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C Programming

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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................1 WELCOME TO C .........................................................................................................................................2 Target Audience ....................................................................................................................................2 Expected Knowledge..............................................................................................................................2 Advantageous Knowledge ......................................................................................................................2 COURSE OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................................3 PRACTICAL EXERCISES ...............................................................................................................................4 FEATURES OF C ..........................................................................................................................................5 High Level Assembler ............................................................................................................................5 (Processor) Speed Comes First! .............................................................................................................5 Systems Programming............................................................................................................................5 Portability .............................................................................................................................................5 Write Only Reputation ...........................................................................................................................5 THE HISTORY OF C.....................................................................................................................................6 Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie ...........................................................................................................6 Standardization .....................................................................................................................................7 ANSI......................................................................................................................................................7 ISO ........................................................................................................................................................7 STANDARD C VS. K&R C ...........................................................................................................................8 A C PROGRAM ...........................................................................................................................................9 #include.................................................................................................................................................9 Comments..............................................................................................................................................9 main.....................................................................................................................................................9 Braces ...................................................................................................................................................9 printf ................................................................................................................................................9 \n...........................................................................................................................................................9 return ................................................................................................................................................9 THE FORMAT OF C....................................................................................................................................10 Semicolons ..........................................................................................................................................10 Free Format ........................................................................................................................................10 Case Sensitivity ...................................................................................................................................10 Random Behavior ................................................................................................................................10

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ANOTHER EXAMPLE .................................................................................................................................11 int .....................................................................................................................................................11 scanf.................................................................................................................................................11 printf ..............................................................................................................................................11 Expressions .........................................................................................................................................11 VARIABLES ..............................................................................................................................................12 Declaring Variables.............................................................................................................................12 Valid Names ........................................................................................................................................12 Capital Letters.....................................................................................................................................12 PRINTF AND SCANF ...................................................................................................................................13 printf ..............................................................................................................................................13 scanf.................................................................................................................................................13 & .........................................................................................................................................................13 INTEGER TYPES IN C.................................................................................................................................14 limits.h..........................................................................................................................................14 Different Integers ................................................................................................................................14 unsigned..........................................................................................................................................14 %hi .....................................................................................................................................................14 INTEGER EXAMPLE ...................................................................................................................................15 INT_MIN, INT_MAX ..........................................................................................................................15 CHARACTER EXAMPLE..............................................................................................................................16 char...................................................................................................................................................16 CHAR_MIN, CHAR_MAX......................................................................................................................16 Arithmetic With char .........................................................................................................................16 %c vs %i..............................................................................................................................................16 INTEGERS WITH DIFFERENT BASES ...........................................................................................................17 Decimal, Octal and Hexadecimal ........................................................................................................17 %d .......................................................................................................................................................17 %o .......................................................................................................................................................17 %x .......................................................................................................................................................17 %X .......................................................................................................................................................17 REAL TYPES IN C .....................................................................................................................................18 float.h ............................................................................................................................................18 float.................................................................................................................................................18 double ..............................................................................................................................................18 long double ....................................................................................................................................18 REAL EXAMPLE ........................................................................................................................................19 %lf .....................................................................................................................................................19 %le .....................................................................................................................................................19 %lg .....................................................................................................................................................19 %7.2lf ..............................................................................................................................................19 %.2le.................................................................................................................................................19 %.4lg.................................................................................................................................................19 CONSTANTS .............................................................................................................................................20 Typed Constants ..................................................................................................................................20 WARNING!...............................................................................................................................................21 NAMED CONSTANTS .................................................................................................................................22 const.................................................................................................................................................22 Lvalues and Rvalues ............................................................................................................................22 PREPROCESSOR CONSTANTS .....................................................................................................................23 TAKE CARE WITH PRINTF AND SCANF!.......................................................................................................24 Incorrect Format Specifiers .................................................................................................................24

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INTRODUCTION PRACTICAL EXERCISES ...................................................................................27 INTRODUCTION SOLUTIONS..........................................................................................................29 OPERATORS IN C...............................................................................................................................33 OPERATORS IN C ......................................................................................................................................34 ARITHMETIC OPERATORS .........................................................................................................................35 +, -, *, /.............................................................................................................................................35 %..........................................................................................................................................................35 USING ARITHMETIC OPERATORS ...............................................................................................................36 THE CAST OPERATOR ...............................................................................................................................37 INCREMENT AND DECREMENT ...................................................................................................................38 PREFIX AND POSTFIX ................................................................................................................................39 Prefix ++, --........................................................................................................................................39 Postfix ++, --.......................................................................................................................................39 Registers..............................................................................................................................................39 TRUTH IN C..............................................................................................................................................40 True.....................................................................................................................................................40 False ...................................................................................................................................................40 Testing Truth .......................................................................................................................................40 COMPARISON OPERATORS.........................................................................................................................41 LOGICAL OPERATORS ...............................................................................................................................42 And, Or, Not ........................................................................................................................................42 LOGICAL OPERATOR GUARANTEES............................................................................................................43 C Guarantees.......................................................................................................................................43 and Truth Table ...................................................................................................................................43 or Truth Table .....................................................................................................................................43 WARNING!...............................................................................................................................................44 Parentheses .........................................................................................................................................44 BITWISE OPERATORS ................................................................................................................................45 & vs &&................................................................................................................................................45 | vs ||................................................................................................................................................45 ^..........................................................................................................................................................45 Truth Tables For Bitwise Operators.....................................................................................................45 BITWISE EXAMPLE....................................................................................................................................46 Arithmetic Results of Shifting...............................................................................................................46 Use unsigned When Shifting Right...................................................................................................46 ASSIGNMENT ...........................................................................................................................................47 Assignment Uses Registers...................................................................................................................47 WARNING!...............................................................................................................................................48 Test for Equality vs. Assignment ..........................................................................................................48 OTHER ASSIGNMENT OPERATORS .............................................................................................................49 +=, -=, *=, /=, %= etc........................................................................................................................49 SIZEOF OPERATOR ...................................................................................................................................50 CONDITIONAL EXPRESSION OPERATOR ......................................................................................................51 Conditional expression vs. if/then/else .................................................................................................51 PRECEDENCE OF OPERATORS ....................................................................................................................52 ASSOCIATIVITY OF OPERATORS .................................................................................................................53 Left to Right Associativity....................................................................................................................53 Right to Left Associativity....................................................................................................................53 PRECEDENCE/ASSOCIATIVITY TABLE ........................................................................................................54

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OPERATORS IN C PRACTICAL EXERCISES.................................................................................57

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OPERATORS IN C SOLUTIONS........................................................................................................59 CONTROL FLOW ...............................................................................................................................63 CONTROL FLOW .......................................................................................................................................64 DECISIONS IF THEN ..................................................................................................................................65 WARNING!...............................................................................................................................................66 Avoid Spurious Semicolons After if....................................................................................................66 IF THEN ELSE ...........................................................................................................................................67 NESTING IFS ............................................................................................................................................68 Where Does else Belong? .................................................................................................................68 SWITCH ....................................................................................................................................................69 switch vs. if/then/else..................................................................................................................69 MORE ABOUT SWITCH ...............................................................................................................................70 switch Less Flexible Than if/then/else.........................................................................................70 A SWITCH EXAMPLE..................................................................................................................................71 Twelve Days of Christmas....................................................................................................................71 WHILE LOOP .............................................................................................................................................72 (ANOTHER) SEMICOLON WARNING!..........................................................................................................73 Avoid Semicolons After while ...........................................................................................................73 Flushing Input .....................................................................................................................................73 WHILE, NOT UNTIL!..................................................................................................................................74 There Are Only While Conditions in C.............................................................................................74 DO WHILE ..................................................................................................................................................75 FOR LOOP .................................................................................................................................................76 for And while Compared ................................................................................................................76 FOR IS NOT UNTIL EITHER! .......................................................................................................................77 C Has While Conditions, Not Until Conditions ....................................................................................77 STEPPING WITH FOR .................................................................................................................................78 math.h ..............................................................................................................................................78 EXTENDING THE FOR LOOP........................................................................................................................79 Infinite Loops ......................................................................................................................................79 BREAK ......................................................................................................................................................80 break is Really Goto! ........................................................................................................................80 break, switch and Loops................................................................................................................80 CONTINUE .................................................................................................................................................81 continue is Really Goto...................................................................................................................81 continue, switch and Loops .........................................................................................................81 SUMMARY................................................................................................................................................82 CONTROL FLOW PRACTICAL EXERCISES..................................................................................83 CONTROL FLOW SOLUTIONS ........................................................................................................87 FUNCTIONS .........................................................................................................................................95 FUNCTIONS ..............................................................................................................................................96 THE RULES ..............................................................................................................................................97 WRITING A FUNCTION - EXAMPLE .............................................................................................................98 Return Type .........................................................................................................................................98 Function Name ....................................................................................................................................98 Parameters ..........................................................................................................................................98 Return Value........................................................................................................................................98

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CALLING A FUNCTION - EXAMPLE .............................................................................................................99 Prototype.............................................................................................................................................99 Call .....................................................................................................................................................99 Ignoring the Return .............................................................................................................................99 CALLING A FUNCTION - DISASTER! .........................................................................................................100 Missing Prototypes ............................................................................................................................100 PROTOTYPES ..........................................................................................................................................101 When a Prototype is Missing..............................................................................................................101 PROTOTYPING IS NOT OPTIONAL .............................................................................................................102 Calling Standard Library Functions ..................................................................................................102 WRITING PROTOTYPES ...........................................................................................................................103 Convert The Function Header Into The Prototype..............................................................................103 Added Documentation .......................................................................................................................103 TAKE CARE WITH SEMICOLONS ..............................................................................................................104 Avoid Semicolons After The Function Header....................................................................................104 EXAMPLE PROTOTYPES...........................................................................................................................105 EXAMPLE CALLS ....................................................................................................................................106 RULES OF VISIBILITY ..............................................................................................................................107 C is a Block Structured Language......................................................................................................107 CALL BY VALUE .....................................................................................................................................108 CALL BY VALUE - EXAMPLE ...................................................................................................................109 C AND THE STACK ..................................................................................................................................110 STACK EXAMPLE ....................................................................................................................................111 STORAGE ...............................................................................................................................................112 Code Segment....................................................................................................................................112 Stack..................................................................................................................................................112 Data Segment ....................................................................................................................................112 Heap..................................................................................................................................................112 AUTO ......................................................................................................................................................113 Stack Variables are Automatic.......................................................................................................113 Stack Variables are Initially Random.................................................................................................113 Performance ......................................................................................................................................113 STATIC ..................................................................................................................................................114 static Variables are Permanent.....................................................................................................114 static Variables are Initialized......................................................................................................114 static Variables Have Local Scope ...............................................................................................114 REGISTER ...............................................................................................................................................115 register Variables are Initially Random.......................................................................................115 Slowing Code Down...........................................................................................................................115 GLOBAL VARIABLES ...............................................................................................................................116 Global Variables are Initialized.........................................................................................................116 FUNCTIONS PRACTICAL EXERCISES .........................................................................................119 FUNCTIONS SOLUTIONS................................................................................................................121 POINTERS ..........................................................................................................................................127 POINTERS...............................................................................................................................................128 POINTERS - WHY? ..................................................................................................................................129 DECLARING POINTERS ............................................................................................................................130 EXAMPLE POINTER DECLARATIONS .........................................................................................................131 Pointers Have Different Types ...........................................................................................................131 Positioning the * ...........................................................................................................................131

