Lesson 3: C input and output, data types, TOKENS,

KEYWORDS,
IDENTIFIER, VARIABLES AND
CONSTANTS

3.1 –Input / Output in C

Input and output is terminology referring to the communication between a computer

program and its user. Input is the user giving something to the program and we use scanf()
function , and output is the program giving something to the user by displaying on the screen
and we use printf() function.

C programming language provides many built-in functions to read any given input and to
display data on screen when there is a need to output the result.

Format specifier: Format specifiers defines the type of data to be printed on standard output.
Whether to print formatted output or to take formatted input we need format specifiers.
Format specifiers are also called as format string. Each format specifier begins with the
percentage character (%) followed by a conversion character which indicates the type of the
corresponding data item.
Here is a list of all format specifiers used in C programming language:
 Format specifiers Uses Example

%c For ‘char’ type data scanf(“%c”,&a); printf(“%c”,a);

%d For ‘int’ type data scanf(“%d”,&a); printf(“%d”,a);

%f For ‘float’ type data scanf(“%f”,&a); printf(“%f”,a);

%lf For ‘double’ type data scanf(“%lf”,&a); printf(“%lf”,a);

%ld For ‘long int ‘ type data scanf(“%ld”,&a); printf(“%ld”,a);

For ‘unsigned int ‘ type

%u data scanf(“%u”,&a); printf(“%u”,a);

%o For ‘Octal’ type data scanf(“%o”,&a); printf(“%o”,a);

For ‘Hexadecimal’ type

%x data scanf(“%x”,&a); printf(“%x”,a);

6- Uses of scanf() function:

Format of scanf() function for taking single input:

scanf(“format_specifier “, &variable_name);
Example:
 scanf() function for taking ‘char’ type data in variable a: scanf(“%c”, &a);
 scanf() function for taking ‘int’ type data in variable a: scanf(“%d”, &a);
 scanf() function for taking ‘float’ type data in variable a: scanf(“%f”, &a);
 scanf() function for taking ‘double’ type data in variable a: scanf(“%lf”, &a);
Format of scanf() function for taking multiple inputs:
scanf(” format_specifier1 format_specifier2….”, &variable_name1, &variable_name2…….);
Example:
Format of scanf() function for taking same type of multiple inputs:
 If variable a,b and c are int type then the format of scanf():
 scanf(“%d %d %d”, &a, &b, &c);
Format of scanf() function for taking different type of multiple inputs:
 If variable a,b and c are int, float and double type respectively then the format of scanf():
 scanf(“%d %f %lf”, &a, &b, &c);

Uses of printf() function:

printf() function can be used in two ways. First one is, to print a text that is not a value of a
variable. Second one is, to print the value of variables.
Format of printf() function to print a text: The text should be in double quotation of the
function.
printf(” Output text should be here “);
Format of printf() function to print the value of a single variable:
printf(“format_specifier”, variable_name);
Example:
 printf() function for printing ‘char’ type data of variable a: printf(“%c”, a);
 printf() function for printing ‘int’ type data of variable a: printf(“%d”, a);
 printf() function for printing ‘float’ type data of variable a: printf(“%f”, a);
 printf() function for printing ‘double’ type data of variable a: printf(“%lf”, a);
Format of printf() function to print the value of multiple variables:
printf(“format_specifier1, format_specifier2….”, variable_name1, variable_name2…);
Format of printf() function for printing same type of multiple variables:
 If variable a,b and c are int type then the format of printf():
 printf(“%d %d %d”, a, b, c);
Format of printf() function for printing different type of multiple variables:
 If variable a,b and c are int, float and double type respectively then the format of printf():
 printf(“%d %f %lf”, a, b, c);

Backslash Constant Characters: In C language a sequence of characters that doesn’t

represent itself when used inside string literal or character. It is composed of two or more
characters starting with backslash \. For example: \n represents new line.

