses to its requests and inform the user in an
appropriate manner.

1.3.3 Criteria to be followed by an Algorithm

The following is the criteria to be followed by an algorithm:

Input: There should be zero or more values which are to be supplied.

Output: At least one result is to be produced.
Definiteness: Each step must be clear and unambiguous.
Finiteness: If we trace the steps of an algorithm, then for all cases, the algorithm
must terminate after a finite number of steps.
Effectiveness: Each step must be sufficiently basic that a person using only paper
and pencil can in principle carry it out. In addition, not only each step is definite,
it must also be feasible.

Example 1.1
Let us try to develop an algorithm to compute and display the sum of two numbers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Start
Read two numbers a and b
Calculate the sum of a and b and store it in sum
Display the value of sum
Stop

Example 1.2
Let us try to develop an algorithm to compute and print the average of a set of data
values.
1. Start
2. Set the sum of the data values and the count to zero.
11

An Introduction to C

3. As long as the data values exist, add the next data value to the sum and add 1 to
the count.
4. To compute the average, divide the sum by the count.
5. Display the average.
6. Stop
Example 1.3
Write an algorithm to calculate the factorial of a given number.
1. Start
2. Read the number n
3. [Initialize]
i 1 , fact 1
4. Repeat steps 4 through 6 until i = n
5. fact fact * i
6. i i + 1
7. Print fact
8. Stop
Example 1.4
Write an algorithm to check that whether the given number is prime or not.
1. Start
2. Read the number num
3. [Initialize]
i 2 , flag 1
4. Repeat steps 4 through 6 until i < num or flag = 0
5. rem num mod i
6. if rem = 0 then
flag 0
else
ii+1
7. if flag = 0 then
Print Number is not prime
Else
Print Number is prime
8. Stop

1.3.4

Top Down Design

Once we have defined the problem and have an idea of how to solve it, we can then
use the powerful techniques for designing algorithms. Most of the problems are
complex or large problems and to solve them we have to focus on to comprehend at
one time, a very limited span of logic or instructions. A technique for algorithm
design that tries to accommodate this human limitation is known as top-down design
or stepwise refinement.
Top down design provides the way of handling the logical complexity and detail
encountered in computer algorithm. It allows building solutions to problems in step by
step. In this way, specific and complex details of the implementation are encountered
only at the stage when sufficient groundwork on the overall structure and relationships
among the various parts of the problem.
Before the top down design can be applied to any problem, we must at least have the
outlines of a solution. Sometimes this might demand a lengthy and creative
12

investigation into the problem while at another time the problem description may in
itself provide the necessary starting point for the top-down design.

Problem Solving

Top-down design suggests taking the general statements about the solution one at a
time, and then breaking them down into a more precise subtask / sub-problem. These
sub-problems should more accurately describe how the final goal can be reached. The
process of repeatedly breaking a task down into a subtask and then each subtask into
smaller subtasks must continue until the sub-problem can be implemented as the
program statement. With each spitting, it is essential to define how sub-problems
interact with each other. In this way, the overall structure of the solution to the
problem can be maintained. Preservation of the overall structure is important for
making the algorithm comprehensible and also for making it possible to prove the
correctness of the solution.

Figure 1.1:

1.4

Schematic breakdown of a problem into subtasks as employed in

top down design

ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHM EFFICENCY

Every algorithm uses some of the computers resources like central processing time
and internal memory to complete its task. Because of high cost of computing
resources, it is desirable to design algorithms that are economical in the use of CPU
time and memory. Efficiency considerations for algorithms are tied in with the design,
implementation and analysis of algorithm. Analysis of algorithms is less obviously
necessary, but has several purposes:

Analysis can be more reliable than experimentation. If we experiment, we

only know the behavior of a program on certain specific test cases, while
analysis can give us guarantees about the performance on all inputs.
It helps one choose among different solutions to problems. As we will see,
there can be many different solutions to the same problem. A careful analysis
and comparison can help us decide which one would be the best for our
purpose, without requiring that all be implemented and tested.
13

An Introduction to C

We can predict the performance of a program before we take the time to write
code. In a large project, if we waited until after all the code was written to
discover that something runs very slowly, it could be a major disaster, but if
we do the analysis first we have time to discover speed problems and work
around them.
By analyzing an algorithm, we gain a better understanding of where the fast
and slow parts are, and what to work on or work around in order to speed it
up.
There is no simpler way of designing efficient algorithm, but a few suggestions as
shown below can sometimes be useful in designing an efficient algorithm.

1.4.1

Redundant Computations

Redundant computations or unnecessary computations result in inefficiency in the

implementation of the algorithms. When redundant calculations are embedded inside
the loop for the variable which remains unchanged throughout the entire execution
phase of the loop, the results are more serious. For example, consider the following
code in which the value a*a*a*c is redundantly calculated in the loop:
x=0;
for i=0 to n
x=x+1;
y=(a*a*a*c)*x*x+b*b*x;
print x,y
next i
This redundant calculation can be removed by small modification in the program:
x=0;
d=a*a*a*c;
e= b*b;
for i = 0 to n
x = x+1;
y = d*x*x+e*x;
print x,y
next i

1.4.2

Referencing Array Elements

For using the array element, we require two memory references and an additional
operation to locate the correct value for use. So, efficient program must not refer to
the same array element again and again if the value of the array element does not
change. We must store the value of array element in some variable and use that
variable in place of referencing the array element. For example:
Version (1)
x=1;
for i = 0 to n
if (a[i] > a[x]) x=i;
next i
max = a[x];
Version (2)
x=1;
max=a[1];
for i = 0 to n
if(a[i]>max)
x=i;
max=a[i];
next i
14

Version (2) is more efficient algorithm than version (1) algorithm.

Problem Solving

1.4.3

Inefficiency Due to Late Termination

Another place where inefficiency can come into an implementation is where

considerably more tests are done than are required to solve the problem at hand. For
example, if in the linear search process, all the list elements are checked for a
particular element even if the point is reached where it was known that the element
cannot occur later (in case of sorted list). Second example can be in case of the bubble
sort algorithm, where the inner loop should not proceed beyond n-i, because last i
elements are already sorted (in the algorithm given below).
for i = 0 to n
for j = 0 to n 1
if(a[j] > a[j+1])
//swap values a[j], a[j+1]
The efficient algorithm in which the inner loop terminates much before is given as:
for i=0 to n
for j=0 to n 1
if(a[j]>a[j+1])
//swap values a[j], a[j+1]

1.4.4

Early Detection of Desired Output Condition

Sometimes the loops can be terminated early, if the desired output conditions are met.
This saves a lot of unfruitful execution. For example, in the bubble sort algorithm, if
during the current pass of the inner loop there are no exchanges in the data, then the
list can be assumed to be sorted and the search can be terminated before running the
outer loop for n times.

1.4.5

Trading Storage for Efficient Gains

A trade between storage and efficiency is often used to improve the performance of an
algorithm. This can be done if we save some intermediary results and avoid having to
do a lot of unnecessary testing and computation later on.
One strategy for speeding up the execution of an algorithm is to implement it using
the least number of loops. It may make the program much harder to read and debug. It
is therefore sometimes desirable that each loop does one job and sometimes it is
required for computational speedup or efficiency that the same loop must be used for
different jobs so as to reduce the number of loops in the algorithm. A kind of trade off
is to be done while determining the approach for the same.

1.5

ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHM COMPLEXITY

Algorithms usually possess the following qualities and capabilities:

Easily modifiable if necessary.

They are easy, general and powerful.
They are correct for clearly defined solution.
Require less computer time, storage and peripherals i.e. they are more economical.
They are documented well enough to be used by others who do not have a
detailed knowledge of the inner working.
They are not dependable on being run on a particular computer.
The solution is pleasing and satisfying to its designer and user.
They are able to be used as a sub-procedure for other problems.
15

An Introduction to C

Two or more algorithms can solve the same problem in different ways. So,
quantitative measures are valuable in that they provide a way of comparing the
performance of two or more algorithms that are intended to solve the same problem.
This is an important step because the use of an algorithm that is more efficient in
terms of time, resources required, can save time and money.

1.5.1

Computational Complexity

We can characterize an algorithms performance in terms of the size (usually n) of the

problem being solved. More computing resources are needed to solve larger problems
in the same class. The table below illustrates the comparative cost of solving the
problem for a range of n values.
Log2 n
1
3.322
6.644
9.966
13.287

n
2
10
102
103
104

n log2 n
2
33.22
664.4
9966.0
132877

n2
4
102
104
106
108

n3
8
103
106
109
1012

2n
4
>103
>>1025
>>10250
>>102500

The above table shows that only very small problems can be solved with an algorithm
that exhibit exponential behaviour. An exponential problem with n=100 would take
immeasurably longer time. At the other extreme, for an algorithm with logarithmic
dependency would merely take much less time (13 steps in case of log2n in the above
table). These examples emphasize the importance of the way in which algorithms
behave as a function of the problem size. Analysis of an algorithm also provides the
theoretical model of the inherent computational complexity of a particular problem.
To decide how to characterize the behaviour of an algorithm as a function of size of
the problem n, we must study the mechanism very carefully to decide just what
constitutes the dominant mechanism. It may be the number of times a particular
expression is evaluated, or the number of comparisons or exchanges that must be
made as n grows. For example, comparisons, exchanges, and moves count most in
sorting algorithm. The number of comparisons usually dominates so we use
comparisons in computational model for sorting algorithms.