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THE & OPERATOR ...............................................................................................................................132 Pointers Are Really Just Numbers......................................................................................................132 Printing Pointers ...............................................................................................................................132 RULES....................................................................................................................................................133 Assigning Addresses ..........................................................................................................................133 THE * OPERATOR ...............................................................................................................................134 WRITING DOWN POINTERS .....................................................................................................................135 INITIALIZATION WARNING!.....................................................................................................................136 Always Initialize Pointers ..................................................................................................................136 INITIALIZE POINTERS!.............................................................................................................................137 Understanding Initialization ..............................................................................................................137 NULL ...................................................................................................................................................138 NULL and Zero..................................................................................................................................138 A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!.....................................................................................................................139 What is Pointed to vs the Pointer Itself ..............................................................................................139 FILL IN THE GAPS ...................................................................................................................................140 TYPE MISMATCH ....................................................................................................................................141 CALL BY VALUE - REMINDER ..................................................................................................................142 CALL BY REFERENCE ..............................................................................................................................143 POINTERS TO POINTERS ..........................................................................................................................144 POINTERS PRACTICAL EXERCISES ............................................................................................147 POINTERS SOLUTIONS...................................................................................................................151 ARRAYS IN C.....................................................................................................................................155 ARRAYS IN C..........................................................................................................................................156 DECLARING ARRAYS ..............................................................................................................................157 EXAMPLES .............................................................................................................................................158 Initializing Arrays..............................................................................................................................158 ACCESSING ELEMENTS ...........................................................................................................................159 Numbering Starts at Zero...................................................................................................................159 ARRAY NAMES .......................................................................................................................................160 A Pointer to the Start.........................................................................................................................160 Cannot Assign to an Array.................................................................................................................160 PASSING ARRAYS TO FUNCTIONS ............................................................................................................161 Bounds Checking Within Functions ...................................................................................................161 EXAMPLE ...............................................................................................................................................162 A Pointer is Passed............................................................................................................................162 Bounds Checking...............................................................................................................................162 USING POINTERS ....................................................................................................................................163 Addition With Pointers.......................................................................................................................163 POINTERS GO BACKWARDS TOO .............................................................................................................164 Subtraction From Pointers.................................................................................................................164 POINTERS MAY BE SUBTRACTED .............................................................................................................165 USING POINTERS - EXAMPLE ...................................................................................................................166 * AND ++...............................................................................................................................................167 In *p++ Which Operator is Done First?........................................................................................167 (*p)++...............................................................................................................................................167 *++p .................................................................................................................................................167 WHICH NOTATION?................................................................................................................................168 Use What is Easiest! ..........................................................................................................................168 STRINGS ................................................................................................................................................169

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Character Arrays vs. Strings..............................................................................................................170 Null Added Automatically..................................................................................................................170 Excluding Null...................................................................................................................................170 PRINTING STRINGS .................................................................................................................................171 printf %s Format Specifier.............................................................................................................171 NULL REALLY DOES MARK THE END! .....................................................................................................172 ASSIGNING TO STRINGS ..........................................................................................................................173 POINTING TO STRINGS ............................................................................................................................174 Strings May be Stored in the Data Segment .......................................................................................174 MULTIDIMENSIONAL ARRAYS .................................................................................................................177 REVIEW .................................................................................................................................................178 ARRAYS PRACTICAL EXERCISES................................................................................................181 ARRAYS SOLUTIONS ......................................................................................................................185 STRUCTURES IN C ...........................................................................................................................197 STRUCTURES IN C...................................................................................................................................198 CONCEPTS .............................................................................................................................................199 SETTING UP THE TEMPLATE ....................................................................................................................200 Structures vs. Arrays..........................................................................................................................200 CREATING INSTANCES ............................................................................................................................201 Instance? ...........................................................................................................................................201 INITIALIZING INSTANCES ........................................................................................................................202 STRUCTURES WITHIN STRUCTURES .........................................................................................................203 Reminder - Avoid Leading Zeros........................................................................................................203 ACCESSING MEMBERS ............................................................................................................................204 Accessing Members Which are Arrays ...............................................................................................204 Accessing Members Which are Structures..........................................................................................204 UNUSUAL PROPERTIES ............................................................................................................................205 Common Features Between Arrays and Structures.............................................................................205 Differences Between Arrays and Structures .......................................................................................205 INSTANCES MAY BE ASSIGNED................................................................................................................206 Cannot Assign Arrays ........................................................................................................................206 Can Assign Structures Containing Arrays ..........................................................................................206 PASSING INSTANCES TO FUNCTIONS ........................................................................................................207 Pass by Value or Pass by Reference?.................................................................................................207 POINTERS TO STRUCTURES .....................................................................................................................208 WHY (*P).NAME?.................................................................................................................................209 A New Operator.................................................................................................................................209 USING P->NAME .....................................................................................................................................210 PASS BY REFERENCE - WARNING.............................................................................................................211 const to the Rescue!........................................................................................................................211 RETURNING STRUCTURE INSTANCES .......................................................................................................212 LINKED LISTS.........................................................................................................................................213 A Recursive Template? ......................................................................................................................213 EXAMPLE ...............................................................................................................................................214 Creating a List...................................................................................................................................214 PRINTING THE LIST.................................................................................................................................215 SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................................217

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STRUCTURES PRACTICAL EXERCISES ......................................................................................219

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STRUCTURES SOLUTIONS.............................................................................................................223 READING C DECLARATIONS ........................................................................................................233 READING C DECLARATIONS ....................................................................................................................234 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................235 SOAC ...................................................................................................................................................236 TYPEDEF .................................................................................................................................................245 SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................................252 READING C DECLARATIONS PRACTICAL EXERCISES ..........................................................253 READING C DECLARATIONS SOLUTIONS .................................................................................255 HANDLING FILES IN C....................................................................................................................261 HANDLING FILES IN C.............................................................................................................................262 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................263 The Standard Library.........................................................................................................................263 STREAMS ...............................................................................................................................................264 stdin, stdout and stderr..........................................................................................................264 WHAT IS A STREAM?...............................................................................................................................265 Fast Programs Deal with Slow Hardware ..........................................................................................265 Caches and Streams...........................................................................................................................265 WHY STDOUT AND STDERR?......................................................................................................................266 STDIN IS LINE BUFFERED.........................................................................................................................268 Signaling End of File.........................................................................................................................268 int not char ...................................................................................................................................268 OPENING FILES.......................................................................................................................................269 The Stream Type................................................................................................................................269 DEALING WITH ERRORS ..........................................................................................................................270 What Went Wrong?............................................................................................................................270 FILE ACCESS PROBLEM ...........................................................................................................................271 DISPLAYING A FILE.................................................................................................................................272 Reading the Pathname but Avoiding Overflow ...................................................................................272 The Programs Return Code ..............................................................................................................272 EXAMPLE - COPYING FILES .....................................................................................................................273 Reading and Writing Files .................................................................................................................273 Closing files.......................................................................................................................................273 Transferring the data.........................................................................................................................273 Blissful Ignorance of Hidden Buffers .................................................................................................274 Cleaning up .......................................................................................................................................274 Programs Return Code .....................................................................................................................274 CONVENIENCE PROBLEM ........................................................................................................................275 Typing Pathnames .............................................................................................................................275 No Command Line Interface ..............................................................................................................275 ACCESSING THE COMMAND LINE ............................................................................................................276 argc...................................................................................................................................................276 argv...................................................................................................................................................276 USEFUL ROUTINES ..................................................................................................................................278 fscanf ............................................................................................................................................278 fgets...............................................................................................................................................278 fprintf ..........................................................................................................................................279 fputs...............................................................................................................................................279

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fgets Stop Conditions.....................................................................................................................280 BINARY FILES ........................................................................................................................................281 fopen wb .....................................................................................................................................282 The Control Z Problem ......................................................................................................................282 The Newline Problem.........................................................................................................................283 The Movement Problem .....................................................................................................................284 Moving Around Files .........................................................................................................................284 fsetpos vs. fseek ........................................................................................................................284 SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................................286 HANDLING FILES IN C PRACTICAL EXERCISES......................................................................287 HANDLING FILES IN C SOLUTIONS ............................................................................................289 MISCELLANEOUS THINGS ............................................................................................................301 MISCELLANEOUS THINGS........................................................................................................................302 UNIONS..................................................................................................................................................303 Size of struct vs. Size of union ....................................................................................................303 REMEMBERING .......................................................................................................................................304 A Member to Record the Type............................................................................................................304 ENUMERATED TYPES ..............................................................................................................................306 USING DIFFERENT CONSTANTS ...............................................................................................................307 Printing enums..................................................................................................................................307 THE PREPROCESSOR ...............................................................................................................................308 INCLUDING FILES ...................................................................................................................................309 PATHNAMES ...........................................................................................................................................310 Finding #include Files ..................................................................................................................310 PREPROCESSOR CONSTANTS ...................................................................................................................311 #if ...................................................................................................................................................311 #endif ............................................................................................................................................311 #define ..........................................................................................................................................311 #undef ............................................................................................................................................311 AVOID TEMPTATION! .............................................................................................................................312 PREPROCESSOR MACROS ........................................................................................................................313 A DEBUGGING AID.................................................................................................................................315 WORKING WITH LARGE PROJECTS ..........................................................................................................316 DATA SHARING EXAMPLE .......................................................................................................................317 Functions are Global and Sharable ...................................................................................................317 DATA HIDING EXAMPLE .........................................................................................................................318 static Before Globals....................................................................................................................318 Errors at Link Time ...........................................................................................................................318 DISASTER! .............................................................................................................................................319 Inconsistencies Between Modules ......................................................................................................319 USE HEADER FILES .................................................................................................................................320 GETTING IT RIGHT..................................................................................................................................321 Place Externs in the Header ..............................................................................................................321 BE AS LAZY AS POSSIBLE ........................................................................................................................322 SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................................323

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MISCELLANEOUS THINGS PRACTICAL EXERCISES ..............................................................325 MISCELLANEOUS THINGS SOLUTIONS .....................................................................................327

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C AND THE HEAP.............................................................................................................................329 C AND THE HEAP ....................................................................................................................................330 WHAT IS THE HEAP? ...............................................................................................................................331 The Parts of an Executing Program ...................................................................................................331 Stack..................................................................................................................................................332 Heap and Stack in Opposition .......................................................................................................332 HOW MUCH MEMORY?...........................................................................................................................333 Simple Operating Systems..................................................................................................................333 Advanced Operating Systems.............................................................................................................333 Future Operating Systems..................................................................................................................333 DYNAMIC ARRAYS .................................................................................................................................334 USING DYNAMIC ARRAYS .......................................................................................................................335 One Pointer per Dynamic Array ........................................................................................................335 Calculating the Storage Requirement ................................................................................................335 USING DYNAMIC ARRAYS (CONTINUED) ..................................................................................................336 Insufficient Storage............................................................................................................................336 Changing the Array Size ....................................................................................................................336 When realloc Succeeds .................................................................................................................336 Maintain as Few Pointers as Possible................................................................................................337 Requests Potentially Ignored .............................................................................................................337 Releasing the Storage ........................................................................................................................337 CALLOC/MALLOC EXAMPLE .......................................................................................................................338 REALLOC EXAMPLE .................................................................................................................................339 REALLOC CAN DO IT ALL ..........................................................................................................................340 realloc can Replace malloc .......................................................................................................340 realloc can Replace free............................................................................................................340 ALLOCATING ARRAYS OF ARRAYS ..........................................................................................................341 Pointers Access Fine with Dynamic Arrays........................................................................................341 Pointers to Pointers are not Good with Arrays of Arrays ...................................................................342 Use Pointers to Arrays.......................................................................................................................342 DYNAMIC DATA STRUCTURES .................................................................................................................343 LINKING THE LIST ..................................................................................................................................344 SUMMARY..............................................................................................................................................345 C AND THE HEAP PRACTICAL EXERCISES...............................................................................347 C AND THE HEAP SOLUTIONS......................................................................................................349 APPENDICES .....................................................................................................................................353 PRECEDENCE AND ASSOCIATIVITY OF C OPERATORS: ..............................................................................354 SUMMARY OF C DATA TYPES..................................................................................................................355 MAXIMA AND MINIMA FOR C TYPES .......................................................................................................356 PRINTF FORMAT SPECIFIERS....................................................................................................................357 TABLE OF ESCAPE SEQUENCES ................................................................................................................358 ASCII TABLE ..........................................................................................................................................359 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................................................361 The C Puzzle Book.............................................................................................................................361 The C Programming Language 2nd edition........................................................................................361 The C Standard Library .....................................................................................................................361 C Traps and Pitfalls...........................................................................................................................361

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Introduction
C for Programmers

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Introduction

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2
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Introduction
C for Programmers

C Programming

Welcome to C!

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Slide No. 1

Welcome to C
Target Audience This course is intended for people with previous programming experience with another programming language. It does not matter what the programming language is (or was). It could be a high level language like Pascal, FORTRAN, BASIC, COBOL, etc. Alternatively it could be an assembler, 6502 assembler, Z80 assembler etc.

Expected Knowledge

Advantageous Knowledge

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You are expected to understand the basics of programming: What a variable is The difference between a variable and a constant The idea of a decision (if it is raining, then I need an umbrella, else I need sunblock) The concept of a loop It would be an advantage to understand: Arrays, data structures which contain a number of slots of the same type. For example an array of 100 exam marks, 1 each for 100 students. Records, data structures which contain a number of slots of different types. For example a patient in database maintained by a local surgery. It is not a problem if you do not understand these last two concepts since they are covered in the course.

