Chapter 2

BASIC ELEMENTS IN C++

Introduction to Computer Science 1

Chapter 2

 Program structures
 Data types and operators
 Variables and declaration statements

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1. Program Structure
 A C++ program is a collection of functions.

 A function is a program segment that transforms the

data it receives into a finished result.

Fig. 1. A well-designed program is built using modules

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Function
 Each function must have a name.
 Names or identifiers in C++ can made up of any
combination of letters, digits, or underscores selected
according to the following rules:
- Identifiers must begin within an uppercase or lowercase ASCII
letter or an underscore (_).
- You can use digits in an identifier, but not as the first character.
You are not allowed to use special characters such as $, &, * or %.
- Reserved words cannot be used for variable names.

 Example:

DegToRad intersect addNums

FindMax1 _density slope

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The main() function
 The main() function is a special function that runs automatically
when a program first executes.

 All C++ programs must include one main() function. All other
functions in a C++ program are executed from the main().

 The first line of the function, in this case int main() is called a
function header line.

 The function header line contains three pieces of information:

1. What type of data, if any, is returned from the function.
2.The name of the function
3. What type of data, if any, is sent into the function.

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The main() function (cont.)

int main()
{

program statements in here

return 0.
}

The line
return 0;
is included at the end of every main function. C++ keyword
return is one of several means we will use to exit a
function. When the return statement is used at the end of
main(), the value 0 indicates that the program has
terminates successfully.

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The cout Object
 The cout object is an output object that sends data
given to it to the standard output display device.

 To send a message to the cout object, you use the

following pattern:

cout << “text”;

 The insertion operator, <<, is used for sending text

to an output device.

 The text portion of cout statement is called a text

string.

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A simple program
Example 2.1.1
#include <iostream> header file
using namspace std;
int main()
{
cout << "Hello world!";
return 0;
}
 A header file is a file with an extension of .h that is included as part
of a program. It notifies the compiler that a program uses run-time
libraries.
 All statements in C++ must end with a semicolon.
• The iostream classes are used for giving C++ programs input and
output capabilities.
• The header file for the iostream class is iostream.h.
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The iostream classes

 The #include statement is one of the several preprocessor

directives that are used with C++.

Example: To include the iostream.h file you use the following

preprocessor directives:
#include <iostream>

The statement using namespace std;

tell the compiler where to find the header files.
A namespace is a specific named section of code within a folder
that is accessed by the compiler when it is looking for
prewritten classes or function.

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Preprocessor directives

 The preprocessor is a program that runs before the

compiler.

 When the preprocessor encounters an #include

statement, it places the entire contents of the
designated file into the current file.

 Preprocessor directives and include statements

allow the current file to use any of the classes,
functions, variables, and other code contained within
the included file.

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i/o manipulator
 An i/o manipulator is a special function that can be
used with an i/o statement.
 The endl i/o manipulator is part of iostream classes
and represents a new line character.

 Example:

cout << “Program type: console application” << endl;

cout << “Create with: Visual C++ “<< endl;
cout << “Programmer: Don Gesselin” << endl;

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Comments
 Comments are lines that you place in your code to
contain various type of remarks.
 C++ line comments are created by adding two
slashes (// ) before the text you want to use as a
comment.
Ex:
// this program calculates a square root
 Block comments span multiple lines. Such
comments begin with /* and end with the symbols */.
Ex:
/* this program solves a quadratic equation:
ax2 + bx +c = 0
*/
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2. DATA TYPES AND OPERATORS
Data Types

 A data type is the specific category of information

that a variable contains.
 There are three basic data types used in C++:
integers, floating point numbers and characters.

Integer Data Type

 An integer is a positive or negative number with no
decimal places.
 Examples:
- 259 -13 0 200
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Floating Point Numbers

 A floating point number contains decimal places or

is written using exponential notations.

-6.16 -4.4 2.7541 10.5

90.1e3 0.89E8 -1.01e-1

Note: 90.1e3 means 90.1103

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The Character Data Type
 To store text, you use the character data type. To store one
character in a variable, you use the char keyword and place the
character in single quotation marks.

 Example:
char cLetter = ‘A’;

 Escape Sequence

The combination of a backlash (\) and a special character is

called an escape sequence.

 Example:
\n move to the next line
\t move to the next tab

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Arithmetic Operators
 Arithmetic operators are used to perform mathematical
calculations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division.

Operator Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Add two operands
- Subtracts one operand from another operand
* Multiplies one operand by another operand
/ Divides one operand by another operand
% Divides two operands and returns the remainder

 A simple arithmetic expression consists of an arithmetic

operator connecting two operands in the form:
operand operator operand

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Examples:
3+7
18 – 3
12.62 + 9.8
12.6/2.0
The output of the program:
Example 2.2.1 15.0 plus 2.0 equals 17
#include <iostream> 15.0 minus 2.0 equals 13
15.0 times 2.0 equals 30
using namespace std; 15.0 divided by 2.0 equals 7.5
int main()
{
cout << "15.0 plus 2.0 equals " << (15.0 + 2.0) << '\n'
<< "15.0 minus 2.0 equals " << (15.0 - 2.0) << '\n'
<< "15.0 times 2.0 equals " << (15.0 * 2.0) << '\n'
<< "15.0 divided by 2.0 equals " << (15.0 / 2.0) << '\n';
return 0;
}

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Integer Division and % operator

 The division of two integers yields integer result.

Thus the value of 15/2 is 7.

 Modulus % operator produces the remainder of an

integer division.

 Example:
9%4 is 1
17%3 is 2
14%2 is 0

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Operator Precedence and Associativity
 Expressions containing multiple operators are evaluated by the
priority, or precedence, of the operators.

Operator Associativity
--------------------------------------------
unary - Right to left
*/% Left to right
+- Left to right

 Example:

8 + 5*7%2*4
  
4 1 2 3

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3. VARIABLES
 One of the most important aspects of programming
is storing and manipulating the values stored in
variables.
 Variable names are also selected according to the
rules of identifiers:
- Identifiers must begin with an uppercase or
lowercase ASCII letter or an underscore (_).
- You can use digits in an identifier, but not as the
first character. You are not allowed to use special
characters such as $, &, * or %.
- Reserved words cannot be used for variable
names.

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Identifiers

 Example: Some valid identifiers

my_variable
Temperature
x1
x2
_my_variable

 Some invalid identifiers are as follows:

%x1 %my_var @x2

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Declaration Statements
 In C++ you can declare the data types of variables using the
syntax:

type name;

The type portion refers to the data type of the variable.

 The data type determines the type of information that can be

stored in the variable.

 Example:
int count;
float sum;

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Rules of variable declaration
 Rules:
1. A variable must be declared before it can be
used.
2. Declaration statements can also be used to store
an initial value into declared variables.

Example:
int num = 15;
float grade1 = 87.0;

 Note: Declaration statement gives information to the

compiler
 rather than a step in the algorithm.

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Example 2.2.1
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
float grade1 = 85.5;
float grade2 = 97.0;
float total, average;
total = grade1 + grade2;
average = total/2.0; // divide the total by 2.0
cout << "The average grade is " << average << endl;
return 0;
}
The output of the above program:
The average grade is 91.25
Let notice the two assignment statements in the above program:
total = grade1 + grade2; average = total/2.0;
 Each of these statements is called an assignment statement
because it tells the computer to assign (store) a value into a
variable.
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