1.5.2

The Order of Notation

The O-notation gives an upper bound to a function within a constant factor. For a
given function g(n), we denote by O(g(n)) the set of functions.
O(g(n)) = { f(n) : there exist positive constants c and n0, such that 0 <= f(n) <= cg(n)
for all n >= n0 }
Using O-notation, we can often describe the running time of an algorithm merely by
inspecting the algorithms overall structure. For example a double nested loop
structure of the following algorithm immediately yields O(n2) upper bound on the
worst case running time.
for i=0 to n
for j=0 to n
print i,j
next j
next i
What we mean by saying the running time is O(n2) is that the worst case running
time ( which is a function of n) is O(n2). Or equivalently, no matter what particular
input of size n is chosen for each value of n, the running time on that set of inputs is
O(n2).
16

Problem Solving

1.5.3

Rules for using the Big-O Notation

Big-O bounds, because they ignore constants, usually allow for very simple
expression for the running time bounds. Below are some properties of big-O that
allow bounds to be simplified. The most important property is that big-O gives an
upper bound only. If an algorithm is O(N2), it doesnt have to take N2 steps (or a
constant multiple of N2). But it cant take more than N2. So any algorithm that is
O(N), is also an O(N2) algorithm. If this seems confusing, think of big-O as being like
<. Any number that is < N is also <N2.
1. Ignoring constant factors: O(c f(N)) = O(f(N)), where c is a constant; e.g. O(20
N3) = O(N3)
2. Ignoring smaller terms: If a<b then O(a+b) = O(b), for example, O(N2+N) =
O(N2)
3. Upper bound only: If a<b then an O(a) algorithm is also an O(b) algorithm. For
example, an O(N) algorithm is also an O(N2) algorithm (but not vice versa).
4. N and log N are bigger than any constant, from an asymptotic view (that means
for large enough N). So if k is a constant, an O(N + k) algorithm is also O(N), by
ignoring smaller terms. Similarly, an O(log N + k) algorithm is also O(log N).
5. Another consequence of the last item is that an O(N log N + N) algorithm, which
is O(N(log N + 1)), can be simplified to O(N log N).

1.5.4 Worst and Average Case Behavior

Worst and average case behaviors of the algorithm are the two measures of
performance that are usually considered. These two measures can be applied to both
space and time complexity of an algorithm. The worst case complexity for a given
problem of size n corresponds to the maximum complexity encountered among all
problems of size n. For determination of the worst case complexity of an algorithm,
we choose a set of input conditions that force the algorithm to make the least possible
progress at each step towards its final goal.
In many practical applications it is very important to have a measure of the expected
complexity of an algorithm rather than the worst case behavior. The expected
complexity gives a measure of the behavior of the algorithm averaged over all
possible problems of size n.
As a simple example: Suppose we wish to characterize the behavior of an algorithm
that linearly searches an ordered list of elements for some value x.
1 2 3 4 5 . N
In the worst case, the algorithm examines all n values in the list before terminating.
In the average case, the probability that x will be found at position 1 is 1/n, at position
2 is 2/n and so on. Therefore,
Average search cost

= 1/n(1+2+3+ ..+n)
= 1/n(n/2(n+1)) = (n+1)/2

Let us see how to represent the algorithm in a graphical form using a flowchart in the
following section.

1.6

FLOWCHARTS

The next step after the algorithm development is the flowcharting. Flowcharts are
used in programming to diagram the path in which information is processed through a
computer to obtain the desired results. Flowchart is a graphical representation of an

17

An Introduction to C

algorithm. It makes use of symbols which are connected among them to indicate the
flow of information and processing. It will show the general outline of how to solve a
problem or perform a task. It is prepared for better understanding of the algorithm.

1.6.1

Basic Symbols used in flowchart design

Start/Stop

Question, Decision (Use in

Branching)

Input/Output

Lines or arrows represent the direction of the

flow of control.
Connector (connect one part of the
flowchart to another)

Process, Instruction

Comments, Explanations,
Definitions.
Additional Symbols Related to more advanced programming

Preparation (may be used with do Loops )

Refers to separate flowchart

18

Problem Solving

Example 1.5
The flowchart for the Example 1.1 is shown below:
Start

Read a b

Sum = a + b

Print sum
Stop
Example 1.6
The flowchart for the Example 1.3 (to find factorial of a given number) is shown
below:
Start

Read n

i=1
fact = 1

No
Is i<= n ?

yes
i=i+1

Print fact
fact = fact * i

Stop

19

An Introduction to C

Example 1.7:
The flowchart for Example 1.4 is shown below:
Start

Read num

i=2
flag = 1

no

is
i<num?
yes
no

is
flag = 0?
yes
rem =
num mod i

no

is rem
!= 0?
yes
i=i+1

flag = 0

no
Print
number is
not prime

is flag
= 1?

yes

stop

20

Print
Number
is prime

Check Your Progress

Problem Solving

1. Differentiate between flowchart and algorithm.

2. Compute and print the sum of a set of data values.

3. Write the following steps are suggested to facilitate the problem solving process
using computer.

4. Draw an algorithm and flowchart to calculate the roots of quadratic equation

Ax^2 + Bx + C = 0.
.
.

1.7

SUMMARY

To solve a problem different problem - solving tools are available that help in finding
the solution to problem in an efficient and systematic way. Steps should be followed
to solve the problem that includes writing the algorithm and drawing the flowchart for
the solution to the stated problem. Top down design provides the way of handling the
logical complexity and detail encountered in computer algorithm. It allows building
solutions to problems in a stepwise fashion. In this way, specific and complex details
of the implementation are encountered only at the stage when sufficient groundwork
on the overall structure and relationships among the carious parts of the problem. We
present C language - a standardized, industrial-strength programming language known
for its power and portability as an implementation vehicle for these problem solving
techniques using computer.

1.8

SOLUTIONS / ANSWERS

Check Your Progress

1. The process to devise and describe a precise plan (in the form of sequence of
operations) of what you want the computer to do, is called an algorithm. An
algorithm may be symbolized in a flowchart or pseudocode.
21

An Introduction to C

2. 1. Start
2. Set the sum of the data values and the count of the data values to zero.
3. As long as the data values exist, add the next data value to the sum
and add 1 to the count.
4. Display the average.
5. Stop
3. The following steps are suggested to facilitate the problem solving process:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Define the problem

Formulate a mathematical model
Develop an algorithm
Design the flowchart
Code the same using some computer language
Test the program

1.9 FURTHER READINGS

1. How to solve it by Computer, 5th Edition, R G Dromey, PHI, 1992.
2. Introduction to Computer Algorithms, Second Edition, Thomas H. Cormen, MIT
press, 2001.
3. Fundamentals of Algorithmics, Gilles Brassword, Paul Bratley, PHI, 1996.
4. Fundamental Algorithms, Third Edition, Donald E Knuth, Addison-Wesley, 1997.

22

UNIT 2

BASICS OF C

Basics of C

Structure
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3

Introduction
Objectives
What is a Program and what is a Programming Language?
C Language
2.3.1
2.3.2

History of C
Salient Features of C

2.4

Structure of a C Program

2.5
2.6

Writing a C Program
Compiling a C Program

A simple C Program

2.6.1
2.6.2

2.7

Link and Run the C Program

2.7.1
2.7.2
2.7.3
2.7.4

2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11

2.0

The C Compiler
Syntax and Semantic Errors
Run the C Program through the Menu
Run from an Executable File
Linker Errors
Logical and Runtime Errors

Diagrammatic Representation of Program Execution Process

Summary
Solutions / Answers
Further Readings

INTRODUCTION

In the earlier unit we introduced you to the concepts of problem-solving, especially as

they pertain to computer programming. In this unit we present C language - a
standardized, industrial-strength programming language known for its power and
portability as an implementation vehicle for these problem solving techniques using
computer.
A language is a mode of communication between two people. It is necessary for those
two people to understand the language in order to communicate. But even if the two
people do not understand the same language, a translator can help to convert one
language to the other, understood by the second person. Similar to a translator is the
mode of communication between a user and a computer is a computer language. One
form of the computer language is understood by the user, while in the other form it is
understood by the computer. A translator (or compiler) is needed to convert from
users form to computers form. Like other languages, a computer language also
follows a particular grammar known as the syntax.
In this unit we will introduce you the basics of programming language C.

2.1

OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit you will be able to:

define what is a program?

understand what is a C programming language?
compile a C program;
identify the syntax errors;
run a C program; and
understand what are run time and logical errors.

23

An Introduction to C

2.2

WHAT IS A PROGRAM AND WHAT IS A

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE?