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C for Programmers

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Course Objectives
Be able to read and write C programs Understand all C language constructs Be able to use pointers Have a good overview of the Standard Library Be aware of some of Cs traps and pitfalls

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Slide No. 2

Course Objectives
Obviously in order to be a competent C programmer you must be able to write C programs. There are many examples throughout the notes and there are practical exercises for you to complete. The course discusses all of the C language constructs. Since C is such a small language there arent that many of them. There will be no dark or hidden corners of the language left after you have completed the course. Being able to use pointers is something that is absolutely essential for a C programmer. You may not know what a pointer is now, but you will by the end of the course. Having an understanding of the Standard Library is also important to a C programmer. The Standard Library is a toolkit of routines which if werent provided, youd have to invent. In order to use what is provided you need to know its there - why spend a day inventing a screwdriver if there is one already in your toolkit.

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1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Practical Exercises
Practical exercises are a very important part of the course An opportunity to experience some of the traps first hand! Solutions are provided, discuss these amongst yourselves and/or with the tutor If you get stuck, ask If you cant understand one of the solutions, ask If you have an alternative solution, say

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Slide No. 3

Practical Exercises
Writing C is Important! There are a large number of practical exercises associated with this course. This is because, as will become apparent, there are things that can go wrong when you write code. The exercises provide you with an opportunity to go wrong. By making mistakes first hand (and with an instructor never too far away) you can avoid these mistakes in the future. Solutions to the practical exercises are provided for you to refer to. It is not considered cheating for you to use these solutions. They are provided for a number of reasons: You may just be stuck and need a kick start. The first few lines of a solution may give you the start you need. The solution may be radically different to your own, exposing you to alternative coding styles and strategies.

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You may think your own solution is better than the one provided. Occasionally the solutions use one line of code where three would be clearer. This doesnt make the one line better, it just shows you how it can be done.

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C for Programmers

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Features of C
C can be thought of as a high level assembler Designed for maximum processor speed Safety a definite second! THE system programming language (Reasonably) portable Has a write only reputation

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Slide No. 4

Features of C
High Level Assembler Programmers coming to C from high level languages like Pascal, BASIC etc. are usually surprised by how low level C is. It does very little for you, if you want it done, it expects you to write the code yourself. C is really little more than an assembler with a few high level features. You will see this as we progress through the course. The reason C exists is to be fast! The execution speed of your program is everything to C. Note that this does not mean the development speed is high. In fact, almost the opposite is true. In order to run your program as quickly as possible C throws away all the features that make your program safe. C is often described as a racing car without seat belts. Built for ultimate speed, people are badly hurt if there is a crash. C is the systems programming language to use. Everything uses it, UNIX, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, NT. Very often it is the first language to be supported. When Microsoft first invented Windows years back, they produced a C interface with a promise of a COBOL interface to follow. They did so much work on the C interface that were still waiting for the COBOL version.

(Processor) Speed Comes First!

Systems Programming

Portability

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One thing you are probably aware of is that assembler is not portable. Although a Pascal program will run more or less the same anywhere, an assembler program will not. If C is nothing more than an assembler, that must imply its portability is just about zero. This depends entirely on how the C is written. It can be written to work specifically on one processor and one machine. Alternatively, providing a few rules are observed, a C program can be as portable as anything written in any other language. C has a fearsome reputation as a write only language. In other words it is possible to write code that is impossible to read. Unfortunately some people take this as a challenge.

Write Only Reputation

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1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

History of C
Developed by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie of AT&T Bell Labs in 1972 In 1983 the American National Standards Institute began the standardisation process In 1989 the International Standards Organisation continued the standardisation process In 1990 a standard was finalised, known simply as Standard C Everything before this is known as K&R C

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Slide No. 5

The History of C
Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie C was invented primarily by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie working at AT&T Bell Labs in the United States. So the story goes, they used to play an asteroids game on the company mainframe. Unfortunately the performance of the machine left a lot to be desired. With the power of a 386 and around 100 users, they found they did not have sufficient control over the spaceship. They were usually destroyed quickly by passing asteroids. Taking this rather personally, they decided to re-implement the game on a DEC PDP-7 which was sitting idle in the office. Unfortunately this PDP-7 had no operating system. Thus they set about writing one. The operating system became a larger project than the asteroids game. Some time later they decided to port it to a DEC PDP-11. This was a mammoth task, since everything was hand-crafted in assembler. The decision was made to re-code the operating system in a high level language, so it would be more portable between different types of machines. All that would be necessary would be to implement a compiler on each new machine, then compile the operating system. The language that was chosen was to be a variant of another language in use at the time, called B. B is a word oriented language ideally suited to the PDP-7, but its facilities were not powerful enough to take advantage of the PDP-11 instruction set. Thus a new language, C, was invented.

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C for Programmers

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The History of C
Standardization C turned out to be very popular and by the early 1980s hundreds of implementations were being used by a rapidly growing community of programmers. It was time to standardize the language.

ANSI

In America, the responsibility for standardizing languages is that of the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI. The name of the ANSI authorized committee that developed the standard for C was X3J11. The language is now defined by ANSI Standard X3.159-1989. In the International arena, the International Standards Organization, or ISO, is responsible for standardizing computer languages. ISO formed the technical committee JTC1/SC22/WG14 to review the work of X3J11. Currently the ISO standard for C, ISO 9889:1990, is essentially identical to X3.159. The Standards differ only in format and in the numbering of the sections. The wording differs in a few places, but there are no substantive changes to the language definition. The ISO C Standard is thus the final authority on what constitutes the C programming language. It is referred to from this point on as just The Standard. What went before, i.e. C as defined by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie is known as K&R C.

ISO

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1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Standard C vs K&R C
Parameter type checking added Proper floating point support added Standard Library covered too Many grey areas addressed New features added

Standard C is now the choice All modern C compilers are Standard C The course discusses Standard C

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Slide No. 6

Standard C vs. K&R C

The C language has benefited enormously from the standardization processes. As a result it is much more usable than what went before. In K&R C there was no mechanism for checking parameters passed to functions. Neither the number, nor the types of the parameters were checked. As a programmer, if you were ever so reckless as to call any function anywhere you were totally responsible for reading the manual and ensuring the call was correct. In fact a separate utility, called lint, was written to do this. Floating point calculations were always somewhat of a joke in K&R C. All calculations were carried out using a data type called double. This is despite there being provision for smaller floating point data type called float. Being smaller, floats were supposed to offer faster processing, however, converting them to double and back often took longer! Although there had been an emerging Standard Library (a collection of routines provided with C) there was nothing standard about what it contained. The same routine would have different names. Sometimes the same routine worked in different ways. Since Standard C is many times more usable than its predecessor, Standard C and not K&R C, is discussed on this course.

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Introduction
C for Programmers

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A C Program
tells compiler about standard input and output functions (i.e. printf + others) #include <stdio.h> main function int main(void) { printf("Hello\n"); printf("Welcome to the Course!\n"); return 0; } flag success to operating system end Hello Welcome to the Course! /* comment */

begin

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Slide No. 7

A C Program
#include The #include directive instructs the C Preprocessor (a non interactive editor which will be discussed later) to find the text file stdio.h. The name itself means standard input and output and the .h means it is a header file rather than a C source file (which have the .c suffix). It is a text file and may be viewed with any text editor. Comments are placed within /* and */ character sequences and may span any number of lines. The main function is most important. This defines the point at which your program starts to execute. If you do not write a main function your program will not run (it will have no starting point). In fact, it wont even compile. C uses the brace character { to mean begin and } to mean end. They are much easier to type and, after a while, a lot easier to read. The printf function is the standard way of producing output. The function is defined within the Standard Library, thus it will always be there and always work in the same way. The sequence of two characters \ followed by n is how C handles new lines. When printed it causes the cursor to move to the start of the next line. return causes the value, here 0, to be passed back to the operating system. How the operating system handles this information is up to it. MS-DOS, for instance, stores it in the ERRORLEVEL variable. The UNIX Bourne and Korn shells store it in a temporary variable, $?, which may be used within shell scripts. Tradition says that 0 means success. A value of 1, 2, 3 etc. indicates failure. All operating systems support values up to 255. Some support values up to 65535, although if portability is important to you, only values of 0 through 255 should be used.

Comments main

Braces printf

\n return

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Introduction
C for Programmers

The Format of C
Statements are terminated with semicolons Indentation is ignored by the compiler C is case sensitive - all keywords and Standard Library functions are lowercase Strings are placed in double quotes Newlines are handled via \n Programs are capable of flagging success or error, those forgetting to do so have one or other chosen randomly!

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Slide No. 8

The Format of C
Semicolons Semicolons are very important in C. They form a statement terminator - they tell the compiler where one statement ends and the next one begins. If you fail to place one after each statement, you will get compilation errors. C is a free format language. This is the up-side of having to use semicolons everywhere. There is no problem breaking a statement over two lines - all you need do is not place a semicolon in the middle of it (where you wouldnt have anyway). The spaces and tabs that were so carefully placed in the example program are ignored by the compiler. Indentation is entirely optional, but should be used to make the program more readable.

Free Format

Case Sensitivity

Random Behavior

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C is a case sensitive language. Although int compiles, Int, INT or any other variation will not. All of the 40 or so C keywords are lowercase. All of the several hundred functions in the Standard Library are lowercase.

Having stated that main is to return an integer to the operating system, forgetting to do so (either by saying return only or by omitting the return entirely) would cause a random integer to be returned to the operating system. This random value could be zero (success) in which case your program may randomly succeed. More likely is a non zero value which would randomly indicate failure.

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C for Programmers

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Another Example
create two integer variables, a and b #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int a, b; read two integer numbers into a and b printf("Enter two numbers: "); scanf("%i %i", &a, &b); printf("%i - %i = %i\n", a, b, a - b); write a, b and a-b in the format specified } return 0; Enter two numbers: 21 17 21 - 17 = 4

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Slide No. 9

Another Example
int The int keyword, seen before when defining the return type for main, is used to create integer variables. Here two are created, the first a, the second called b.

scanf

printf

Expressions

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The scanf function is the opposite of printf. Whereas printf produces output on the screen, scanf reads from the keyboard. The sequence %i instructs scanf to read an integer from the keyboard. Because %i %i is used two integers will be read. The first value typed placed into the variable a, the second into the variable b. The space between the two %is in %i %i is important: it instructs scanf that the two numbers typed at the keyboard may be separated by spaces. If %i,%i had been used instead the user would have been forced to type a comma between the two numbers. This example shows that printf and scanf share the same format specifiers. When presented with %i they both handle integers. scanf, because it is a reading function, reads integers from the keyboard. printf, because it is a writing function, writes integers to the screen. Note that C is quite happy to calculate a-b and print it out as an integer value. It would have been possible, but unnecessary, to create another variable c, assign it the value of a-b and print out the value of c.

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1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Variables
Variables must be declared before use immediately after { Valid characters are letters, digits and _ First character cannot be a digit 31 characters recognised for local variables (more can be used, but are ignored) Some implementations recognise only 6 characters in global variables (and function names)! Upper and lower case letters are distinct

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Slide No. 10

Variables
Declaring Variables In C, all variables must be declared before use. This is not like FORTRAN, which if it comes across a variable it has never encountered before, declares it and gives it a type based on its name. In C, you the programmer must declare all variables and give each one a type (and preferably an initializing value). Only letters, digits and the underscore character may be validly used in variable names. The first character of a variable may be a letter or an underscore, although The Standard says to avoid the use of underscores as the first letter. Thus the variable names temp_in_celsius, index32 and sine_value are all valid, while 32index, temp-in-celsius and sine$value are not. Using variable name like _sine would be frowned upon, although not syntactically invalid. Variable names may be quite long, with the compiler sorting through the first 31 characters. Names may be longer than this, but there must be a difference within the first 31 characters. A few implementations (fortunately) require distinctions in global variables (which we havent seen how to declare yet) and function names to occur within the first 6 characters. Capital letters may be used in variable names if desired. They are usually used as an alternative to the underscore character, thus temp_in_celcius could be written as tempInCelsius. This naming style has become quite popular in recent years and the underscore has fallen into disuse.