Backslash
Characters Uses Examples Output
 Learning

\n Printing Newline printf(“Learning\n ICT”); ICT

Printing Horizontal
\t tab printf(“Learning\t ICT”); Learning ICT

Learning

\v Printing Vertical tab printf(“Learning\v ICT”); ICT

\a Alarm or Beep printf(“\aLearning ICT”); Alerm!

Printing Double printf(“Learning \”ICT\”

\” quotation mark “); Learning “ICT”

Printing Single
\’ quotation mark printf(“Learning \’ICT\’ “); Learning ‘ICT’

\\ Printing Backslash printf(“Learning \\ICT\\ “); Learning \ICT\

Printing Question printf(” Are you learning

\? mark ICT\? “); Are you learning ICT?

3.2 Data types

'C' provides various data types to make it easy for a programmer to select a suitable data type
as per the requirements of an application. Following are the three data types:

1. Primitive data types

2. Derived data types
3. User-defined data types

There are five primary fundamental data types,

1. int for integer data

 2. char for character data
3. float for floating point numbers
4. double for double precision floating point numbers
5. void

Array, functions, pointers, structures are derived data types. 'C' language provides more
extended versions of the above mentioned primary data types. Each data type differs from one
another in size and range. Following table displays the size and range of each data type.

Data type Size in bytes Range

Char or signed char 1 -128 to 127

Unsigned char 1 0 to 255

int or signed int 2 -32768 to 32767

Unsigned int 2 0 to 65535

Short int or Unsigned short int 2 0 to 255

Signed short int 2 -128 to 127

Long int or Signed long int 4 -2147483648 to 2147483647

Unsigned long int 4 0 to 4294967295

Float 4 3.4E-38 to 3.4E+38

 Double 8 1.7E-308 to 1.7E+308

Long double 10 3.4E-4932 to 1.1E+4932

Note: In C, there is no Boolean data type.

Integer data type

Integer is nothing but a whole number. The range for an integer data type varies from machine
to machine. The standard range for an integer data type is -32768 to 32767.

An integer typically is of 2 bytes which means it consumes a total of 16 bits in memory. A

single integer value takes 2 bytes of memory. An integer data type is further divided into other
data types such as short int, int, and long int.

Each data type differs in range even though it belongs to the integer data type family. The size
may not change for each data type of integer family.

The short int is mostly used for storing small numbers, int is used for storing averagely sized
integer values, and long int is used for storing large integer values.

Whenever we want to use an integer data type, we have place int before the identifier such as,

int age;

Here, age is a variable of an integer data type which can be used to store integer values.

Floating point data type

Like integers, in 'C' program we can also make use of floating point data types. The 'float'
keyword is used to represent the floating point data type. It can hold a floating point value
which means a number is having a fraction and a decimal part. A floating point value is a real
number that contains a decimal point. Integer data type doesn't store the decimal part hence
we can use floats to store decimal part of a value.

Generally, a float can hold up to 6 precision values. If the float is not sufficient, then we can
make use of other data types that can hold large floating point values. The data type double
and long double are used to store real numbers with precision up to 14 and 80 bits
respectively.

While using a floating point number a keyword float/double/long double must be placed
before an identifier. The valid examples are,

float division;
double BankBalance;

7- Character data type

Character data types are used to store a single character value enclosed in single quotes.

A character data type takes up-to 1 byte of memory space.

Example,

Char letter;

8- Void data type

A void data type doesn't contain or return any value. It is mostly used for defining functions in
'C'.

Example,

void displayData()

Type declaration of a variable

int main() {
int x, y;
float salary = 13.48;
char letter = 'K';
x = 25;
y = 34;
int z = x+y;
printf("%d \n", z);
printf("%f \n", salary);
printf("%c \n", letter);
return 0;}

Output:

59
13.480000
K

We can declare multiple variables with the same data type on a single line by separating them
with a comma. Also, notice the use of format specifiers in printf output function float (%f)
and char (%c) and int (%d).