We have seen in the previous unit that a computer has to be fed with a detailed set of
instructions and data for solving a problem. Such a procedure which we call an
algorithm is a series of steps arranged in a logical sequence. Also we have seen that a
flowchart is a pictorial representation of a sequence of instructions given to the
computer. It also serves as a document explaining the procedure used to solve a
problem. In practice it is necessary to express an algorithm using a programming
language. A procedure expressed in a programming language is known as a computer
program.
Computer programming languages are developed with the primary objective of
facilitating a large number of people to use computers without the need for them to
know in detail the internal structure of the computer. Languages are designed to be
machine-independent. Most of the programming languages ideally designed, to
execute a program on any computer regardless of who manufactured it or what model
it is.
Programming languages can be divided into two categories:
(i)

Low Level Languages or Machine Oriented Languages: The language

whose design is governed by the circuitry and the structure of the machine is
known as the Machine language. This language is difficult to learn and use. It
is specific to a given computer and is different for different computers i.e. these
languages are machine-dependent. These languages have been designed to
give a better machine efficiency, i.e. faster program execution. Such languages
are also known as Low Level Languages. Another type of Low-Level Language
is the Assembly Language. We will code the assembly language program in the
form of mnemonics. Every machine provides a different set of mnemonics to be
used for that machine only depending upon the processor that the machine is
using.

(ii)

High Level Languages or Problem Oriented Languages: These languages

are particularly oriented towards describing the procedures for solving the
problem in a concise, precise and unambiguous manner. Every high level
language follows a precise set of rules. They are developed to allow application
programs to be run on a variety of computers. These languages are machineindependent. Languages falling in this category are FORTRAN, BASIC,
PASCAL etc. They are easy to learn and programs may be written in these
languages with much less effort. However, the computer cannot understand
them and they need to be translated into machine language with the help of
other programs known as Compilers or Translators.

2.3

C LANGUAGE

Prior to writing C programs, it would be interesting to find out what really is C

language, how it came into existence and where does it stand with respect to other
computer languages. We will briefly outline these issues in the following section.

2.3.1

History of C

C is a programming language developed at AT&Ts Bell Laboratory of USA in 1972.

It was designed and written by Dennis Ritchie. As compared to other programming
languages such as Pascal, C allows a precise control of input and output.
24

Now let us see its historical development. The late 1960s were a turbulent era for
computer systems research at Bell Telephone Laboratories. By 1960, many
programming languages came into existence, almost each for a specific purpose. For
example COBOL was being used for Commercial or Business Applications,
FORTRAN for Scientific Applications and so on. So, people started thinking why
could not there be a one general purpose language. Therefore, an International
Committee was set up to develop such a language, which came out with the invention
of ALGOL60. But this language never became popular because it was too abstract and
too general. To improve this, a new language called Combined Programming
Language (CPL) was developed at Cambridge University. But this language was very
complex in the sense that it had too many features and it was very difficult to learn.
Martin Richards at Cambridge University reduced the features of CPL and developed
a new language called Basic Combined Programming Language (BCPL). But
unfortunately it turned out to be much less powerful and too specific. Ken Thompson
at AT & Ts Bell Labs, developed a language called B at the same time as a further
simplification of CPL. But like BCPL this was also too specific. Ritchie inherited the
features of B and BCPL and added some features on his own and developed a
language called C. C proved to be quite compact and coherent. Ritchie first
implemented C on a DEC PDP-11 that used the UNIX Operating System.

Basics of C

For many years the de facto standard for C was the version supplied with the UNIX
version 5 operating system. The growing popularity of microcomputers led to the
creation of large number of C implementations. At the source code level most of these
implementations were highly compatible. However, since no standard existed there
were discrepancies. To overcome this situation, ANSI established a committee in
1983 that defined an ANSI standard for the C language.

2.3.2

Salient features of C

C is a general purpose, structured programming language. Among the two types of

programming languages discussed earlier, C lies in between these two categories.
Thats why it is often called a middle level language. It means that it combines the
elements of high level languages with the functionality of assembly language. It
provides relatively good programming efficiency (as compared to machine oriented
language) and relatively good machine efficiency as compared to high level
languages). As a middle level language, C allows the manipulation of bits, bytes and
addresses the basic elements with which the computer executes the inbuilt and
memory management functions. C code is very portable, that it allows the same C
program to be run on machines with different hardware configurations. The flexibility
of C allows it to be used for systems programming as well as for application
programming.
C is commonly called a structured language because of structural similarities to
ALGOL and Pascal. The distinguishing feature of a structured language is
compartmentalization of code and data. Structured language is one that divides the
entire program into modules using top-down approach where each module executes
one job or task. It is easy for debugging, testing, and maintenance if a language is a
structured one. C supports several control structures such as while, do-while and for
and various data structures such as strucs, files, arrays etc. as would be seen in the
later units. The basic unit of a C program is a function - Cs standalone subroutine.
The structural component of C makes the programming and maintenance easier.
Check Your Progress 1
1. A Program written in Low Level Language is faster. Why?

25

An Introduction to C

2. What is the difference between high level language and low level language?

3. Why is C referred to as middle level language?

2.4

STRUCTURE OF A C PROGRAM

As we have already seen, to solve a problem there are three main things to be
considered. Firstly, what should be the output? Secondly, what should be the inputs
that will be required to produce this output and thirdly, the steps of instructions which
use these inputs to produce the required output. As stated earlier, every programming
language follows a set of rules; therefore, a program written in C also follows
predefined rules known as syntax. C is a case sensitive language. All C programs
consist of one or more functions. One function that must be present in every C
program is main(). This is the first function called up when the program execution
begins. Basically, main() outlines what a program does. Although main is not given
in the keyword list,it cannot be used for naming a variable. The structure of a C
program is illustrated in Figure.2.1 where functions func1( ) through funcn( )
represent user defined functions.

Preprocessor directives
Global data declarations
main ( )
/* main function*/
{
Declaration part;
Program statements;
}
/*User defined functions*/
func1( )
{

}
func2 ( )
{

}
.
.
.
funcn ( )
{

}
Figure. 2.1: Structure of a C Program.

26

Basics of C

A Simple C Program
From the above sections, you have become familiar with, a programming language
and structure of a C program. Its now time to write a simple C program. This
program will illustrate how to print out the message This is a C program.
Example 2.1: Write a program to print a message on the screen.
/*Program to print a message*/
#include <stdio.h>
/* header file*/
main()
/* main function*/
{
printf("This is a C program\n"); /* output statement*/
}
Though the program is very simple, a few points must be noted.
Every C program contains a function called main(). This is the starting point of the
program. This is the point from where the execution begins. It will usually call other
functions to help perform its job, some that we write and others from the standard
libraries provided.
#include <stdio.h> is a reference to a special file called stdio.h which contains
information that must be included in the program when it is compiled. The inclusion
of this required information will be handled automatically by the compiler. You will
find it at the beginning of almost every C program. Basically, all the statements
starting with # in a C program are called preprocessor directives. These will be
considered in the later units. Just remember, that this statement allows you to use
some predefined functions such as, printf(), in this case.
main() declares the start of the function, while the two curly brackets { } shows the
start and finish of the function. Curly brackets in C are used to group statements
together as a function, or in the body of a loop. Such a grouping is known as a
compound statement or a block. Every statement within a function ends with a
terminator semicolon (;).
printf(This is a C program\n); prints the words on the screen. The text to be
printed is enclosed in double quotes. The \n at the end of the text tells the program to
print a newline as part of the output. That means now if we give a second printf
statement, it will be printed in the next line.
Comments may appear anywhere within a program, as long as they are placed within
the delimiters /* and */. Such comments are helpful in identifying the programs
principal features or in explaining the underlying logic of various program features.
While useful for teaching, such a simple program has few practical uses. Let us
consider something rather more practical. Let us look into the example given below,
the complete program development life cycle.
Example 2.1
Develop an algorithm, flowchart and program to add two numbers.

Algorithm
1.
2.
3.
4.

Start
Input the two numbers a and b
Calculate the sum as a+b
Store the result in sum

27

An Introduction to C

5.
6.

Display the result

Stop.

Flowchart
START

INPUT
a, b

Sum = a + b

PRINT
Sum

STOP
Figure 2.2: Flow chart to add two numbers

Program
#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
int a,b,sum;

/* variables declaration*/

printf(\n Enter the values for a and b: \n);

scanf(%d, %d, &a, &b);
sum=a+b;
printf("\nThe sum is %d",sum);

/*output statement*/

}
OUTPUT
Enter the values of a and b:
23
The sum is 5

28

In the above program considers two variables a and b. These variables are declared as
integers (int), it is the data type to indicate integer values. Next statement is the printf
statement meant for prompting the user to input the values of a and b. scanf is the
function to intake the values into the program provided by the user. Next comes the
processing / computing part which computes the sum. Again the printf statement is a

bit different from the first program; it includes a format specifier (%d). The format
specifier indicates the kind of value to be printed. We will study about other data
types and format specifiers in detail in the following units. In the printf statement
above, sum is not printed in double quotes because we want its value to be printed.
The number of format specifiers and the variable should match in the printf statement.

Basics of C

At this stage, dont go much in detail. However, in the following units you will be
learning all these details.

2.5

WRITING A C PROGRAM

A C program can be executed on platforms such as DOS, UNIX etc. DOS stores C
program with a file extension .c. Program text can be entered using any text editor
such as EDIT or any other. To edit a file called testprog.c using edit editor, gives:
C:> edit testprog.c
If you are using Turbo C, then Turbo C provides its own editor which can be used for
writing the program. Just give the full pathname of the executable file of Turbo C and
you will get the editor in front of you. For example:
C:> turboc\bin\tc
Here, tc.exe is stored in bin subdirectory of turboc directory. After you get the menu
just type the program and store it in a file using the menu provided. The file
automatically gets the extension of .c.
UNIX also stores C program in a file with extension is .c. This identifies it as a C
program. The easiest way to enter your text is using a text editor like vi, emacs or
xedit. To edit a file called testprog.c using vi type
$ vi testprog.c
The editor is also used to make subsequent changes to the program.