Valid Names

Capital Letters

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C for Programmers

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printf and scanf

printf writes integer values to screen when %i is used scanf reads integer values from the keyboard when %i is used & VERY important with scanf (required to change the parameter, this will be investigated later) - absence will make program very ill & not necessary with printf because current value of parameter is used

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Slide No. 11

printf and scanf

printf The printf function writes output to the screen. When it meets the format specifier %i, an integer is output.

scanf

&

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printf("%i", j);

The scanf function reads input from the keyboard. When it meets the format specifier %i the program waits for the user to type an integer.

The & is very important with scanf. It allows it to change the variable in question. Thus in: scanf("%i", &j) the & allows the variable j to be changed. Without this rather mysterious character, C prevents scanf from altering j and it would retain the random value it had previously (unless youd remembered to initialize it). Since printf does not need to change the value of any variable it prints, it does not need any & signs. Thus if j contains 15, after executing the statement:

we would confidently expect 15 in the variable because printf would have been incapable of altering it.

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14
1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Integer Types in C
C supports different kinds of integers maxima and minima defined in limits.h
type char signed char unsigned char short [int] unsigned short int unsigned int long [int] unsigned long format %c %c %c %hi %hu %i %u %li %lu bytes 1 1 1 2 2 2 or 4 2 or 4 4 4 minimum CHAR_MIN SCHAR_MIN 0 SHRT_MIN 0 INT_MIN 0 LONG_MIN 0 maximum CHAR_MAX SCHAR_MAX UCHAR_MAX SHRT_MAX USHRT_MAX INT_MAX UINT_MAX LONG_MAX ULONG_MAX
Slide No. 12

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Integer Types in C
limits.h This is the second standard header file we have met. This contains the definition of a number of constants giving the maximum and minimum sizes of the various kinds of integers. It is a text file and may be viewed with any text editor. C supports integers of different sizes. The words short and long reflect the amount of memory allocated. A short integer theoretically occupies less memory than a long integer. If you have a requirement to store a small number you could declare a short and sit back in the knowledge you were perhaps using less memory than for an int. Conversely a large value would require a long. It uses more memory, but your program could cope with very large values indeed. The problem is that the terms small number and large value are rather meaningless. Suffice to say that SHRT_MAX is very often around 32,767 and LONG_MAX very often around 2,147,483,647. Obviously these arent the only possible values, otherwise we wouldnt need the constants.

Different Integers

unsigned

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The most important thing to notice is that the size of int is either 2 or 4 bytes. Thus we cannot say, for a particular implementation, whether the largest value an integer may hold will be 32 thousand or 2 thousand million. For this reason, truly portable programs never use int, only short or long. The unsigned keyword causes all the available bits to be used to store the number - rather than setting aside the top bit for the sign. This means an unsigneds greatest value may be twice as large as that of an int. Once unsigned is used, negative numbers cannot be stored, only zero and positive ones. The h by the way is supposed to stand for half since a short is sometimes half the size of an int (on machines with a 2 byte short and a 4 byte int).

%hi

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Introduction
C for Programmers

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Integer Example
#include <stdio.h> #include <limits.h> int main(void) { unsigned long printf("minimum printf("maximum printf("maximum printf("maximum printf("maximum return 0; }

big = ULONG_MAX; int = %i, ", INT_MIN); int = %i\n", INT_MAX); unsigned = %u\n", UINT_MAX); long int = %li\n", LONG_MAX); unsigned long = %lu\n", big); int = -32768, maximum int = 32767 unsigned = 65535 long int = 2147483647 unsigned long = 4294967295
sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 13

minimum maximum maximum maximum

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997

Integer Example
INT_MIN, INT_MAX The output of the program shows the code was run on a machine where an int was 16 bits, 2 bytes in size. Thus the largest value is 32767. It can also be seen the maximum value of an unsigned int is exactly twice that, at 65535. Similarly the maximum value of an unsigned long int is exactly twice that of the maximum value of a signed long int.

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1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Character Example
Note: print integer value of character #include <stdio.h> #include <limits.h> int main(void) { char lower_a = 'a'; char lower_m = 'm'; printf("minimum char = %i, ", CHAR_MIN); printf("maximum char = %i\n", CHAR_MAX); printf("after '%c' comes '%c'\n", lower_a, lower_a + 1); printf("uppercase is '%c'\n", lower_m - 'a' + 'A'); return 0; } minimum char = 0, maximum char = 255 after 'a' comes 'b' uppercase is 'M'
sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 14

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997

Character Example
char C has the char data type for dealing with characters. Characters values are formed by placing the required value in single quotes. Thus:

CHAR_MIN, CHAR_MAX

Arithmetic With char

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char lower_a = 'a'; lower_m - 'a' + 'A'

places the ASCII value of lowercase a, 97, into the variable lower_a. When this value of 97 is printed using %c, it is converted back into lowercase a. If this were run on an EBCDIC machine the value stored would be different, but would be converted so that a would appear on the output. These two constants give the maximum and minimum values of characters. Since char is guaranteed to be 1 byte you may feel these values are always predictable at 0 and 255. However, C does not define whether char is signed or unsigned. Thus the minimum value of a char could be -128, the maximum value +127. The program shows the compiler is happy to do arithmetic with characters, for instance: lower_a + 1 which yields 97 + 1, i.e. 98. This prints out as the value of lowercase b (one character immediately beyond lowercase a). The calculation:

which gives rise to M would produce different (probably meaningless) results on an EBCDIC machine. %c vs %i Although you will notice here that char may be printed using %i, do not think this works with other types. You could not print an int or a short using %li.

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Introduction
C for Programmers

17
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Integers With Different Bases

It is possible to work in octal (base 8) and hexadecimal (base 16)
zero puts compiler into octal mode! #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int dec = 20, oct = 020, hex = 0x20; printf("dec=%d, oct=%d, hex=%d\n", dec, oct, hex); printf("dec=%d, oct=%o, hex=%x\n", dec, oct, hex); return 0; } dec=20, oct=16, hex=32 dec=20, oct=20, hex=20
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 15

zero x puts compiler into hexadecimal mode

Integers With Different Bases

Decimal, Octal and Hexadecimal C does not require you to work in decimal (base 10) all the time. If it is more convenient you may use octal or hexadecimal numbers. You may even mix them together in the same calculation. Specifying octal constants is done by placing a leading zero before a number. So although 8 is a perfectly valid decimal eight, 08 is an invalid sequence. The leading zero places the compiler in octal mode but 8 is not a valid octal digit. This causes confusion (but only momentary) especially when programming with dates. Specifying zero followed by x places the compiler into hexadecimal mode. Now the letters a, b, c, d, e and f may be used to represent the numbers 10 though 15. The case is unimportant, so 0x15AE, 0x15aE and 0x15ae represent the same number as does 0X15AE.

%d

%o %x %X

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Causes an integer to be printed in octal notation.

Causes an integer to be printed in decimal notation, this is effectively equivalent to %i

Causes an integer to be printed in hexadecimal notation, abcdef are used. Causes an integer to be printed in hexadecimal notation, ABCDEF are used.

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18
1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Real Types In C
C supports different kinds of reals maxima and minima are defined in float.h
type float double long double format %f %e %g %lf %le %lg %Lf %Le %Lg bytes 4 8 10 minimum FLT_MIN DBL_MIN LDBL_MIN maximum FLT_MAX DBL_MAX LDBL_MAX

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Slide No. 16

Real Types In C
float.h This is the third standard header file seen and contains only constants relating to Cs floating point types. As can be seen here, maximum and minimum values are defined, but there are other useful things too. There are constants representing the accuracy of each of the three types.

float

double

long double

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This is the smallest and least accurate of Cs floating point data types. Nonetheless it is still good for around 6 decimal places of accuracy. Calculations using float are faster, but less accurate. It is relatively easy to overflow or underflow a float since there is comparatively little storage available. A typical minimum value is 10-38, a typical maximum value 10+38. This is Cs mid-sized floating point data type. Calculations using double are slower than those using float, but more accurate. A double is good for around 12 decimal places. Because there is more storage available (twice as much as +308 for a float) the maximum and minimum values are larger. Typically 10 or +1000 even 10 .

This is Cs largest floating point data type. Calculations using long double are the slowest of all floating point types but are the most accurate. A long double can be good for around 18 decimal places. Without employing mathematical tricks a long double stores the largest physical value C can handle. Some implementations allow numbers up to 10+4000.

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Introduction
C for Programmers

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Real Example
#include <stdio.h> #include <float.h> int main(void) { double f = 3.1416, g = 1.2e-5, h = 5000000000.0; printf("f=%lf\tg=%lf\th=%lf\n", f, g, h); printf("f=%le\tg=%le\th=%le\n", f, g, h); printf("f=%lg\tg=%lg\th=%lg\n", f, g, h); printf("f=%7.2lf\tg=%.2le\th=%.4lg\n", f, g, h); return 0; }
f=3.141600 f=3.141600e+00 f=3.1416 f= 3.14 g=0.000012 g=1.200000e-05 g=1.2e-05 g=1.20e-05 h=5000000000.000000 h=5.000000e+09 h=5e+09 h=5e+09

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Slide No. 17

Real Example
%lf This format specifier causes printf to display 6 decimal places, regardless of the magnitude of the number.

%le

%lg

%7.2lf

%.2le %.4lg

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This indicates 2 decimal places and exponential format.

This format specifier still causes printf to display 6 decimal places, however, the number is displayed in exponential notation. For instance 1.200000e-05 indicates that 1.2 must be multiplied by 10-5. As can be seen here, the g format specifier is probably the most useful. Only interesting data is printed - excess unnecessary zeroes are dropped. Also the number is printed in the shortest format possible. Thus rather than 0.000012 we get the slightly more concise 1.2e-05. The 7 indicates the total width of the number, the 2 indicates the desired number of decimal places. Since 3.14 is only 4 characters wide and 7 was specified, 3 leading spaces are printed. Although it cannot be seen here, rounding is being done. The value 3.148 would have appeared as 3.15.

Indicates 4 decimal places (none are printed because they are all zero) and shortest possible format.

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20
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Introduction
C for Programmers

Constants
Constants have types in C Numbers containing . or e are double: 3.5, 1e-7, -1.29e15 For float constants append F: 3.5F, 1e-7F For long double constants append L: 1.29e15L, 1e-7L Numbers without ., e or F are int, e.g. 10000, -35 (some compilers switch to long int if the constant would overflow int) For long int constants append L, e.g. 9000000L
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 18

Constants
Typed Constants When a variable is declared it is given a type. This type defines its size and how it may be used. Similarly when a constant is specified the compiler gives it a type. With variables the type is obvious from their declaration. Constants, however, are not declared. Determining their type is not as straightforward. The rules the compiler uses are outlined above. The constant 12, for instance, would be integer since it does not contain a ., e or an F to make it a floating point type. The constant 12. on the other hand would have type double. 12.L would have type long double whereas 12.F would have type float.

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Although 12.L has type long double, 12L has type long int.

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Introduction
C for Programmers

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Warning!
#include <stdio.h> int main(void) { double f = 5000000000.0; double g = 5000000000; printf("f=%lf\n", f); printf("g=%lf\n", g); return 0; } f=5000000000.000000 g=705032704.000000 OVERFLOW double precision constant created because of .

constant is integer or long integer but 2,147,483,647 is the maximum!

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Slide No. 19

Warning!
The program above shows one of the problems of not understanding the nature of constants in C. Although the .0 at the end of the 5000000000 would appear to make little difference, its absence makes 5000000000 an integral type (as in the case of the value which is assigned to g). Its presence (as in the case of the value which is assigned to f) makes it a double. The problem is that the largest value representable by most integers is around 2 thousand million, but this value is around 2 times as large! The integer value overflows and the overflowed value is assigned to g.

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22
1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Named Constants
Named constants may be created using const
#include <stdio.h> creates an integer constant int main(void) { const long double pi = 3.141592653590L; const int days_in_week = 7; const sunday = 0; days_in_week = 5; error! return 0; }

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Slide No. 20

Named Constants
const If the idea of full stops, es, Fs and Ls making a difference to the type of your constants is all a bit too arbitrary for you, C supports a const keyword which can be used to create constants with types.

Lvalues and Rvalues

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Using const the type is explicitly stated, except with const sunday where the integer type is the default. This is consistent with existing rules, for instance short really means short int, long really means long int.

Once a constant has been created, it becomes an rvalue, i.e. it can only appear on the right of =. Ordinary variables are lvalues, i.e. they can appear on the left of =. The statement: days_in_week = 5; produces the rather unfriendly compiler message invalid lvalue. In other words the value on the left hand side of the = is not an lvalue it is an rvalue.