3.4- Tokens

A token is the smallest unit in a 'C' program. A token is divided into six different types as
follows,

Tokens in C

3.5- Keywords and identifiers

In 'C' every word can be either a keyword or an identifier.

Keywords have fixed meanings, and the meaning cannot be changed. They act as a building
block of a 'C' program. There are total 32 keywords in 'C'. Keywords are written in lowercase
letters.

Following table represents the keywords in 'C',

Auto Double Int Struct

Break Else Long Switch

Case Enum Register typedef

Char Extern Return Union

Const Short Float unsigned

continue For Signed Void

default Goto Sizeof volatile

Do If Static While

3.6- Identifier

An identifier is nothing but a name assigned to an element in a program. Example, name of a

variable, function, etc. Identifiers are the user-defined names consisting of 'C' standard
character set. As the name says, identifiers are used to identify a particular element in a
program. Each identifier must have a unique name. Following rules must be followed for
identifiers:

1. The first character must always be an alphabet or an underscore.

2. It should be formed using only letters, numbers, or underscore.
 3. A keyword cannot be used as an identifier.
4. It should not contain any whitespace character.
5. The name must be meaningful.

3.7- Variable

A variable is an identifier which is used to store some value. Constants can never change at
the time of execution. Variables can change during the execution of a program and update the
value stored inside it.

A single variable can be used at multiple locations in a program. A variable name must be
meaningful. It should represent the purpose of the variable.

Example: Height, age, are the meaningful variables that represent the purpose it is being used
for. Height variable can be used to store a height value. Age variable can be used to store the a
ge of a person

A variable must be declared first before it is used somewhere inside the program. A variable
name is formed using characters, digits and an underscore.

Following are the rules that must be followed while creating a variable:

1. A variable name should consist of only characters, digits and an underscore.

2. A variable name should not begin with a number.
3. A variable name should not consist of whitespace.
4. A variable name should not consist of a keyword.
5. 'C' is a case sensitive language that means a variable named 'age' and 'AGE' are
different.

Following are the examples of valid variable names in a 'C' program:

height or HEIGHT
_height
_height1
My_name

Following are the examples of invalid variable names in a 'C' program:

1height
Hei$ght
My name

For example, we declare an integer variable my_variable and assign it the value 48:

int my_variable;
my_variable = 48;

By the way, we can both declare and initialize (assign an initial value) a variable in a single
statement:

int my_variable = 48;

Format for declaring a variable is given bellow:

 Data_type variable_name;
 For example: int number;
The Programming language C has two main variable types:

 1. Local Variables
 2. Global Variables
Local Variables: Local variables scope is confined within the block or function where it is
defined. Local variables must always be defined at the top of a block. When a local variable is
defined – it is not initialized by the system, you must initialize it yourself. When execution of
the block starts the variable is available, and when the block ends the variable ‘dies’.

Global Variables: Global variable is defined at the top of the program file and it can be
visible and modified by any function that may reference it. Global variables are initialized
automatically by the system when you define them!. If same variable name is being used for
global and local variable then local variable takes preference in its scope. But it is not a good
practice to use global variables and local variables with the same name.

3.8- Constants

Constants are the fixed values that never change during the execution of a program. Following
are the various types of constants:
 Integer constants

An integer constant is nothing but a value consisting of digits or numbers. These values never
change during the execution of a program. Integer constants can be octal, decimal and
hexadecimal.

1. Decimal constant contains digits from 0-9 such as,

Example, 111, 1234

Above are the valid decimal constants.

2. Octal constant contains digits from 0-7, and these types of constants are always
preceded by 0.

Example, 012, 065

Above are the valid decimal constants.

3. Hexadecimal constant contains a digit from 0-9 as well as characters from A-F.
Hexadecimal constants are always preceded by 0X.

Example, 0X2, 0Xbcd

Above are the valid hexadecimal constants.

The octal and hexadecimal integer constants are very rarely used in programming with 'C'.

Character constants

A character constant contains only a single character enclosed within a single quote (''). We
can also represent character constant by providing ASCII value of it.