2.6

COMPILING A C PROGRAM

After you have written the program the next step is to save the program in a file with
extension . c . This program is in high-level language. But this language is not
understood by the computer. So, the next step is to convert the high-level language
program (source code) to machine language (object code). This task is performed by a
software or program known as a compiler. Every language has its own compiler that
converts the source code to object code. The compiler will compile the program
successfully if the program is syntactically correct; else the object code will not be
produced. This is explained pictorially in Figure 2.3.

High Level
Language
Program

Translator
(Compiler)

Source
Code

Machine
Language
Program
Object
Code

Figure 2.3: Process of Translation

29

An Introduction to C

2.6.1

The C Compiler

If you are working on UNIX platform, then if the name of the program file is
testprog.c, to compile it, the simplest method is to type
cc testprog.c
This will compile testprog.c, and, if successful, will produce a executable file called
a.out. If you want to give the executable file any other, you can type
cc testprog.c -o testprog
This will compile testprog.c, creating an executable file testprog.
If you are working with TurboC on DOS platform then the option for compilation is
provided on the menu. If the program is syntactically correct then this will produce a
file named as testprog.obj. If not, then the syntax errors will be displayed on the
screen and the object file will not be produced. The errors need to be removed before
compiling the program again. This process of removing the errors from the program is
called as the debugging.

2.6.2

Syntax and Semantic Errors

Every language has an associated grammar, and the program written in that language
has to follow the rules of that grammar. For example in English a sentence such a
Shyam, is playing, with a ball. This sentence is syntactically incorrect because
commas should not come the way they are in the sentence.
Likewise, C also follows certain syntax rules. When a C program is compiled, the
compiler will check that the program is syntactically correct. If there are any syntax
errors in the program, those will be displayed on the screen with the corresponding
line numbers.
Let us consider the following program.
Example 2.3: Write a program to print a message on the screen.
/* Program to print a message on the screen*/
#include <stdio.h
main( )
{
printf(Hello, how are you\n)
Let the name of the program be test.c .If we compile the above program as it is we
will get the following errors:
Error test.c 1:No file name ending
Error test.c 5: Statement missing ;
Error test.c 6: Compound statement missing }
Edit the program again, correct the errors mentioned and the corrected version appears
as follows:

30

#include <stdio.h>
main( )
{
printf (Hello, how are you\n);
}

Apart from syntax errors, another type of errors that are shown while compilation are
semantic errors. These errors are displayed as warnings. These errors are shown if a
particular statement has no meaning. The program does compile with these errors, but
it is always advised to correct them also, since they may create problems while
execution. The example of such an error is that say you have declared a variable but
have not used it, and then you get a warning code has no effect. These variables are
unnecessarily occupying the memory.

Basics of C

Check Your Progress 2

1.

What is the basic unit of a C program?

2.

The program is syntactically correct. What does it mean?

3.

Indicate the syntax errors in the following program code:

include <stdio.h>
main( )
[
printf(hello\n);
]

2.7

LINK AND RUN THE C PROGRAM

After compilation, the next step is linking the program. Compilation produces a file
with an extension .obj. Now this .obj file cannot be executed since it contains calls to
functions defined in the standard library (header files) of C language. These functions
have to be linked with the code you wrote. C comes with a standard library that
provides functions that perform most commonly needed tasks. When you call a
function that is not the part of the program you wrote, C remembers its name. Later
the linker combines the code you wrote with the object code already found in the
standard library. This process is called linking. In other words, Linker is a program
that links separately compiled functions together into one program. It combines the
functions in the standard C library with the code that you wrote. The output of the
linker in an executable program i.e., a file with an extension .exe.

2.7.1

Run the C Program Through the Menu

When we are working with TurboC in DOS environment, the menu in the GUI that
pops up when we execute the executable file of TurboC contains several options for
executing the program:
i) Link , after compiling
ii) Make, compiles as well as links
iii) Run

31

An Introduction to C

All these options create an executable file and when these options are used we also get
the output on user screen. To see the output we have to shift to user screen window.

2.7.2

Run From an Executable File

An .exe file produced by can be directly executed.

UNIX also includes a very useful program called make. Make allows very
complicated programs to be compiled quickly, by reference to a configuration file
(usually called makefile). If your C program is a single file, you can usually use make
by simply typing
make testprog
This will compile testprog.c as well as link your program with the standard library so
that you can use the standard library functions such as printf and put the executable
code in testprog.
In case of DOS environment , the options provided above produce an executable file
and this file can be directly executed from the DOS prompt just by typing its name
without the extension. That is if the name of the program is test.c, after compiling and
linking the new file produced is test.exe only if compilation and linking is successful.
This can be executed as:
c>test

2.7.3

Linker Errors

If a program contains syntax errors then the program does not compile, but it may
happen that the program compiles successfully but we are unable to get the executable
file, this happens when there are certain linker errors in the program. For example, the
object code of certain standard library function is not present in the standard C library;
the definition for this function is present in the header file that is why we do not get a
compiler error. Such kinds of errors are called linker errors. The executable file would
be created successfully only if these linker errors are corrected.

2.7.4

Logical and Runtime Errors

After the program is compiled and linked successfully we execute the program. Now
there are three possibilities:
1)
2)
3)

The program executes and we get correct results,

The program executes and we get wrong results, and
The program does not execute completely and aborts in between.

The first case simply means that the program is correct. In the second case, we get
wrong results; it means that there is some logical mistake in our program. This kind of
error is known as logical error. This error is the most difficult to correct. This error is
corrected by debugging. Debugging is the process of removing the errors from the
program. This means manually checking the program step by step and verifying the
results at each step. Debugging can be made easier by a tracer provided in Turbo C
environment. Suppose we have to find the average of three numbers and we write the
following code:
Example 2.4: Write a C program to compute the average of three numbers
/* Program to compute average of three numbers *?
#include<stdio.h>
32

main( )
{
int a,b,c,sum,avg;

Basics of C

a=10;
b=5;
c=20;
sum = a+b+c;
avg = sum / 3;
printf(The average is %d\n, avg);
}
OUTPUT
The average is 8.
The exact value of average is 8.33 and the output we got is 8. So we are not getting
the actual result, but a rounded off result. This is due to the logical error. We have
declared variable avg as an integer but the average calculated is a real number,
therefore only the integer part is stored in avg. Such kinds of errors which are not
detected by the compiler or the linker are known as logical errors.
The third kind of error is only detected during execution. Such errors are known as
run time errors. These errors do not produce the result at all, the program execution
stops in between and the run time error message is flashed on the screen. Let us look
at the following example:
Example 2.5: Write a program to divide a sum of two numbers by their
difference
/* Program to divide a sum of two numbers by their difference*/
#include <stdio.h>
main( )
{
int a,b;
float c;
a=10;
b=10;
c = (a+b) / (a-b);
printf(The value of the result is %f\n,c);
}
The above program will compile and link successfully, it will execute till the first
printf statement and we will get the message in this statement, as soon as the next
statement is executed we get a runtime error of Divide by zero and the program
halts. Such kinds of errors are runtime errors.

2.8

DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION OF
PROGRAM EXECUTION PROCESS

The following figure 2.4 shows the diagrammatic representation of the program
execution process.

33

An Introduction to C

WRITE A C PROGRAM

COMPILE THE PROGRAM

DEBUG SYNTAX
ERRORS (IF ANY),
SAVE AND RECOMPILE

LINK THE PROGRAM

EXECUTE THE PROGRAM

TEST AND VERIFY THE

RESULTS
Figure 2.4: Program Execution Process

Check Your Progress 3

1.

What is the extension of an executable file?

2.

What is the need for linking a compiled file?

3.

How do you correct the logical errors in the program?

2.9

SUMMARY

In this unit, you have learnt about a program and a programming language. You can
now differentiate between high level and low level languages. You can now define
what is C, features of C. You have studied the emergence of C. You have seen how C
34

is different, being a middle level Language, than other High Level languages. The
advantage of high level language over low level language is discussed.

Basics of C

You have seen how you can convert an algorithm and flowchart into a C program. We
have discussed the process of writing and storing a C program in a file in case of
UNIX as well as DOS environment.
You have learnt about compiling and running a C program in UNIX as well as on
DOS environment. We have also discussed about the different types of errors that are
encountered during the whole process, i.e. syntax errors, semantic errors, logical
errors, linker errors and runtime errors. You have also learnt how to remove these
errors. You can now write simple C programs involving simple arithmetic operators
and the printf( ) statement. With these basics, now we are ready to learn the C
language in detail in the following units.

2.10

SOLUTIONS / ANSWERS

Check Your Progress 1

1.

A program written in Low Level Language is faster to execute since it needs no

conversion while a high level language program need to be converted into low
level language.

2.

Low level languages express algorithms on the form of numeric or mnemonic

codes while High Level Languages express algorithms in the using concise,
precise and unambiguous notation. Low level languages are machine dependent
while High level languages are machine independent. Low level languages are
difficult to program and to learn, while High level languages are easy to program
and learn. Examples of High level languages are FORTRAN, Pascal and
examples of Low level languages are machine language and assembly language.