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Introduction
C for Programmers

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Preprocessor Constants
Named constants may also be created using the Preprocessor
Needs to be in search and replace mode Historically these constants consist of capital letters
search for PI, replace with 3.1415.... Note: no = and no ; 3.141592653590L 7 0

#include <stdio.h> #define #define #define int long PI DAYS_IN_WEEK SUNDAY

day = SUNDAY; flag = USE_API; PI is NOT substituted here

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 21

Preprocessor Constants
The preprocessor is a rather strange feature of C. It is a non interactive editor, which has been placed on the front of the compiler. Thus the compiler never sees the code you type, only the output of the preprocessor. This handles the #include directives by physically inserting the named file into what the compiler will eventually see. As the preprocessor is an editor, it can perform search and replace. To put it in this mode the #define command is used. The syntax is simply: #define search_text replace_text

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Only whole words are replaced (the preprocessor knows enough C syntax to figure word boundaries). Quoted strings (i.e. everything within quotation marks) are left alone.

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24
1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction
C for Programmers

Take Care With printf And scanf!

#include <stdio.h> %c fills one byte of a which is two bytes in size int main(void) { short a = 256, b = 10; printf("Type a number: "); scanf("%c", &a); printf("a = %hi, b = %f\n", a, b); return 0; } Type a number: 1 a = 305 b = Floating support not loaded

%f expects 4 byte float in IEEE format, b is 2 bytes and NOT in IEEE format

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Slide No. 22

Take Care With printf and scanf!

Incorrect Format Specifiers

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0011 0001 which is the bit pattern corresponding to 305.

One of the most common mistakes for newcomers to C is to use the wrong format specifiers to printf and scanf. Unfortunately the compiler does not usually check to see if these are correct (as far as the compiler is concerned, the formatting string is just a string - as long as there are double quotes at the start and end, the compiler is happy). It is vitally important to match the correct format specifier with the type of the item. The program above attempts to manipulate a 2 byte short by using %c (which manipulates 1 byte chars). The output, a=305 can just about be explained. The initial value of a is 256, in bit terms this is: 0000 0001 0000 0000

When prompted, the user types 1. As printf is in character mode, it uses the ASCII value of 1 i.e. 49. The bit pattern for this is:

This bit pattern is written into the first byte of a, but because the program was run on a byte swapped machine the value appears to be written into the bottom 8 bits, resulting in: 0000 0001 0011 0001

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Introduction
C for Programmers

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Summary
K&R C vs Standard C main, printf Variables Integer types Real types Constants Named constants Preprocessor constants Take care with printf and scanf

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Slide No. 23

Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. What are the integer types? What are the floating point types?

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If you made the assignment char c = 'a';

What format specifier would you use to read or write an unsigned long int?

then printed c as an integer value, what value would you see (providing the program was running on an ASCII machine).

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Introduction - Exercises
C for Programmers

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Introduction Practical Exercises

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28
1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction - Exercises
C for Programmers

Directory:

INTRO

1. Write a program in a file called MAX.C which prints the maximum and minimum values of an integer. Use this to determine whether your compiler uses 16 or 32 bit integers. 2. Write a program in a file called AREA.C which reads a real number (you can choose between float, double or long double) representing the radius of a circle. The program will then print out the area of the circle using the formula: area = r2 to 13 decimal places is 3.1415926535890. The number of decimal places you use will depend upon the use of float, double or long double in your program. 3. Cut and paste your area code into CIRCUMF.C and modify it to print the circumference using the formula: circum = 2r 4. When both of these programs are working try giving either one invalid input. What answers do you see, sensible zeroes or random values? What would you deduce scanf does when given invalid input? 5. Write a program CASE which reads an upper case character from the keyboard and prints it out in lower case.

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Introduction - Solutions
C for Programmers

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Introduction Solutions

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30
1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Introduction - Solutions
C for Programmers

1. Write a program in a file called MAX.C which prints the maximum and minimum values of an integer. Use this to determine whether your compiler uses 16 or 32 bit integers. This task is made very easy by the constants defined in the header file limits.h discussed in the chapter notes. If the output of the program is in the region of 32 thousand then the compiler uses 16 bit integers. If the output is in the region of 2 thousand million the compiler uses 32 bit integers. #include <stdio.h> #include <limits.h> int main(void) { printf("minimum int = %i, ", INT_MIN); printf("maximum int = %i\n", INT_MAX); return 0; } 2. Write a program in a file called AREA.C which reads a real number representing the radius of a circle. The program will then print out the area of the circle using the formula: area = r2 In the following code note: Long doubles are used for maximum accuracy Everything is initialized. This slows the program down slightly but does solve the problem of the user typing invalid input (scanf bombs out, but the variable radius is left unchanged at 0.0) There is no C operator which will easily square the radius, leaving us to multiply the radius by itself The %.nLf in the printf allows the number of decimal places output to be specified #include <stdio.h>

int main(void) { long double long double const long double

printf("please give the radius "); scanf("%Lf", &radius); area = pi * radius * radius;

printf("Area of circle with radius %.3Lf is %.12Lf\n", radius, area); return 0; }

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radius = 0.0L; area = 0.0L; pi = 3.1415926353890L;

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Introduction - Solutions
C for Programmers

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3. Cut and paste your area code into CIRCUMF.C and modify it to print the circumference using the formula: circum = 2r The changes to the code above are trivial. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { long double long double const long double

radius = 0.0L; circumf = 0.0L; pi = 3.1415926353890L;

printf("please give the radius "); scanf("%Lf", &radius); circumf = 2.0L * pi * radius; printf("Circumference of circle with radius %.3Lf is %.12Lf\n", radius, circumf); return 0; } 4. When both of these programs are working try giving either one invalid input. What answers do you see, sensible zeroes or random values? What would you deduce scanf does when given invalid input? When scanf fails to read input in the specified format it abandons processing leaving the variable unchanged. Thus the output you see is entirely dependent upon how you have initialized the variable radius. If it is not initialized its value is random, thus area and circumf will also be random. 5. Write a program CASE which reads an upper case character from the keyboard and prints it out in lower case. Rather than coding in the difference between 97 and 65 and subtracting this from the uppercase character, get the compiler to do the hard work. Note that the only thing which causes printf to output a character is %c, if %i had been used the output would have been the ASCII value of the character. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { char ch;

printf("Please input a lowercase character "); scanf("%c", &ch); printf("the uppercase equivalent is '%c'\n", ch - 'a' + 'A'); return 0; }

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Operators in C

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Operators in C
Arithmetic operators Cast operator Increment and Decrement Bitwise operators Comparison operators Assignment operators sizeof operator Conditional expression operator

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Slide No. 1

Operators in C
The aim of this chapter is to cover the full range of diverse operators available in C. Operators dealing with pointers, arrays and structures will be left to later chapters.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Arithmetic Operators
C supports the arithmetic operators:
+ * / % addition subtraction multiplication division modulo (remainder)

% may not be used with reals

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Slide No. 2

Arithmetic Operators
+, -, *, / C provides the expected mathematical operators. There are no nasty surprises. As might be expected, + and - may be used in a unary sense as follows:

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or x = +y; x = -y;

The first is rather a waste of time and is exactly equivalent to x = y The second multiplies the value of y by -1 before assigning it to x. C provides a modulo, or remainder after dividing by operator. Thus 25/4 is 6, 25%4 is 1. This calculation only really makes sense with integer numbers where there can be a remainder. When dividing floating point numbers there isnt a remainder, just a fraction. Hence this operator cannot be applied to reals.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Using Arithmetic Operators

The compiler uses the types of the operands to determine how the calculation should be done
i and j are ints, integer division is done, 1 is assigned to k f and g are double, double division is done, 1.25 is assigned to h

int main(void) { int i = 5, j = 4, k; double f = 5.0, g = 4.0, h; k = i / j; h = f / g; h = i / j; return 0; }

integer division is still done, despite h being double. Value assigned is 1.00000

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Slide No. 3

Using Arithmetic Operators

One operator + must add integers together and add reals together. It might almost have been easier to provide two, then the programmer could carefully choose whenever addition was performed. But why stop with two versions? There are, after all, different kinds of integer and different kinds of real. Suddenly we can see the need for many different + variations. Then there are the numerous combinations of int and double, short and float etc. etc.

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C gets around the problem of having many variations, by getting the + operator to choose itself what sort of addition to perform. If + sees an integer on its left and its right, integer addition is performed. With a real on the left and right, real addition is performed instead.

This is also true for the other operators, -, * and /. The compiler examines the types on either side of each operator and does whatever is appropriate. Note that this is literally true: the compiler is only concerned with the types of the operands. No account whatever is taken of the type being assigned to. Thus in the example above: h = i / j; It is the types of i and j (int) cause integer division to be performed. The fact that the result is being assigned to h, a double, has no influence at all.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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The Cast Operator

The cast operator temporarily changes the type of a variable
if either operand is a double, the other is automatically promoted int main(void) { int i = 5, j = 4; double f; f f f f integer division is done here, the result, 1, is changed to a double, 1.00000 = = = = (double)i / j; i / (double)j; (double)i / (double)j; (double)(i / j);

return 0; }

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Slide No. 4

The Cast Operator

Clearly we face problems with assignments like: f = i / j;

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f = i / j; f = (double)i / j;

if the compiler is just going to proceed with integer division we would be forced to declare some real variables, assign the integer values and divide the reals. However, the compiler allows us to change our mind about the type of a variable or expression. This is done with the cast operator. The cast operator temporarily changes the type of the variable/expression it is applied to. Thus in:

Integer division would normally be performed (since both i and j are integer). However the cast:

causes the type of i to be temporarily changed to double. In effect 5 becomes 5.0. Now the compiler is faced with dividing a double by an integer. It automatically promotes the integer j to a double (making it 4.0) and performs division using double precision maths, yielding the answer 1.25.

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38
1994/1997 - Cheltenham Computer Training

Operators in C
C for Programmers

Increment and Decrement

C has two special operators for adding and subtracting one from a variable
++ -increment decrement

These may be either prefix (before the variable) or postfix (after the variable):
i becomes 6 j becomes 3 i becomes 7 int i++; --j; ++i; i = 5, j = 4;

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Slide No. 5

Increment and Decrement

C has two special, dedicated, operators which add one to and subtract one from a variable. How is it a minimal language like C would bother with these operators? They map directly into assembler. All machines support some form of inc instruction which increments a location in memory by one. Similarly all machines support some form of dec instruction which decrements a location in memory by one. All that C is doing is mapping these instructions directly.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Prefix and Postfix

The prefix and postfix versions are different
#include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int i, j = 5; i = ++j; printf("i=%d, j=%d\n", i, j); j = 5; i = j++; printf("i=%d, j=%d\n", i, j); return 0; } i=6, j=6 i=5, j=6 equivalent to: 1. j++; 2. i = j;

equivalent to: 1. i = j; 2. j++;

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Slide No. 6

Prefix and Postfix

The two versions of the ++ and -- operators, the prefix and postfix versions, are different. Both will add one or subtract one regardless of how they are used, the difference is in the assigned value. When the prefix operators are used, the increment or decrement happens first, the changed value is then assigned. Thus with: i = ++j;

Prefix ++, --

Postfix ++, --

Registers

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i = j++;

The current value of j, i.e. 5 is changed and becomes 6. The 6 is copied across the = into the variable i. With the postfix operators, the increment or decrement happens second. The unchanged value is assigned, then the value changed. Thus with:

The current value of j, i.e. 5 is copied across the = into i. Then the value of j is incremented becoming 6.

What is actually happening here is that C is either using, or not using, a temporary register to save the value. In the prefix case, i = ++j, the increment is done and the value transferred. In the postfix case, i = j++, C loads the current value (here 5) into a handy register. The increment takes place (yielding 6), then C takes the value stored in the register, 5, and copies that into i. Thus the increment does take place before the assignment.

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40
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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Truth in C
To understand Cs comparison operators (less than, greater than, etc.) and the logical operators (and, or, not) it is important to understand how C regards truth There is no boolean data type in C, integers are used instead The value of 0 (or 0.0) is false Any other value, 1, -1, 0.3, -20.8, is true
if(32) printf("this will always be printed\n"); if(0) printf("this will never be printed\n");

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Slide No. 7

Truth in C
C has a very straightforward approach to what is true and what is false. True Any non zero value is true. Thus, 1 and -5 are both true, because both are non zero. Similarly 0.01 is true because it, too, is non zero. Any zero value is false. Thus 0, +0, -0, 0.0 and 0.00 are all false.