Example, 'A', '9'

Above are the examples of valid character constants.

String constants

A string constant contains a sequence of characters enclosed within double quotes ("").
Example, "Hello", "Programming"

These are the examples of valid string constants.

Real Constants

Like integer constants that always contains an integer value. 'C' also provides real constants
that contain a decimal point or a fraction value. The real constants are also called as floating
point constants. The real constant contains a decimal point and a fractional value.

Example, 202.15, 300.00

These are the valid real constants in 'C'.

A real constant can also be written as,

Mantissa e Exponent

For example, to declare a value that does not change like the classic circle constant PI, there
are two ways to declare this constant

1. By using the const keyword in a variable declaration which will reserve a storage
memory

#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
const double PI = 3.14;
printf("%f", PI);
//PI++; // This will generate an error as constants cannot be changed
return 0;}

2. By using the #define pre-processor directive which doesn't use memory for storage
and without putting a semicolon character at the end of that statement

#include <stdio.h>
#define PI 3.14
int main() {
printf("%f", PI);
 return 0;}

3.9. Modifiers in C

The amount of memory space to be allocated for a variable is derived by modifiers. Modifiers
are prefixed with basic data types to modify (either increase or decrease) the amount of storage
space allocated to a variable.

There are 5 modifiers available in C language. They are,

1. short
2. long
3. signed
4. unsigned
5. long long
Below table gives the detail about the storage size of each C basic data type in 16 bit processor.
Please
keep in mind that storage size and range for int and float datatype will vary depend on the CPU
processor
(8,16, 32 and 64 bit)

C Data types / storage Size Range

char / 1 –127 to 127
int / 2 –32,767 to 32,767
1E–37 to 1E+37 with six digits of
float / 4
precision
1E–37 to 1E+37 with ten digits of
double / 8
precision
1E–37 to 1E+37 with ten digits of
long double / 10
precision
long int / 4 –2,147,483,647 to 2,147,483,647
short int / 2 –32,767 to 32,767
unsigned short int / 2 0 to 65,535
signed short int / 2 –32,767 to 32,767
long long int / 8 –(2power(63) –1) to 2(power)63 –1
 signed long int / 4 –2,147,483,647 to 2,147,483,647
unsigned long int / 4 0 to 4,294,967,295
unsigned long long int / 8 2(power)64 –1

Summary

 A constant is a value that doesn't change throughout the execution of a program.

 A token is the smallest unit in a program.
 A keyword is reserved words by language.
 There are total 32 keywords.
 An identifier is used to identify elements of a program.
 A variable is an identifier which is used to store a value.
 There are four commonly used data types such as int, float, char and a void.
 Each data type differs in size and range from one another.

EXERCISES:

Knowledge Based Questions:

1. What is input function?

2. What is output function?

3. What is format specifier?

4. What is backslash character?

Comprehension Based Questions:

5. What is meant by output function?

6. Explain the statement scanf(“%d”, &a);

7. Explain the statement scanf(“%d %x”, &a, &b);

8. Write input and output functions used in c programming language.

9. Explain printf() and scanf() function with examples.

10. ‘There are some rules for declaring a variable’-explain.

11. When long integer is used instead of integer? Explain.

 12. In C language, is “int roll@no;” valid or invalid? Explain.

13. What do you understand by float type? Write down with example.

14. Write down the differences between variable and constant?

15. Write down the advantages of using constant in program.

Lesson 4: Operators and expressions of C language

4.1. Definition and description
Operator: An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or
logical operations. In other words we can say that an operator operates the operands.The data
items on which operators act upon are called operands. Operators are used in programs to
manipulate constant and operands.
Consider the expression A + B * 5. Where, +, * are operators, A, B are operands, 5 is
constant and A + B * 5 is an expression.