3.

C is referred to as middle level language as with C we are able to manipulate

bits, bytes and addresses i.e. interact with the hardware directly. We are also able
to carry out memory management functions.

Check Your Progress 2

1. The basic unit of a C program is a C function.
2. It means that program contains no grammatical or syntax errors.
3. Syntax errors:
a)
b)

# not present with include

{brackets should be present instead of [ brackets.

Check Your Progress 3

1. The extension of an executable file is .exe.
2. The C program contains many C pre-defined functions present in the C library.
These functions need to be linked with the C program for execution; else the C
program may give a linker error indicating that the function is not present.
3. Logical errors can be corrected through debugging or self checking.

35

An Introduction to C

2.11
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

36

FURTHER READINGS

The C Programming Language, Kernighan & Richie, PHI Publication.

Programming with C, Second Edition, Byron Gottfried, Tata Mc Graw Hill,
2003.
The C Complete Reference, Fourth Editon, Herbert Schildt, Tata Mc Graw Hill,
2002.
Programming with ANSI and Turbo C, Ashok N. Kamthane, Pearson Education
Asia, 2002.
Computer Science A structured programming approach using C Second Edition,
Behrouza A. Forouzan, Richard F. Gilberg, Brooks/Cole, Thomson Learning,
2001.

UNIT 3

VARIABLES AND CONSTANTS

Variables and
Constants

Structure
3.0
3.1
3.2
3.3

Introduction
Objectives
Character Set
Identifiers and Keywords
3.3.1
3.3.2

3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9

Rules for Forming Identifiers

Keywords

Data Types and Storage

Data Type Qualifiers
Variables
Declaring Variables
Initialising Variables
Constants
3.9.1
3.9.2
3.9.3
3.9.4

Integer Constants
Floating Point Constants
Character Constants
String Constants

3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13

Symbolic Constants
Summary
Solutions / Answers
Further Readings

3.0

INTRODUCTION

As every natural language has a basic character set, computer languages also have a
character set, rules to define words. Words are used to form statements. These in turn
are used to write the programs.
Computer programs usually work with different types of data and need a way to store
the values being used. These values can be numbers or characters. C language has two
ways of storing number valuesvariables and constantswith many options for
each. Constants and variables are the fundamental elements of each program. Simply
speaking, a program is nothing else than defining them and manipulating them. A
variable is a data storage location that has a value that can change during program
execution. In contrast, a constant has a fixed value that cant change.
This unit is concerned with the basic elements used to construct simple C program
statements. These elements include the C character set, identifiers and keywords, data
types, constants, variables and arrays, declaration and naming conventions of
variables.

3.1

OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

3.2

define identifiers, data types and keywords in C;

know name the identifiers as per the conventions;
describe memory requirements for different types of variables; and
define constants, symbolic constants and their use in programs.

CHARACTER SET

When you write a program, you express C source files as text lines containing
characters from the character set. When a program executes in the target environment,
37

An Introduction to C

it uses characters from the character set. These character sets are related, but need not
have the same encoding or all the same members.
Every character set contains a distinct code value for each character in the basic C
character set. A character set can also contain additional characters with other code
values. The C language character set has alphabets, numbers, and special characters as
shown below:
1.

Alphabets including both lowercase and uppercase alphabets - A-Z and a-z.

2.

Numbers

3.

Special characters include:

;
}
[
=
@

3.3

0-9

:
>
]
(
&

{
<
!
)
.

,
/
$
-

\
?
%

~
*
#

|
_
+
^

IDENTIFIERS AND KEYWORDS

Identifiers are the names given to various program elements such as constants,
variables, function names and arrays etc. Every element in the program has its own
distinct name but one cannot select any name unless it conforms to valid name in C
language. Let us study first the rules to define names or identifiers.

3.3.1

Rules for Forming Identifiers

Identifiers are defined according to the following rules:

1. It consists of letters and digits.
2. First character must be an alphabet or underscore.
3. Both upper and lower cases are allowed. Same text of different case is not
equivalent, for example: TEXT is not same as text.
4. Except the special character underscore ( _ ), no other special symbols can be
used.
For example, some valid identifiers are shown below:
X
X123
_XI
temp
tax_rate
For example, some invalid identifiers are shown below:
123
X.
order-no
error flag

3.3.2

First character to be alphabet.

Not allowed.
Hyphen allowed.
Blankspace allowed.

Keywords

Keywords are reserved words which have standard, predefined meaning in C. They
cannot be used as program-defined identifiers.
38

Variables and
Constants

The lists of C keywords are as follows:

char
int
printf
long
union
continue
goto

while
if
double
enum
const
for
sizeof

do
else
struct
register
float
signed
volatile

typedef
switch
break
extern
short
void

auto
case
static
return
unsigned
default

Note: Generally all keywords are in lower case although uppercase of same names
can be used as identifiers.

3.4

DATA TYPES AND STORAGE

To store data inside the computer we need to first identify the type of data elements
we need in our program. There are several different types of data, which may be
represented differently within the computer memory. The data type specifies two
things:
1.
2.

Permissible range of values that it can store.

Memory requirement to store a data type.

C Language provides four basic data types viz. int, char, float and double. Using
these, we can store data in simple ways as single elements or we can group them
together and use different ways (to be discussed later) to store them as per
requirement. The four basic data types are described in the following table 3.1:
Table 3.1: Basic Data Types

DATA TYPE
int
char
float

TYPE OF DATA
Integer
character
Floating point number

MEMORY
2 Bytes
1 Byte
4 bytes

double

Floating point number

with higher precision

8 bytes

RANGE
32,768 to 32,767
128 to 128
3.4e 38 to 3.4e
+38
1.7e 308 to 1.7e
+ 308

Memory requirements or size of data associated with a data type indicates the range of
numbers that can be stored in the data item of that type.

3.5

DATA TYPE QUALIFIERS

Short, long, signed, unsigned are called the data type qualifiers and can be used with
any data type. A short int requires less space than int and long int may require more
space than int. If int and short int takes 2 bytes, then long int takes 4 bytes.
Unsigned bits use all bits for magnitude; therefore, this type of number can be larger.
For example signed int ranges from 32768 to +32767 and unsigned int ranges from
0 to 65,535. Similarly, char data type of data is used to store a character. It requires 1
byte. Signed char values range from 128 to 127 and unsigned char value range from
0 to 255. These can be summarized as follows:
Data type

Size (bytes)

Range

Short int or int

32768 to 32,767

Long int

2147483648 to 2147483647

39

An Introduction to C

Signed int

32768 to 32767

Unsigned int

0 to 65535

Signed char

128 to 127

Unsigned char

0 to 255

3.6

VARIABLES

Variable is an identifier whose value changes from time to time during execution. It is
a named data storage location in your computers memory. By using a variables
name in your program, you are, in effect, referring to the data stored there. A variable
represents a single data item i.e. a numeric quantity or a character constant or a string
constant. Note that a value must be assigned to the variables at some point of time in
the program which is termed as assignment statement. The variable can then be
accessed later in the program. If the variable is accessed before it is assigned a value,
it may give garbage value. The data type of a variable doesnt change whereas the
value assigned to can change. All variables have three essential attributes:

the name
the value
the memory, where the value is stored.

For example, in the following C program a, b, c, d are the variables but variable e is
not declared and is used before declaration. After compiling the source code and look
what gives?
main( )
{
int a, b, c;
char d;
a = 3;
b = 5;
c = a + b;
d = a;
e=d;
.
.
}
After compiling the code, this will generate the message that variable e not defined.

3.7

DECLARING VARIABLES

Before any data can be stored in the memory, we must assign a name to these
locations of memory. For this we make declarations. Declaration associates a group of
identifiers with a specific data type. All of them need to be declared before they
appear in program statements, else accessing the variables results in junk values or a
diagnostic error. The syntax for declaring variables is as follows:
data- type variable-name(s);
For example,
int a;
short int a, b;
40

Variables and
Constants

int c, d;
long c, f;
float r1, r2;

3.8

INITIALISING VARIABLES

When variables are declared initial, values can be assigned to them in two ways:
a)

Within a Type declaration

The value is assigned at the declaration time.

For example,
int
float
char
b)

a = 10;
b = 0.4 e 5;
c = a;
Using Assignment statement

The values are assigned just after the declarations are made.
For example,
a = 10;
b = 0.4 e 5;
c = a;
Check Your Progress 1
1)

Identify keywords and valid identifiers among the following:

hello
student_1
1_student

function
max_value
int

day-of-the-week
what
union

2)

Declare type variables for roll no, total_marks and percentage.

3)

How many bytes are assigned to store for the following?

a) Unsigned character

b) Unsigned integer c) Double

41

An Introduction to C

3.9

CONSTANTS

A constant is an identifier whose value can not be changed throughout the execution
of a program whereas the variable value keeps on changing. In C there are four basic
types of constants. They are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Integer constants
Floating point constants
Character constants
String constants

Integer and Floating Point constants are numeric constants and represent numbers.
Rules to form Integer and Floating Point Constants

No comma or blankspace is allowed in a constant.