False

Testing Truth

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if(condition) statement-to-be-executed-if-condition-was-true ;

Thus you can imagine that testing for truth is a very straightforward operation in C. Load the value to be tested into a register and see if any of its bits are set. If even a single bit is set, the value is immediately identified as true. If no bit is set anywhere, the value is identified as false. The example above does cheat a little by introducing the if statement before we have seen it formally. However, you can see how simple the construct is:

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Comparison Operators
C supports the comparison operators:
< <= > >= == != less than less than or equal to greater than greater than or equal to is equal to is not equal to

These all give 1 (non zero value, i.e. true) when the comparison succeeds and 0 (i.e. false) when the comparison fails

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Slide No. 8

Comparison Operators
C supports a full set of comparison operators. Each one gives one of two values to indicate success or failure. For instance in the following:

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int i = 10, j, k; j = i > 5; k = i <= 1000;

The value 1, i.e. true, would be assigned to j. The value 0, i.e. false, would be assigned to k. Theoretically any arbitrary non zero integer value could be used to indicate success. 27 for instance is non zero and would therefore do. However C guarantees that 1 and only 1 will be used to indicate truth.

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42
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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Logical Operators
C supports the logical operators:
&& || ! and or not

These also give 1 (non zero value, i.e. true) when the condition succeeds and 0 (i.e. false) when the condition fails
int i, j = 10, k = 28;

i = ((j > 5) && (k < 100)) || (k > 24);

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Slide No. 9

Logical Operators
And, Or, Not C supports the expected logical operators and, or and not. Unfortunately although the use of the words themselves might have been more preferable, symbols &&, || and ! are used instead.

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C makes the same guarantees about these operators as it does for the comparison operators, i.e. the result will only ever be 1 or 0.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Logical Operator Guarantees

C makes two important guarantees about the evaluation of conditions Evaluation is left to right Evaluation is short circuit
i < 10 is evaluated first, if false the whole statement is false (because false AND anything is false) thus a[i] > 0 would not be evaluated

if(i < 10 && a[i] > 0) printf("%i\n", a[i]);

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Slide No. 10

Logical Operator Guarantees

C Guarantees C makes further guarantees about the logical operators. Not only will they produce 1 or 0, they are will be evaluated in a well defined order. The left-most condition is always evaluated first, even if the condition is more complicated, like: if(a && b && c && d || e)

and Truth Table

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This is probably a good time to remind you about truth tables: && false true false false false true false true or Truth Table || false true false false true

Here a will be evaluated first. If true, b will be evaluated. It true, c will be evaluated and so on. The next guarantee C makes is that as soon as it is decided whether a condition is true or false, no further evaluation is done. Thus if b turned out to be false, c and d would not be evaluated. The next thing evaluated would be e.

true true true

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44
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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Warning!
Remember to use parentheses with conditions, otherwise your program may not mean what you think
in this attempt to say i not equal to five, !i is evaluated first. As i is 10, i.e. non zero, i.e. true, !i must be false, i.e. zero. Zero is compared with five int i = 10;

if(!i == 5) printf("i is not equal to five\n"); else printf("i is equal to five\n"); i is equal to five

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Slide No. 11

Warning!
Parentheses An extra set of parentheses (round brackets) will always help to make code easier to read and easier to understand. Remember that code is written once and maintained thereafter. It will take only a couple of seconds to add in extra parentheses, it may save several minutes (or perhaps even hours) of debugging time.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Bitwise Operators
C has the following bit operators which may only be applied to integer types:
& | ^ ~ >> << bitwise and bitwise inclusive or bitwise exclusive or ones compliment right shift left shift

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Slide No. 12

Bitwise Operators
As Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie needed to manipulate hardware registers in their PDP-11, they needed the proper tools (i.e. bit manipulation operators) to do it. You will notice that the bitwise and, &, is related to the logical and, &&. As Brian and Dennis were doing more bitwise manipulation than logical condition testing, they reserved the single character for bitwise operation. Again the bitwise (inclusive) or, |, is related to the logical or, ||. A bitwise exclusive or is also provided.

& vs &&

| vs || ^

Truth Tables For Bitwise Operators or 0 1 0 0 1

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1 1 1 and 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 xor 0 1 0 0 1

1 1 0

The ones compliment operator ~ flips all the bits in a value, so all 1s are turned to 0s, while all 0s are turned to 1s.

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46
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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Bitwise Example
#include <stdio.h> int main(void) { short a = 0x6eb9; short b = 0x5d27; unsigned short c = 7097; printf("0x%x, ", a & b); printf("0x%x, ", a | b); printf("0x%x\n", a ^ b); printf("%u, ", c << 2); printf("%u\n", c >> 1); return 0; } 0x4c21, 0x7fbf, 0x339e 28388, 3548
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0x6eb9 0x5d27 0x4c21 0x6eb9 0x5d27 0x7fbf 0x6eb9 0x5d27 0x339e

0110 1110 1011 1001 0101 1101 0010 0111 0100 1100 0010 0001 0110 1110 1011 1001 0101 1101 0010 0111 0111 1111 1011 1111 0110 1110 1011 1001 0101 1101 0010 0111 0011 0011 1001 1110

7097 28388 7097 3548

0001 1011 1011 1001 0110 1110 1110 0100 0001 1011 1011 1001 0000 1101 1101 1100
Slide No. 13

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Bitwise Example
This example shows bitwise manipulation. short integers are used, because these can be relied upon to be 16 bits in length. If int had been used, we may have been manipulating 16 or 32 bits depending on machine and compiler. Working in hexadecimal makes the first 3 examples somewhat easier to understand. The reason why the 7097 is in decimal is to show that c<<2 multiplies the number by 4 (shifting one place left multiplies by 2, shifting two places multiplies by 4), giving 28388. Shifting right by one divides the number by 2. Notice that the right-most bit is lost in this process. The bit cannot be recovered, once gone it is gone forever (there is no access to the carry flag from C). The missing bit represents the fraction (a half) truncated when integer division is performed. One important aspect of right shifting to understand is that if a signed type is right shifted, the most significant bit is inserted. If an unsigned type is right shifted, 0s are inserted. If you do the maths youll find this is correct. If youre not expecting it, however, it can be a bit of a surprise.

Arithmetic Results of Shifting

Use unsigned When Shifting Right

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Assignment
Assignment is more flexible than might first appear An assigned value is always made available for subsequent use
n = 22 happens first, this makes 22 available for assignment to m. Assigning 22 to m makes 22 available for assignment to l etc.

int

i, j, k, l, m, n;

i = j = k = l = m = n = 22; printf("%i\n", j = 93); j is assigned 93, the 93 is then made available to printf for printing
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Assignment
Assignment Uses Registers Here is another example of C using registers. Whenever a value is assigned in C, the assigned value is left lying around in a handy register. This value in the register may then be referred to subsequently, or merely overwritten by the next statement. Thus in the assignment above, 22 is placed both into n and into a machine register. The value in the register is then assigned into m, and again into l etc. With: printf("%i\n", j = 93);

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93 is assigned to j, the value of 93 is placed in a register. The value saved in the register is then printed via the %i.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Warning!
One of the most frequent mistakes is to confuse test for equality, ==, with assignment, =
#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) int i = 0;

if(i = 0) printf("i is equal to zero\n"); else printf("somehow i is not zero\n"); return 0; } somehow i is not zero

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Slide No. 15

Warning!
Test for Equality vs. Assignment A frequent mistake made by newcomers to C is to use assignment when test for equality was intended. The example above shows this. Unfortunately it uses the if then else construct to illustrate the point, something we havent formally covered yet. However the construct is very straightforward, as can be seen. Here i is initialized with the value of zero. The test isnt really a test because it is an assignment. The compiler overwrites the value stored in i with zero, this zero is then saved in a handy machine register. It is this value, saved in the register, that is tested. Since zero is always false, the else part of the construct is executed. The program would have worked differently if the test had been written i == 0.

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C for Programmers

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Other Assignment Operators

There is a family of assignment operators:
+= &= <<= -= |= >>= *= ^= /= %=

In each of these:
expression1 op= expression2

is equivalent to:
(expression1) = (expression1) op (expression2)
a += 27; a = a + 27; f /= 9.2; f = f / 9.2;
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i *= j + 2; i = i * (j + 2);
Slide No. 16

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Other Assignment Operators

+=, -=, *=, /=, %= etc. There is a whole family of assignment operators in C, not just =. They all look rather unfamiliar and therefore rather frightening at first, but they really are very straightforward. Take, for instance, the statement a -= b. All this means is a = a - b. The only other thing to remember is that C evaluates the right hand expression first, thus a *= b + 7 definitely means a = a * (b + 7) and NOT a = a * b + 7. If they appear rather strange for a minimalist language like C, they used to make a difference in the K&R days before compiler optimizers were written.

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If you imagine the assembler statements produced by a = a + 7, these could be as involved as take value in a and load into register, take value in register and add 7, take value in register and load into a. Whereas the statement a += 7 could just involve take value in a and add 7. Although there was a difference in the K&R days (otherwise these operators would never have been invented) a modern optimizing compiler should produce exactly the same code. Really these operators are maintained for backwards compatibility.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

sizeof Operator
C has a mechanism for determining how many bytes a variable occupies
#include <stdio.h> int main(void) { long big; printf("\"big\" is %u bytes\n", sizeof(big)); printf("a short is %u bytes\n", sizeof(short)); printf("a double is %u bytes\n", sizeof double); return 0; } "big" is 4 bytes a short is 2 bytes a double is 8 bytes

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Slide No. 17

sizeof Operator
The C Standard does not fix the size of its data types between implementations. Thus it is possible to find one implementation using 16 bit ints and another using 32 bit ints. It is also, theoretically, possible to find an implementation using 64 bit long integers. Nothing in the language, or Standard, prevents this. Since C makes it so difficult to know the size of things in advance, it compensates by providing a built in operator sizeof which returns (usually as an unsigned int) the number of bytes occupied by a data type or a variable. You will notice from the example above that the parentheses are optional: sizeof(double) sizeof double

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and are equivalent.

Because sizeof is a keyword the parentheses are optional. sizeof is NOT a Standard Library function.

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C for Programmers

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Conditional Expression Operator

The conditional expression operator provides an in-line if/then/else If the first expression is true, the second is evaluated If the first expression is false, the third is evaluated
int i, j = 100, k = -1; int i, j = 100, k = -1;

i = (j > k) ? j : k; if(j > k) i = j; else i = k;

i = (j < k) ? j : k; if(j < k) i = j; else i = k;

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Slide No. 18

Conditional Expression Operator

C provides a rather terse, ternary operator (i.e. one which takes 3 operands) as an alternative to the if then else construct. It is rather like:

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condition ? value-when-true : value-when-false if(dir == 1) printf("1 directory\n"); else printf("%i directories\n", dir); may be expressed as:

The condition is evaluated (same rules as before, zero false, everything else true). If the condition were found to be true the value immediately after the ? is used. If the condition were false the value immediately after the : is used. The types of the two expressions must be the same. It wouldnt make much sense to have one expression evaluating to a double while the other evaluates to an unsigned char (though most compilers would do their best to cope). Conditional expression vs. if/then/else This is another of those C operators that you must take at face value and decide whether to ever use it. If you feel if then else is clearer and more maintainable, use it. One place where this operator is useful is with pluralisation, for example:

printf("%i director%s\n", (dir == 1) ? "y" : "ies"); It is a matter of personal choice as to whether you find this second form more acceptable. Strings, printed with %s, will be covered later in the course.

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52
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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Precedence of Operators
C treats operators with different importance, known as precedence There are 15 levels In general, the unary operators have higher precedence than binary operators Parentheses can always be used to improve clarity #include <stdio.h>
int { main(void) int j = 3 * 4 + 48 / 7;

printf("j = %i\n", j); return 0; }

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j = 18
Slide No. 19

Precedence of Operators
C assigns different degrees of importance or precedence to its 40 (or so) operators. For instance the statement

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3 * 4 + 48 / 7

could mean: or maybe:

((3 * 4) + 48) / 7 (3 * 4) + (48 / 7) 3 * ((4 + 48) / 7)

or maybe even:

In fact it means the second, (3 * 4) + (48 / 7) because C attaches more importance to * and / than it does to +. Thus the multiplication and the divide are done before the addition.