4.2. Classification of oparators

Depending on the number of operands that an operator can act upon, operators can be
classified as follows:
 1. Unary Operators
 2. Binary Operators
 3. Ternary Operators

1. Unary Operators:Those operators that require only single operand to act upon are
known as unary operators. For Example increment(++) and decrement(–) operators.
2. Binary Operators:Those operators that require two operands to act upon are called
binary operators.Binary operators are classified into :
 1. Arithmetic operators (+, -, * etc.)
 2. Relational Operators ( <, >, ==)
 3. Logical Operators (&&, ||)
 4. Assignment Operators (=, +=, -=)
 5. Bitwise Operators (&, |)
3. Ternary Operators: These operators requires three operands to act upon. For
Example Conditional operator(?:).

4.3. Types of operator based on operations

C operators can be classified into following types based on operations:

 1. Arithmetic operators
 2. Relational operators
 3. Logical operators
 4. Assignment operators
 5. Increment/decrement operators
 6. Conditional operators
 7. Bitwise operators
 8. Special operators

Arithmetic operators:These operators are used to perform mathematical calculations on

operands like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and modulus.

Operators Description

+ Adds two operands.

− Subtracts second operand from the first.

* Multiplies both operands.

/ Divides numerator by de-numerator.

% Modulus Operator and remainder of after an integer division.

Relational operators: These operators are used to compare the value of two operands. For
example: checking if one operand is equal to the other operand or not, an operand is greater
than the other operand or not etc.

Operators Description Example

Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not. If

== yes, then the condition becomes true. (A == B) is not true.

Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not. If

the values are not equal, then the condition becomes
!= true. (A != B) is true.
 Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the
value of right operand. If yes, then the condition
> becomes true. (A > B) is not true.

Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value

< of right operand. If yes, then the condition becomes true. (A < B) is true.

Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or

equal to the value of right operand. If yes, then the
>= condition becomes true. (A >= B) is not true.

Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal

to the value of right operand. If yes, then the condition
<= becomes true. (A <= B) is true.

Logical operators: Logical Operators are used to combine two or more conditions/constraints
or to complement the evaluation of the original condition in consideration. The result of the
operation of a logical operator is a boolean value either true or false.

Operator Description Example

Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands are

&& non-zero, then the condition becomes true. (A && B) is false.

Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands

|| is non-zero, then the condition becomes true. (A || B) is true.

Called Logical NOT Operator. It is used to reverse the

logical state of its operand. If a condition is true, then
! Logical NOT operator will make it false. !(A && B) is true.

Assignment operators: These operators are used to assign the values for the variables in C
programs. The left side operand of the assignment operator is a variable and right side
operand of the assignment operator is a value. The value on the right side must be of the same
data-type of variable on the left side otherwise the compiler will raise an error.

Operator Description Example

Simple assignment operator. Assigns values from right C = A + B will assign the
= side operands to left side operand value of A + B to C

Add AND assignment operator. It adds the right

operand to the left operand and assign the result to the C += A is equivalent to C =
+= left operand. C+A

Subtract AND assignment operator. It subtracts the

right operand from the left operand and assigns the C -= A is equivalent to C = C
-= result to the left operand. –A

Multiply AND assignment operator. It multiplies the

right operand with the left operand and assigns the C *= A is equivalent to C =
*= result to the left operand. C*A

Divide AND assignment operator. It divides the left

operand with the right operand and assigns the result to C /= A is equivalent to C = C
/= the left operand. /A

Modulus AND assignment operator. It takes modulus

using two operands and assigns the result to the left C %= A is equivalent to C =
%= operand. C%A

Increment/decrement operators: Increment Operators are used to increase the value of the
variable by one and Decrement Operators are used to decrease the value of the variable by
one in C programs. Both increment and decrement operator are used on a single operand and
variable, so it is called as a unary operator. Unary operators are having higher priority than the
other operators it means unary operators are executed before other operators.

9- Type of Increment Operator

o pre-increment
o post-increment
pre-increment (++ variable): In pre-increment first increment the value of variable and then
used inside the expression (initialize into another variable).