It can be preceded by (minus) sign if desired.
The value should lie within a minimum and maximum permissible range decided
by the word size of the computer.

3.9.1

Integer Constants

Further, these constant can be classified according to the base of the numbers as:
1.

Decimal integer constants

These consist of digits 0 through 9 and first digit should not be 0.
For example,
1
443
32767
are valid decimal integer constants.

2.

Invalid Decimal integer Constants

12 ,45
36.0
1 010
10 10
0900

3.

, not allowed
Illegal char.
Blankspace not allowed
Illegal char
The first digit should not be a zero

Octal integer constants

These consist of digits 0 through 7. The first digit must be zero in order to
identify the constant as an octal number.
Valid Octal INTEGER constants are:
0

01

0743

Invalid Octal integer constants are:

743
0438
0777.77
42

4.

does not begin with 0

illegal character 8
illegal char .

Hexadecimal integer constants

0777

These constants begin with 0x or OX and are followed by combination of digits

taken from hexadecimal digits 0 to 9, a to f or A to F.

Variables and
Constants

Valid Hexadecimal integer constants are:

OX0

OX1

OXF77

Oxabcd.

Invalid Hexadecimal integer constants are:

OBEF
Ox.4bff
OXGBC

x is not included
illegal char (.)
illegal char G

Maximum values these constants can have are as follows:

Integer constants

Maximum value

Decimal integer
Octal integer
Hexadecimal integer

32767
77777
7FFF

Unsigned interger constants: Exceed the ordinary integer by magnitude of 2,

they are not negative. A character U or u is prefixed to number to make it
unsigned.
Long Integer constants: These are used to exceed the magnitude of ordinary
integers and are appended by L.
For example,
50000U
1234567889L
0123456L
0777777U

decimal unsigned.
decimal long.
otal long.
otal unsigned.

3.9.2 Floating Point Constants

What is a base 10 number containing decimal point or an exponent.
Examples of valid floating point numbers are:
0.
1.
000.2
5.61123456
50000.1
0.000741
1.6667E+3 0.006e-3
Examples of Invalid Floating Point numbers are:
1
1,00.0
2E+10.2
3E 10

decimal or exponent required.

comma not allowed.
exponent is written after integer quantity.
no blank space.

A Floating Point number taking the value of 5 x 104 can be represented as:
5000.
5e+4
5.0e+4

5e4
5E4
.5e5
43

An Introduction to C

The magnitude of floating point numbers range from 3.4E 38 to a maximum of

3.4E+38, through 0.0. They are taken as double precision numbers. Floating Point
constants occupy 2 words = 8 bytes.

3.9.3 Character Constants

This constant is a single character enclosed in apostrophes .
For example, some of the character constants are shown below:
A,

x,

3,

\0 is a null character having value zero.

Character constants have integer values associated depending on the character set
adopted for the computer. ASCII character set is in use which uses 7-bit code with 27
= 128 different characters. The digits 0-9 are having ASCII value of 48-56 and A
have ASCII value from 65 and a having value 97 are sequentially ordered. For
example,
A has 65,

blank has 32

ESCAPE SEQUENCE
There are some non-printable characters that can be printed by preceding them with \
backslash character. Within character constants and string literals, you can write a
variety of escape sequences. Each escape sequence determines the code value for a
single character. You can use escape sequences to represent character codes:

you cannot otherwise write (such as \n)

that can be difficult to read properly (such as \t)
that might change value in different target character sets (such as \a)
that must not change in value among different target environments (such as \0)

The following is the list of the escape sequences:

Character

Escape Sequence

"
'
?
\
BEL
BS
FF
NL
CR
HT
VT

\"
\'
\?
\\
\a
\b
\f
\n
\r
\t
\v

3.9.4

String Constants

It consists of sequence of characters enclosed within double quotes. For example,

red

3.10

44

Blue Sea

41213*(I+3) .

SYMBOLIC CONSTANTS

Symbolic Constant is a name that substitutes for a sequence of characters or a numeric

constant, a character constant or a string constant. When program is compiled each
occurrence of a symbolic constant is replaced by its corresponding character
sequence. The syntax is as follows:

#define name

text

Variables and
Constants

where name implies symbolic name in caps.

text implies value or the text.
For example,
#define
#define
#define
#define
#define

printf print
MAX 100
TRUE 1
FALSE 0
SIZE 10

The # character is used for preprocessor commands. A preprocessor is a system

program, which comes into action prior to Compiler, and it replaces the replacement
text by the actual text. This will allow correct use of the statement printf.
Advantages of using Symbolic Constants are:
They can be used to assign names to values
Replacement of value has to be done at one place and wherever the name
appears in the text it gets the value by execution of the preprocessor. This
saves time. if the Symbolic Constant appears 20 times in the program; it needs
to be changed at one place only.
Check Your Progress 2
1)

Write a preprocessor directive statement to define a constant PI having the value

3.14.

2)

Classify the examples into Interger, Character and String constants.

A
0147
0xEFH
077.7
A
26.4
EFH
\r
abc

3)

Name different categories of Constants.

3.11

SUMMARY

To summarize we have learnt certain basics, which are required to learn a computer
language and form a basis for all languages. Character set includes alphabets, numeric
characters, special characters and some graphical characters. These are used to form
words in C language or names or identifiers. Variable are the identifiers, which
change their values during execution of the program. Keywords are names with
specific meaning and cannot be used otherwise.
We had discussed four basic data types - int, char, float and double. Some qualifiers
are used as prefixes to data types like signed, unsigned, short, and long.

45

An Introduction to C

The constants are the fixed values and may be either Integer or Floating point or
Character or String type. Symbolic Constants are used to define names used for
constant values. They help in using the name rather bothering with remembering and
writing the values.

3.12

SOLUTIONS / ANSWERS

Check Your Progress 1

1.

Keywords:
int, union
Valid Identifiers: hello, student_1, max_value

2.

int rollno;
float total_marks, percentage;

3.

a) 1 byte

b) 2 bytes

c) 8 bytes

Check Your Progress 2

1.

# define PI 3.14

2.

Integer constant:
Character constants:
String constants:

3.13
1.
2.
3.

46

0147
A, \r
A, EFH

FURTHER READINGS

The C Programming Language, Kernighan & Ritchie, PHI Publication.

Computer Science A structured programming approach using C, Behrouza A.
Forouzan, Richard F. Gilberg, Second Edition, Brooks/Cole, Thomson Learning,
2001.
Programming with C, Gottfried, Second Edition, Schaum Outlines, Tata Mc
Graw Hill, 2003.

UNIT 4 EXPRESSIONS AND OPERATORS

Expressions and
Operators

Structure
4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
4.11
4.12
4.13

4.0

Introduction
Objectives
Assignment Statements
Arithmetic Operators
Relational Operators
Logical Operators
Comma and Conditional Operators
Type Cast Operator
Size of Operator
C Shorthand
Priority of Operators
Summary
Solutions / Answers
Further Readings

INTRODUCTION

In the previous unit we have learnt variables, constants, datatypes and how to declare
them in C programming. The next step is to use those variables in expressions. For
writing an expression we need operators along with variables. An expression is a
sequence of operators and operands that does one or a combination of the following:

specifies the computation of a value

designates an object or function

generates side effects.

An operator performs an operation (evaluation) on one or more operands. An operand
is a subexpression on which an operator acts.
This unit focuses on different types of operators available in C including the syntax
and use of each operator and how they are used in C.
A computer is different from calculator in a sense that it can solve logical expressions
also. Therefore, apart from arithmetic operators, C also contains logical operators.
Hence, logical expressions are also discussed in this unit.

4.1

OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit you will be able to:

4.2

write and evaluate arithmetic expressions;

express and evaluate relational expressions;
write and evaluate logical expressions;
write and solve compute complex expressions (containing arithmetic, relational
and logical operators), and
check simple conditions using conditional operators.

ASSIGNMENT STATEMENT

In the previous unit, we have seen that variables are basically memory locations and
they can hold certain values. But, how to assign values to the variables? C provides an
assignment operator for this purpose. The function of this operator is to assign the
values or values in variables on right hand side of an expression to variables on the
left hand side.

47

An Introduction to C

The syntax of the assignment expression is as follows:

Variable = constant / variable/ expression;
The data type of the variable on left hand side should match the data type of
constant/variable/expression on right hand side with a few exceptions where
automatic type conversions are possible. Some examples of assignment statements are
as follows:
b =a;
/* b is assigned the value of a */
b=5;
/* b is assigned the value 5*/
b = a+5; /* b is assigned the value of expr a+5 */
The expression on the right hand side of the assignment statement can be:

an arithmetic expression;
a relational expression;
a logical expression;
a mixed expression.