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C for Programmers

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Associativity of Operators
For two operators of equal precedence (i.e. same importance) a second rule, associativity, is used Associativity is either left to right (left operator first) or right to left (right operator first)
#include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int i = 6 * 4 / 7; printf("i = %d\n", i); return 0; } i = 3

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Slide No. 20

Associativity of Operators
Precedence does not tell us all we need to know. Although * is more important than +, what happens when two operators of equal precedence are used, like * and / or + and -? In this case C resorts to a second rule, associativity. Associativity is either left to right or right to left.

Left to Right Associativity Right to Left Associativity

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This means the left most operator is done first, then the right. The right most operator is done first, then the left. a = b += c;

Thus, although * and / are of equal precedence in 6 * 4 / 7, their associativity is left to right. Thus * is done first. Hence 6 * 4 first giving 24, next 24 / 7 = 3. If you are wondering about an example of right to left associativity, consider:

Here both = and += have the same precedence but their associativity is right to left. The right hand operator += is done first. The value of c modifies b, the modified value is then assigned to a.

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54
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Operators in C
C for Programmers

Precedence/Associativity Table
Operator
() [] -> . ! ~ ++ -- - + (cast) * & sizeof * / % + << >> < <= >= > == != & | ^ && || ?: = += -= *= /= %= etc ,

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 left to right left to right left to right left to right right to left right to left left to right

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Slide No. 21

Precedence/Associativity Table
The table above shows the precedence and associativity of Cs operators. This chapter has covered around 37 operators, the small percentage of remaining ones are concerned with pointers, arrays, structures and calling functions.

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Operators in C
C for Programmers

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Review
#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) int i = 0, j, k = 7, m = 5, n;

j = m += 2; printf("j = %d\n", j); j = k++ > 7; printf("j = %d\n", j); j = i == 0 & k; printf("j = %d\n", j); n = !i > k >> 2; printf("n = %d\n", n); return 0; }

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Slide No. 22

Review
Consider what the output of the program would be if run? Check with your colleagues and the instructor to see if you agree.

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Operators in C - Exercises
C for Programmers

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Operators in C Practical Exercises

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Operators in C - Exercises
C for Programmers

Directory:

OPERS

1. Write a program in SUM.C which reads two integers and prints out the sum, the difference and the product. Divide them too, printing your answer to two decimal places. Also print the remainder after the two numbers are divided. Introduce a test to ensure that when dividing the numbers, the second number is not zero. What happens when you add two numbers and the sum is too large to fit into the data type you are using? Are there friendly error messages? 2. Cut and paste your SUM.C code into BITOP.C. This should also read two integers, but print the result of bitwise anding, bitwise oring and bitwise exclusive oring. Then either use these two integers or prompt for two more and print the first left-shifted by the second and the first right-shifted by the second. You can choose whether to output any of these results as decimal, hexadecimal or octal. What happens when a number is left shifted by zero? If a number is left shifted by -1, does that mean it is right shifted by 1? 3. Write a program in a file called VOL.C which uses the area code from AREA.C. In addition to the radius, it prompts for a height with which it calculates the volume of a cylinder. The formula is volume = area * height.

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Operators in C - Solutions
C for Programmers

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Operators in C Solutions

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60
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Operators in C - Solutions
C for Programmers

1. Write a program in SUM.C which reads two integers and prints out the sum, the difference and the product. Divide them too, printing your answer to two decimal places. Also print the remainder after the two numbers are divided. Introduce a test to ensure that when dividing the numbers, the second number is not zero. A problem occurs when dividing the two integers since an answer to two decimal places is required, but dividing two integers yields an integer. The solution is to cast one or other (or both) of the integers to a double, so that double precision division is performed. The minor problem of how to print "%" is overcome by placing %% within the string. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int first, second; printf("enter two integers "); scanf("%i %i", &first, &second); printf("%i + %i = %i\n", first, second, first + second); printf("%i - %i = %i\n", first, second, first - second); printf("%i * %i = %i\n", first, second, first * second); if(second != 0) { printf("%i / %i = %.2lf\n", first, second, (double)first / second); printf("%i %% %i = %i\n", first, second, first % second); } return 0; }

What happens when you add two numbers and the sum is too large to fit into the data type you are using? Are there friendly error messages? C is particularly bad at detecting overflow or underflow. When two large numbers are entered the addition and multiplication yield garbage.

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2. Cut and paste your SUM.C code into BITOP.C. This should also read two integers, but print the result of bitwise anding, bitwise oring and bitwise exclusive oring. Then either use these two integers or prompt for two more and print the first left-shifted by the second and the first right-shifted by the second. You can choose whether to output the results as decimal, hexadecimal or octal. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int first, second; printf("enter two integers "); scanf("%i %i", &first, &second); printf("%x & %x = %x\n", first, second, first & second); printf("%x | %x = %x\n", first, second, first | second); printf("%x ^ %x = %x\n", first, second, first ^ second); printf("enter two more integers "); scanf("%i %i", &first, &second); printf("%i << %i = %i\n", first, second, first << second); printf("%i >> %i = %i\n", first, second, first >> second); return 0; } What happens when a number is left shifted by zero? If a number is left shifted by -1, does that mean it is right shifted by 1? When a number is shifted by zero, it should remain unchanged. The effects of shifting by negative amounts are undefined.

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Operators in C - Solutions
C for Programmers

3. Write a program in a file called VOL.C which uses the area code from AREA.C. In addition to the radius, it prompts for a height with which it calculates the volume of a cylinder. The formula is volume = area * height. Here notice how an especially long string may be broken over two lines, providing double quotes are placed around each part of the string. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { long double long double long double const long double

radius = 0.0L; height = 0.0L; volume = 0.0L; pi = 3.1415926353890L;

printf("please give the radius and height "); scanf("%Lf %Lf", &radius, &height); volume = pi * radius * radius * height; printf("Volume of cylinder with radius %.3Lf " "and height %.3Lf is %.12Lf\n", radius, height, volume); return 0; }

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

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Control Flow

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

Control Flow
Decisions - if then else More decisions - switch Loops - while, do while, for Keyword break Keyword continue

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Slide No. 1

Control Flow
This chapter covers all the decision making and looping constructs in C.

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Decisions - if then
Parentheses surround the test One statement becomes the then part If more are required, braces must be used
scanf("%i", &i); if(i > 0) printf("a positive number was entered\n"); if(i < 0) { printf("a negative number was entered\n"); i = -i; }

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Slide No. 2

Decisions if then
This formally introduces Cs if then construct which was seen a few times in the previous chapter. The most important thing to remember is to surround the condition with parentheses. These are mandatory rather than optional. Notice there is no keyword then. It is implied by the sense of the statement.

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If only one statement is to be executed, just write the statement, if many statements are to be executed, use the begin and end braces { and } to group the statements into a block.

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

Warning!
A semicolon after the condition forms a do nothing statement
printf("input an integer: "); scanf("%i", &j); if(j > 0); printf("a positive number was entered\n");

input an integer: -6 a positive number was entered

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Slide No. 3

Warning!
Avoid Spurious Semicolons After if Having become used to the idea of placing semicolon characters after each and every statement in C, we start to see that the word statement is not as straightforward as might appear. A semicolon has been placed after the condition in the code above. The compiler considers this placed for a reason and makes the semicolon the then part of the construct. A do nothing or a no op statement is created (each machine has an instruction causing it to wait for a machine cycle). Literally if j is greater than zero, nothing will be done. After the machine cycle, the next statement is always arrived at, regardless of the no op execution.

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if then else
An optional else may be added One statement by default, if more are required, braces must be used
if(i > 0) printf("i is positive\n"); else printf("i is negative\n");

if(i > 0) printf("i is positive\n"); else { printf("i is negative\n"); i = -i; }

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Slide No. 4

if then else
Optionally an else statement, which is executed if the condition is false, may be added. Again, begin and end braces should be used to block together a more than one statement. You may wish to always use braces as in:

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if(i > 0) { printf("i is positive\n"); } else { printf("i is negative\n"); } if(i > 0) { printf("i is positive\n"); } else { printf("i is negative\n"); } if(i > 0) { printf("i is positive\n"); } else { printf("i is negative\n"); } or:

This is perhaps a suitable point to mention the braces have no clear, fixed position in C. Being a free format language you may feel happier with:

All are acceptable to the compiler, i.e. the positioning of the braces makes no difference at all.

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

Nesting ifs
else associates with the nearest if
int i = 100; if(i > 0) if(i > 1000) printf("i is big\n"); else printf("i is reasonable\n"); i is reasonable

int i = -20; if(i > 0) { if(i > 1000) printf("i is big\n"); i is negative } else printf("i is negative\n");

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Slide No. 5

Nesting ifs
Where Does else Belong? C, along with other high level languages, has a potential ambiguity with nested if then else statements. This arises in trying to determine where an else clause belongs. For instance, consider: if it is a weekday if it is raining catch the bus to work else walk to work

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Does this mean if it is a weekday and it is not raining walk to work, or does it mean if it is not a weekday then walk to work. If the latter, we could end up walking to work at weekends, whether or not it is raining. C resolves this ambiguity by saying that all elses belong to the nearest if. Applying these rules to the above would mean if it is a weekday and it is not raining walk to work. Fortunately we will not end up walking to work at weekends.

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switch
C supports a switch for multi-way decision making
switch(c) { case 'a': case 'A': printf("area = %.2f\n", r * r * pi); break; case 'c': case 'C': printf("circumference = %.2f\n", 2 * r * pi); break; case 'q': printf("quit option chosen\n"); break; default: printf("unknown option chosen\n"); break; }

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Slide No. 6

switch
switch vs. if/then/else C supports a multi-way decision making construct called switch. The code above is an alternative to the nested if then else construct: if(c == 'a' || c == 'A') printf("area = %.2f\n", r * r * pi); else if(c == 'c' || c == 'C') printf("circumference = %.2f\n", 2 * r * pi); else if(c == 'q') printf("quit option chosen\n"); else printf("unknown option chosen\n");

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The conditions may be placed in any order: Placing default first does not alter the behavior in any way.

switch(c) { default: printf("unknown option chosen\n"); break; case 'q': printf("quit option chosen\n"); break; case 'c': case 'C': printf("circumference = %.2f\n", 2 * r * pi); break; case 'a': case 'A': printf("area = %.2f\n", r * r * pi); break; }

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

More About switch

Only integral constants may be tested If no condition matches, the default is executed If no default, nothing is done (not an error) The break is important
float f; switch(f) { case 2: .... switch(i) { case 2 * j: .... i = 3; switch(i) case 3: case 2: case 1: } { printf("i = 3\n"); printf("i = 2\n"); printf("i = 1\n"); i = 3 i = 2 i = 1

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Slide No. 7

More About switch

switch Less Flexible Than if/then/else The switch is actually a little less flexible than an if then else construct. switch may only test integer types and not any of the reals, whereas if(f == 0.0) printf("f is zero\n");

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is quite valid, switch(f) { case 0.0: printf("f is zero\n"); break; } if(i == j) printf("equal\n"); is valid: switch(i) { case j: printf("equal\n"); break; } is not.

will not compile. Also, the switch can test only against constants, not against the values of other variables. Whereas

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A switch Example
printf("On the "); switch(i) { case 1: printf("1st"); break; case 2: printf("2nd"); break; case 3: printf("3rd"); break; default: printf("%ith", i); break; } printf(" day of Christmas my true love sent to me "); switch(i) { case 12: printf("twelve lords a leaping, "); case 11: printf("eleven ladies dancing, "); case 10: printf("ten pipers piping, "); case 9: printf("nine drummers drumming, "); case 8: printf("eight maids a milking, "); case 7: printf("seven swans a swimming, "); case 6: printf("six geese a laying, "); case 5: printf("five gold rings, "); case 4: printf("four calling birds, "); case 3: printf("three French hens, "); case 2: printf("two turtle doves and "); case 1: printf("a partridge in a pear tree\n"); }

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Slide No. 8

A switch Example
Twelve Days of Christmas This example shows the effects of the presence or absence of the break keyword on two switch statements. With the first, only one statement in the switch will be executed. For example, say i is set to 2, the first switch calls printf to print 2nd. The break is encountered causing the switch to finish and control be transferred to the line: printf("day of Christmas my true love sent to me");

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Then the second switch is entered, with i still set to 2. The printf corresponding to the two turtle doves is executed, but since there is no break, the printf corresponding to the partridge in the pear tree is executed. The absence of breaks in the second switch statement means that if i were, say, 10 then 10 printf statements would be executed.