Example of pre-increment

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size:

1
14pt;">#include<stdio.h>
2
#include<conio.h>
3

4
main()
5
{
6
int x,i;
7
i=10;
8
x=++i;
9
printf("x: %d",x);
10
printf("i: %d",i);
11
getch();
12
}</span>
post-increment (variable ++): In Post-increment first value of variable is used in the
expression (initialize into another variable) and then increment the value of variable.
Example of post-increment

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size:

1
14pt;">#include<stdio.h>
2
#include<conio.h>
3

4
void main()
5
{
6
int x,i;
7
i=10;
8
x=i++;
9
printf("x: %d",x);
10
printf("i: %d",i);
11
getch();
12
}</span>

10-Type of Decrement Operator

o pre-decrement
o post-decrement
Pre-decrement (– variable): In pre-decrement first decrement the value of variable and then
used inside the expression (initialize into another variable).
Example of pre-decrement

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size:

14pt;">#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>

void main()

int x,i;

i=10;

x=--i;

printf("x: %d",x);

printf("i: %d",i);

getch();

post-decrement (variable –): In Post-decrement first value of variable is used in the

expression (initialize into another variable) and then decrement the value of variable.
Example of post-decrement

#include<stdio.h>

#include<conio.h>

void main()

int x,i;

i=10;

x=i--;
 printf("x: %d",x);

printf("i: %d",i);

getch();

Conditional operators: Conditional operators return one value if condition is true and returns
another value is condition is false. This operator is also called as ternary operator.
Syntax : (Condition? true_value: false_value);

Example : (A < 0 ? Negative : Positive);

In above example, if A is less than 0, Negative is returned else Positive is returned. This is
equal to if else conditional statements.

Bitwise operators: These operators are used to perform bit-level operations on the
operands. The operators are first converted to bit-level and then calculation is performed on
the operands. Bitwise operators can not be used on float and double type data.

Truth table of bitwise operators:

Special operators: Below are some of the special operators that the C programming
language offers.

Operators Description

This is used to get the address of the variable.

& Example : &a will give address of a.

This is used as pointer to a variable.

* Example : * a where, * is pointer to the variable a.

This gives the size of the variable.

Sizeof () Example : size of (char) will give us 1.

4.3.Expression

Expression: Operators, functions, constants and variables are combined together to form
expressions. Consider the expression A + B * 5. where, +, * are operators, A, B are variables,
5 is constant and A + B * 5 is an expression.
Mathematical expressions are written in c program in the following way:
Operator precedence and associativity in expression:
Operator precedence determines which operator is performed first in an expression with more
than one operators with different precedence. For example 10 + 20 * 30 is calculated as 10 +
(20 * 30) and not as (10 + 20) * 30.
Associativity is used when two operators of same precedence appear in an expression.
Associativity can be either Left to Right or Right to Left. For example ‘*’ and ‘/’ have same
precedence and their associativity is Left to Right, so the expression “100 / 10 * 10” is treated
as “(100 / 10) * 10”.
Here, operators with the highest precedence appear at the top of the table, those with the
lowest appear at the bottom. Within an expression, higher precedence operators will be
evaluated first.

Category Operator Associativity

Postfix () [] -> . ++ – – Left to right

Unary + – ! ~ ++ – – (type)* & sizeof Right to left

Multiplicative */% Left to right

Additive +– Left to right

Shift << >> Left to right

Relational < <= > >= Left to right

Equality == != Left to right

 Bitwise AND & Left to right

Bitwise XOR ^ Left to right

Bitwise OR | Left to right

Logical AND && Left to right

Logical OR || Left to right

Conditional ?: Right to left

Assignment = += -= *= /= %=>>= <<= &= ^= |= Right to left

Comma , Left to right

Lesson Evaluation-

Knowledge Based Questions:

 a. What is operator?
 a. What is unary operator?
 a. What is binary operator?
 a. What is ternary operator?
 a. What is relational operator?
 a. What is logical operator?
 a. What is conditional operator?
 a. What is expression?
 a. What is operand?
 a. What is operator precedence?