The above mentioned expressions are different in terms of the type of operators
connecting the variables and constants on the right hand side of the variable.
Arithmetic operators, relational operators and logical operators are discussed in the
following sections.
For example,
int a;
float b,c ,avg, t;
avg = (b+c) / 2;
a = b && c;
a = (b+c) && (b<c);

4.3

/*arithmetic expression */
/*logical expression*/
/* mixed expression*/

ARITHMETIC OPERATORS

The basic arithmetic operators in C are the same as in most other computer languages,
and correspond to our usual mathematical/algebraic symbolism. The following
arithmetic operators are present in C:

Operator

Meaning

Addition

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

Modular Division

Some of the examples of algebraic expressions and their C notation are given below:

Expression

48

C notation

b* g
d

(b *g) / d

a3+cd

(a*a*a) + (c*d)

The arithmetic operators are all binary operators i.e. all the operators have two
operands. The integer division yields the integer result. For example, the expression
10/3 evaluates to 3 and the expression 15/4 evaluates to 3. C provides the modulus
operator, %, which yields the reminder after integer division. The modulus operator is
an integer operator that can be used only with integer operands. The expression x%y
yields the reminder after x is divided by y. Therefore, 10%3 yields 1 and 15%4 yields
3. An attempt to divide by zero is undefined on computer system and generally results
in a run- time error. Normally, Arithmetic expressions in C are written in straight-line
form. Thus a divided by b is written as a/b.

Expressions and
Operators

The operands in arithmetic expressions can be of integer, float, double type. In order
to effectively develop C programs, it will be necessary for you to understand the rules
that are used for implicit conversation of floating point and integer values in C.
They are mentioned below:

An arithmetic operator between an integer and integer always yields an integer

result.
Operator between float and float yields a float result.
Operator between integer and float yields a float result.

If the data type is double instead of float, then we get a result of double data type.
For example,

Operation

Result

5/3

5.0/3

1.3

5/3.0

1.3

5.0/3.0

1.3

Parentheses can be used in C expression in the same manner as algebraic expression

For example,
a * (b + c).
It may so happen that the type of the expression and the type of the variable on the left
hand side of the assignment operator may not be same. In such a case the value for the
expression is promoted or demoted depending on the type of the variable on left hand
side of = (assignment operator). For example, consider the following assignment
statements:
int i;
float b;
i = 4.6;
b = 20;
In the first assignment statement, float (4.6) is demoted to int. Hence i gets the value
4. In the second statement int (20) is promoted to float, b gets 20.0. If we have a
complex expression like:
float a, b, c;
int s;
s = a * b / 5.0 * c;

49

An Introduction to C

Where some operands are integers and some are float, then int will be promoted or
demoted depending on left hand side operator. In this case, demotion will take place
since s is an integer.
The rules of arithmetic precedence are as follows:
1. Parentheses are at the highest level of precedence. In case of nested parenthesis,
the innermost parentheses are evaluated first.
For example,
( ((3+4)*5)/6 )
The order of evaluation is given below.
( ( (3+4) * 5) / 6 )

2. Multiplication, Division and Modulus operators are evaluated next. If an

expression contains several multiplication, division and modulus operators,
evaluation proceeds from left to right. These three are at the same level of
precedence.
For example,
5*5+6*7
The order of evaluation is given below.
5*5+6*7
1

2
3

3.

Addition, subtraction are evaluated last. If an expression contains several

addition and subtraction operators, evaluation proceeds from left to right. Or the
associativity is from left to right.

For example,
8/5-6+5/2
The order of evaluation is given below.
8/5-6+5/2

1 3 4 2

50

Apart from these binary arithmetic operators, C also contains two unary operators
referred to as increment (++) and decrement (--) operators, which we are going to be
discussed below:
The two-unary arithmetic operators provided by C are:

Expressions and
Operators

Increment operator (++)

Decrement operator (- -)

The increment operator increments the variable by one and decrement operator
decrements the variable by one. These operators can be written in two forms i.e.
before a variable or after a variable. If an increment / decrement operator is written
before a variable, it is referred to as preincrement / predecrement operators and if it is
written after a variable, it is referred to as post increment / postdecrement operator.
For example,
a++ or ++a is equivalent to a = a+1 and
a-- or - -a is equivalent to a = a -1
The importance of pre and post operator occurs while they are used in the expressions.
Preincrementing (Predecrementing) a variable causes the variable to be incremented
(decremented) by 1, then the new value of the variable is used in the expression in
which it appears. Postincrementing (postdecrementing) the variable causes the
current value of the variable is used in the expression in which it appears, then the
variable value is incremented (decrement) by 1.
The explanation is given in the table below:

Expression

Explanation

++a

Increment a by 1, then use the new value of a

a++

Use value of a, then increment a by 1

--b

Decrement b by 1, then use the new value of b

b--

Use the current value of b, then decrement by 1

The precedence of these operators is right to left. Let us consider the following
examples:
int a = 2, b=3;
int c;
c = ++a b- -;
printf (a=%d, b=%d,c=%d\n,a,b,c);
OUTPUT
a = 3, b = 2, c = 0.
Since the precedence of the operators is right to left, first b is evaluated, since it is a
post decrement operator, current value of b will be used in the expression i.e. 3 and
then b will be decremented by 1.Then, a preincrement operator is used with a, so first
a is incremented to 3. Therefore, the value of the expression is evaluated to 0.
Let us take another example,
int a = 1, b = 2, c = 3;
int k;

51

An Introduction to C

k = (a++)*(++b) + ++a - --c;

printf(a=%d,b=%d, c=%d, k=%d,a,b,c,k);
OUTPUT
a = 3, b = 3, c = 2, k = 6
The evaluation is explained below:
k =
=
=
=

(a++) * (++b)+ ++a

(a++) * (3) + 2 - 2
(2) * (3) + 2 - 2
6

- --c
step1
step2
final result

Check Your Progress 1

1.

Give the C expressions for the following algebraic expressions:

i)

a*4c2 - d
m+n

ii)

ab - (e+f)4
c

2.

Give the output of the following C code:

main()
{
int a=2,b=3,c=4;
k = ++b + --a*c + a;
printf(a= %d b=%d c=%d k=%d\n,a,b,c,k);
}

3.

Point out the error:

Exp = a**b;

4.4

RELATIONAL OPERATORS

Executable C statements either perform actions (such as calculations or input or

output of data) or make decision. Using relational operators we can compare two
variables in the program. The C relational operators are summarized below, with their
meanings. Pay particular attention to the equality operator; it consists of two equal
signs, not just one. This section introduces a simple version of Cs if control structure
that allows a program to make a decision based on the result of some condition. If the
condition is true then the statement in the body of if statement is executed else if the
condition is false, the statement is not executed. Whether the body statement is
executed or not, after the if structure completes, execution proceeds with the next
statement after the if structure. Conditions in the if structure are formed with the
relational operators which are summarized in the Table 4.1.
52

Expressions and
Operators

Table 1: Relational Operators in C

Relational Operator
==
!=
<
<=
>
>=

Condition
x==y
x!=y
x<y
x<=y
x>y
x>=y

Meaning
x is equal to y
x is not equal to y
x is less than y
x is less than or equal to y
x is greater than y
x is greater or equal to y

Relational operators usually appear in statements which are inquiring about the truth
of some particular relationship between variables. Normally, the relational operators
in C are the operators in the expressions that appear between the parentheses.
For example,
(i)

if (thisNum < minimumSoFar) minimumSoFar = thisNum

(ii) if (job == Teacher) salary == minimumWage

(iii) if (numberOfLegs != 8) thisBug = insect
(iv) if (degreeOfPolynomial < 2) polynomial = linear
Let us see a simple C program containing the If statement (will be introduced in detail
in the next unit). It displays the relationship between two numbers read from the
keyboard.
Example: 4.1
/*Program to find relationship between two numbers*/
#include <stdio.h>
main ( )
{
int a, b;
printf ( Please enter two integers: );
scanf (%d%d, &a, &b);
if (a <= b)
printf ( %d <= %d\n,a,b);
else
printf (%d > %d\n,a,b);
}
OUTPUT
Please enter two integers: 12 17
12 <= 17
We can change the values assigned to a and b and check the result.

4.5

LOGICAL OPERATORS

Logical operators in C, as with other computer languages, are used to evaluate

expressions which may be true or false. Expressions which involve logical operations
are evaluated and found to be one of two values: true or false. So far we have studied
simple conditions. If we want to test multiple conditions in the process of making a

53

An Introduction to C

decision, we have to perform simple tests in separate IF statements(will be introduced

in detail in the next unit). C provides logical operators that may be used to form more
complex conditions by combining simple conditions.
The logical operators are listed below:

Operator

Meaning

&&

Logical AND

||

Logical OR

Logical NOT

Thus logical operators (AND and OR) combine two conditions and logical NOT is
used to negate the condition i.e. if the condition is true, NOT negates it to false and
vice versa.Let us consider the following examples:
(i) Suppose the grade of the student is B only if his marks lie within the range 65 to
75,if the condition would be:
if ((marks >=65) && (marks <= 75))
printf (Grade is B\n);
(ii) Suppose we want to check that a student is eligible for admission if his PCM is
greater than 85% or his aggregate is greater than 90%, then,
if ((PCM >=85) ||(aggregate >=90))
printf (Eligible for admission\n);
Logical negation (!) enables the programmer to reverse the meaning of the condition.
Unlike the && and || operators, which combines two conditions (and are therefore
Binary operators), the logical negation operator is a unary operator and has one single
condition as an operand. Let us consider an example:
if !(grade==A)
printf (the next grade is %c\n, grade);
The parentheses around the condition grade==A are needed because the logical
operator has higher precedence than equality operator. In a condition if all the
operators are present then the order of evaluation and associativity is provided in the
table. The truth table of the logical AND (&&), OR (||) and NOT (!) are given below.
These table show the possible combinations of zero (false) and nonzero (true) values
of x (expression1) and y (expression2) and only one expression in case of NOT
operator. The following table 4.2 is the truth table for && operator.
Table 4. 2: Truth table for && operator

54

x&&y

zero

zero

Non zero

zero

zero

Non zero

Non zero

Non zero

The following table 4.3 is the truth table for || operator.

