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: Pascal: ThisIsAFunction

Camel: thisIsAFunction

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.

int main()
int getNumber(void)
int totalScore(int score1, int score2)

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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
terminated 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 << “Hello “ << “C++”;

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 namespace 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:
operand1 operator operand2

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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
using namespace std; 15.0 times 2.0 equals 30
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 (python style)
MyVariable (pascal style)
myVariable (camel style 🐫, suggested style for C++)
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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