Expressions and
Operators

Table 4.3: Truth table for || operator

x || y

zero

zero

Non zero

zero

zero

Non zero

Non zero

Non zero

The following table 4.4 is the truth table for ! operator.

Table 4.4: Truth table for ! operator

!x

zero

Non zero

The following table 4.5 shows the operator precedence and associativity
Table 4.5: (Logical operators precedence and associativity)
Operator
Associativity
Right to left
!

4.6

&&

Left to right

||

Left to right

COMMA AND CONDITIONAL OPERATORS

Conditional Operator
C provides an called as the conditional operator (?:) which is closely related to the
if/else structure. The conditional operator is Cs only ternary operator - it takes three
operands. The operands together with the conditional operator form a conditional
expression. The first operand is a condition, the second operand represents the value
of the entire conditional expression it is the condition is true and the third operand is
the value for the entire conditional expression if the condition is false.
The syntax is as follows:
(condition)? (expression1): (expression2);
If condition is true, expression1 is evaluated else expression2 is evaluated.
Expression1/Expression2 can also be further conditional expression i.e. the case of
nested if statement (will be discussed in the next unit).
55

An Introduction to C

Let us see the following examples:

(i) x= (y<20) ? 9: 10;
This means, if (y<20), then x=9 else x=10;
(ii) printf (%s\n, grade>=50? Passed: failed);
The above statement will print passed grade>=50 else it will print failed
(iii) (a>b) ? printf (a is greater than b \n): printf (b is greater than a \n);
If a is greater than b, then first printf statement is executed else second printf
statement is executed.

Comma Operator
A comma operator is used to separate a pair of expressions. A pair of expressions
separated by a comma is evaluated left to right, and the type and value of the result are
the value of the type and value of the right operand. All side effects from the
evaluation of the left operand are completed before beginning evaluation of the right
operand. The left side of comma operator is always evaluated to void. This means that
the expression on the right hand side becomes the value of the total comma-separated
expression. For example,
x = (y=2, y - 1);
first assigns y the value 2 and then x the value 1. Parenthesis is necessary since
comma operator has lower precedence than assignment operator.
Generally, comma operator (,) is used in the for loop (will be introduced in the next
unit)
For example,
for (i = 0,j = n;i<j; i++,j--)
{
printf (A);
}
In this example for is the looping construct (discussed in the next unit). In this loop,
i = 0 and j = n are separated by comma (,) and i++ and jare separated by comma (,).
The example will be clear to you once you have learnt for loop (will be introduced in
the next unit).
Essentially, the comma causes a sequence of operations to be performed. When it is
used on the right hand side of the assignment statement, the value assigned is the
value of the last expression in the comma-separated list.
Check Your Progress 2
1.

Given a=3, b=4, c=2, what is the result of following logical expressions:
(a < --b) && (a==c)

2.

56

Give the output of the following code:

main()
{
int a=10, b=15,x;

x = (a<b)?++a:++b;
printf(x=%d a=%d b=%d\n,x,a,b);

Expressions and
Operators

3.

What is the use of comma operator?

4.7

TYPE CAST OPERATOR

We have seen in the previous sections and last unit that when constants and variables
of different types are mixed in an expression, they are converted to the same type.
That is automatic type conversion takes place. The following type conversion rules are
followed:
1.

All chars and short ints are converted to ints. All floats are converted to
doubles.

2.

In case of binary operators, if one of the two operands is a long double, the other
operand is converted to long double,
else if one operand is double, the other is converted to double,
else if one operand is long, the other is converted to long,
else if one operand is unsigned, the other is converted to unsigned,

C converts all operands up to the type of largest operand (largest in terms of

memory requirement for e.g. float requires 4 bytes of storage and int requires 2 bytes
of storage so if one operand is int and the other is float, int is converted to float).
All the above mentioned conversions are automatic conversions, but what if int is to
be converted to float. It is possible to force an expression to be of specific type by
using operator called a cast. The syntax is as follows:
(type) expression
where type is the standard C data type. For example, if you want to make sure that the
expression a/5 would evaluate to type float you would write it as
( float ) a/5
cast is an unary operator and has the same precedence as any other unary operator.
The use of cast operator is explained in the following example:
main()
{
int num;
printf(%f %f %f\n, (float)num/2, (float)num/3, float)num/3);
}
57

An Introduction to C

Tha cast operator in this example will ensure that fractional part is also displayed on
the screen.

4.8

SIZE OF OPERATOR

C provides a compile-time unary operator called sizeof that can be used to compute
the size of any object. The expressions such as:
sizeof object

and

sizeof(type name)

result in an unsigned integer value equal to the size of the specified object or type in
bytes. Actually the resultant integer is the number of bytes required to store an object
of the type of its operand. An object can be a variable or array or structure. An array
and structure are data structures provided in C, introduced in latter units. A type name
can be the name of any basic type like int or double or a derived type like a structure
or a pointer.
For example,
sizeof(char) = 1bytes
sizeof(int) = 2 bytes

4.9

C SHORTHAND

C has a special shorthand that simplifies coding of certain type of assignment

statements. For example:
a = a+2;
can be written as:
a += 2;
The operator +=tells the compiler that a is assigned the value of a + 2;
This shorthand works for all binary operators in C. The general form is:
variable operator = variable / constant / expression
These operators are listed below:

Operators

Meaning

+=

a+=2

a=a+2

-=

a-=2

a=a-2

a*=2

a = a*2

/=

a/=2

a=a/2

%=

a%=2

a=a%2

Operators
&&=
||=
58

Examples

Examples
a&&=c
a||=c

Meaning
a=a&&c
a=a||c

4.10

Expressions and
Operators

PRIORITY OF OPERATORS

Since all the operators we have studied in this unit can be used together in an
expression, C uses a certain hierarchy to solve such kind of mixed expressions. The
hierarchy and associatively of the operators discussed so far is summarized in Table 6.
The operators written in the same line have the same priority. The higher precedence
operators are written first
Table 4.6: Precedence of the operators

Operators
()
! ++ -- (type) sizeof
/%
+< <= > >=
== !=
&&
||
?:
= += -= *= /= %= &&= ||=
,

Associativity
Left to right
Right to left
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Left to right
Right to left
Right to left
Left to right

Check Your Progress 3

1.

Give the output of the following C code:

main( )
{
int a,b=5;
float f;
a=5/2;
f=(float)b/2.0;
(a<f)? b=1:b=0;
printf(b = %d\n,b);
}

2. What is the difference between && and &. Explain with an example.

3.

Use of Bit Wise operators makes the execution of the program.

59

An Introduction to C

4.11

SUMMARY

In this unit, we discussed about the different types of operators, namely arithmetic,
relational, logical present in C and their use. In the following units, you will study
how these are used in Cs other constructs like control statements, arrays etc.
This unit also focused on type conversions. Type conversions are very important to
understand because sometimes a programmer gets unexpected results (logical error)
which are most often caused by type conversions in case user has used improper types
or if he has not type cast to desired type.
This unit also referred to C shorthand. C is referred to as a compact language which is
because lengthy expressions can be written in short form. Conditional operator is one
of the examples, which is the short form of writing the if/else construct (next unit).
Also increment/decrement operators reduce a bit of coding when used in expressions.
Since Logical operators are used further in all types of looping constructs and if/else
construct (in the next unit), they should be thoroughly understood.

4.12

SOLUTIONS / ANSWERS

Check Your Progress 1

1. C expression would be
i)
ii)

((a*4*c*c)-d)/(m+n)
a*b-(e+f)*4/c

2.

The output would be:

a=1 b=4 c=4 k=10

3.

There is no such operator as **.

Check Your Progress 2

1.

The expression is evaluated as under:

(3 < - -4) && (3== 2)
(3 < 3) && (3==2)
0 && 0
0
Logical false evaluates to 0 and logical true evaluates to 1.

2.

The output would be as follows:

x=11, a=11, b=16

3.

Comma operator causes a sequence of operators to be performed.

Check Your Progress 3

1.

60

Here a will evaluate to 2 and f will evaluate to 2.5 since type cast operator is
used in the latter so data type of b changes to float in an expression. Therefore,
output would be b=1.

2.

&& operator is a logical and operator and & is a bit wise and operator.
Therefore, && operator always evaluates to true or false i.e 1 or 0 respectively
while & operator evaluates bit wise so the result can be any value. For example:

Expressions and
Operators

2 && 5 => 1(true)

2 & 5 => 0(bit-wise anding)
3.

Use of Bit Wise operators makes the execution of the program faster.

4.13

FURTHER READINGS

1. The C Programming Language, Kernighan & Richie, PHI Publication.

2. Computer Science A structured programming approach using C, Behrouza A.
Forouzan, Richard F. Gilberg, Second Edition, Brooks/Cole, Thomson Learning,
2001.
3. Programming with C, Second Edition, Byron Gottfried, Schaum Outline, Tata
Mc Graw Hill, 2003.

61