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

while Loop
The simplest C loop is the while Parentheses must surround the condition One statement forms the body of the loop Braces must be added if more statements are to be executed
int j = 5; while(j > 0) printf("j = %i\n", j--); while(j > 0) { printf("j = %i\n", j); j--; } j j j j j = = = = = 5 4 3 2 1

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Slide No. 9

while Loop
C has three loops, while is the simplest of them all. It is given a condition (in parentheses, just like with the if statement) which it evaluates. If the condition evaluates to true (non zero, as seen before) the body of the loop is executed. The condition is evaluated again, if still true, the body of the loop is executed again. This continues until the condition finally evaluates to false. Then execution jumps to the first statement that follows on after the loop. Once again if more than one statement is required in the body of the loop, begin and end braces must be used.

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(Another) Semicolon Warning!

A semicolon placed after the condition forms a body that does nothing
int j = 5; while(j > 0); printf("j = %i\n", j--);

program disappears into an infinite loop

Sometimes an empty loop body is required

int c, j; while(scanf("%i", &j) != 1) while((c = getchar()) != '\n') ;

placing semicolon on the line below makes the intention obvious

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Slide No. 10

(Another) Semicolon Warning!

Avoid Semicolons After while We have already seen that problems can arise if a semicolon is placed after an if statement. A similar problem exists with loops, although it is more serious. With if the no op statement is potentially executed only once. With a loop it may be executed an infinite number of times. In the example above, instead of the loop body being: printf("j = %i\n", j--); causing j to be decremented each time around the loop, the body becomes do nothing. Thus j remains at 5. The program loops infinitely doing nothing. No output is seen because the program is so busily doing nothing the printf statement is never reached. Occasionally doing nothing is exactly what we want. The practical exercises have already illustrated that there is a problem with scanf buffering characters. These characters may be thrown away with the while loop shown above. This employs some of the features we investigated in the last chapter. When the value is assigned to c, that value (saved in a register) may be tested against \n. To be honest this scanf loop above leaves something to be desired. While scanf is failing there is no indication that the user should type anything else (the terminal seems to hang), scanf just waits for the next thing to be typed. Perhaps a better construction would be: printf("enter an integer: "); while(scanf("%i", &j) != 1) { while((ch = getchar()) != '\n') ; printf("enter an integer: "); }

Flushing Input

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

while, Not Until!

Remember to get the condition the right way around!

int j = 5;

user probably intends until j is equal to zero, however this is NOT the way to write it

printf("start\n"); while(j == 0) printf("j = %i\n", j--); printf("end\n"); start end

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Slide No. 11

while, Not Until!

There Are Only While Conditions in C One important thing to realize is that all of Cs conditions are while conditions. The loops are executed while the condition is true.

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do while
do while guarantees execution at least once
int j = 5; printf("start\n"); do printf("j = %i\n", j--); while(j > 0); printf("stop\n"); start j = 5 j = 4 j = 3 j = 2 j = 1 stop

int j = -10; printf("start\n"); do { printf("j = %i\n", j); j--; } while(j > 0); printf("stop\n");

start j = -10 stop

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Slide No. 12

do while
The do while loop in C is an upside down version of the while loop. Whereas while has the condition followed by the body, do while has the body followed by the condition. This means the body must be executed before the condition is reached. Thus the body is guaranteed to be executed at least once. If the condition is false the loop body is never executed again.

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

for Loop
for encapsulates the essential elements of a loop into one statement
for(initial-part; while-condition; update-part) body;

int j; for(j = 5; j > 0; j--) printf("j = %i\n", j);

j j j j j

= = = = =

5 4 3 2 1 j j j j j = = = = = 5 4 3 2 1 odd even odd even odd

for(j = 5; j > 0; j--) { printf("j = %i ", j); printf("%s\n", ((j%2)==0)?"even":"odd"); }

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Slide No. 13

for Loop
The for loop is syntactically the most complicated of Cs 3 loops. Essentially though, it is similar to the while loop, it even has a while type condition. The C for loop is one of the most concise expressions of a loop available in any language. It brings together the starting conditions, the loop condition and all update statements that must be completed before the loop can be executed again. The construct:

for And while Compared

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for(initial-part; while-condition; update-part) body; is equivalent to: initial-part; while(while-condition) { body; update-part; }

Essentially all you need is to remember the two semicolon characters that must separate the three parts of the construct.

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Control Flow
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for Is Not Until Either!

Remember to get the for condition the right way around (it is really a while condition)

int j;

user probably intends until j is equal to zero, however this is NOT the way to write it either!

printf("start\n"); for(j = 5; j == 0; j--) printf("j = %i\n", j); printf("end\n"); start end

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Slide No. 14

for Is Not Until Either!

C Has While Conditions, Not Until Conditions This slide is here to remind you once again there are no until conditions in C. Even though there are 3 kinds of loop, they all depend on while conditions - the loops continue while the conditions are true NOT until they become false.

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The loop in the program above never really gets started. j is initialized with 5, then j is tested against zero. Since j is not zero, C jumps over the loop and lands on the printf("end\n") statement.

One point worth making is that the for is a cousin of the while not a cousin of the do while. Here we see, just like the while loop, the for loop body can execute zero times. With the do while loop the body is guaranteed to execute once.

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

Stepping With for

Unlike some languages, the for loop is not restricted to stepping up or down by 1
#include <math.h> int { main(void) double angle; for(angle = 0.0; angle < 3.14159; angle += 0.2) printf("sine of %.1lf is %.2lf\n", angle, sin(angle)); return 0; }

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Slide No. 15

Stepping With for

Some languages, like Pascal and Ada, only allow for loops to step up or down by one. If you want to step by 2 you end up having to use a while construct. There is no similar restriction in C. It is possible to step up or down in whole or fractional steps. Here the use of += is illustrated to increment the variable angle by 0.2 each time around the loop. This is the fourth Standard header file we have met. It contains declarations of various mathematical functions, particularly the sine (sin) function which is used in the loop.

math.h

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Extending the for Loop

The initial and update parts may contain multiple comma separated statements
int i, j, k; for(i = 0, j = 5, k = -1; i < 10; i++, j++, k--)

The initial, condition and update parts may contain no statements at all!
for(; i < 10; i++, j++, k--) for(;i < 10;) for(;;) creates an infinite loop
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use of a while loop would be clearer here!

Extending the for Loop

The for loop would seem ideal only so long as one initial statement and one loop update statement are required. If two or more should need executing it would seem as though an alternative construct would be needed. However this is not the case, using the special comma operator, several statements may be executed in the initial and/or update parts of the loop. The comma operator guarantees sequential execution of statements, thus i = 0 is guaranteed to be executed before j = 5 which is guaranteed to be executed before k = -1. If you have no need for an initial or an update condition, leave the corresponding part of the loop empty, but remember the semicolon. In the example above: for(; i < 10; )

Infinite Loops

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would probably be better replaced with: while(i < 10) The strange looking construct: for(;;) creates an infinite loop and is read as for ever.

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Control Flow
C for Programmers

break
The break keyword forces immediate exit from the nearest enclosing loop Use in moderation!
if scanf returns 1, jump out of the loop
for(;;) { printf("type an int: "); if(scanf("%i", &j) == 1) break; while((c = getchar()) != '\n') ; } type an int: an int printf("j = %i\n", j); type an int: no type an int: 16 j = 16

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Slide No. 17

break
It must seem strange that C has a construct to deliberately create an infinite loop. Such a loop would seem something to avoid at all costs! Nonetheless it is possible to put infinite loops to work in C by jumping out of them. Any loop, no matter what the condition, can be jumped out of using the C keyword break. We saw the loop below earlier:

break is Really Goto!

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printf("enter an integer: "); while(scanf("%i", &j) != 1) { while((ch = getchar()) != '\n') ; printf("enter an integer: "); }

This loop has the printf repeated. If the printf were a more complicated statement, prone to frequent change and the loop many hundreds of lines long, it may be a problem keeping the two lines in step. The for(;;) loop addresses this problem by having only one printf. It doesnt necessarily address the problem very well because it now uses the equivalent of a goto statement! The goto is the scourge of modern programming, because of its close relationship some companies ban the use of break. If it is to be used at all, it should be used in moderation, overuse is liable to create spaghetti. This is exactly the same break keyword as used in the switch statement. If a break is placed within a switch within a loop, the break forces an exit from the switch and NOT the loop. There is no way to change this.

break, switch and Loops

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Control Flow
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continue
The continue keyword forces the next iteration of the nearest enclosing loop Use in moderation!
if j is exactly divisible by 3, skip

for(j = 1; j <= 10; j++) { if(j % 3 == 0) continue; printf("j = %i\n", j); }

j j j j j j j

= = = = = = =

1 2 4 5 7 8 10

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Slide No. 18

continue
Whereas break forces an immediate exit from the nearest enclosing loop the continue keyword causes the next iteration of the loop. In the case of while and do while loops, it jumps straight to the condition and re-evaluates it. In the case of the for loop, it jumps onto the update part of the loop, executes that, then re-evaluates the condition. Statements applying to the use of break similarly apply to continue. It is just another form of goto and should be used with care. Excessive use of continue can lead to spaghetti instead of code. In fact the loop above could just as easily be written as: for(j = 1; j <= 10; j++) if(j % 3 != 0) printf("j = %i\n", j);

continue is Really Goto

continue, switch and Loops

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Whereas break has an effect on the switch statement, continue has no such effect. Thus a continue placed within a switch within a loop would effect the loop.

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82
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Control Flow
C for Programmers

Summary
if (then) else - watch the semicolons switch can test integer values while, do while, for - watch the semicolons again break continue

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Slide No. 19

Summary

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Control Flow - Exercises

C for Programmers

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Control Flow Practical Exercises

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84
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Control Flow - Exercises

C for Programmers

Directory:

FLOW

1. Write a program in QUANT.C which quantifies numbers. Read an integer x and test it, producing the following output: x greater than or equal to 1000 x from 999 to 100 (including 100) x between 100 and 0 x exactly 0 x between 0 and -100 x from -100 to -999 (including -100) x less than or equal to -1000 print hugely positive print very positive print positive print zero print negative print very negative print hugely negative

Thus -10 would print negative, -100 very negative and 458 very positive. 2. Cut and paste your AREA, RADIUS and VOL programs into a file called CIRC.C which accepts four options. The option A calculates the area of a circle (prompting for the radius), the option C calculates the circumference of a circle (prompting for the radius), the option V calculates the volume of a cylinder (prompting for the radius and height), while the option Q quits the program. The program should loop until the quit option is chosen. 3. Improve the error checking of your CIRC program such that the program will loop until the user enters a valid real number. 4. Write a program in POW.C which reads two numbers, the first a real, the second an integer. The program then outputs the first number raised to the power of the second. Before you check, there is no C operator to raise one number to the power of another. You will have to use a loop. 5. Write a program in DRAWX.C which draws an x of user specified height. If the user typed 7, the following series of * characters would be drawn (without the column and line numbers): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 * 1 * * * 2 * * 3 * 4 * * 5 * * 6 * 7 *

and if the user typed 6 would draw * characters as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 * 1 * * * 2 * * 3 * * 4 * * 5 * 6 *

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Control Flow - Exercises

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6. Write a program in BASES.C which offers the user a choice of converting integers between octal, decimal and hexadecimal. Prompt the user for either o, d or h and read the number in the chosen format. Then prompt the user for the output format (again o, d or h) and print the number out accordingly. A nice enhancement would be to offer the user only the different output formats, i.e. if o is chosen and an octal number read, the user is offered only d and h as output format.

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Control Flow - Solutions

C for Programmers

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Control Flow Solutions

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88
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Control Flow - Solutions

C for Programmers

1. Write a program in QUANT.C which quantifies numbers. Read an integer x and test it, producing the following output: x greater than or equal to 1000 x from 999 to 100 (including 100) x between 100 and 0 x exactly 0 x between 0 and -100 x from -100 to -999 (including -100) x less than or equal to -1000 print hugely positive print very positive print positive print zero print negative print very negative print hugely negative

Thus -10 would print negative, -100 very negative and 458 very positive. In the following solution the words very and hugely are printed separately from positive and negative. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int i; printf("Enter an integer "); scanf("%i", &i); if(i >= 1000 || i <= -1000) printf("hugely "); else if(i >= 100 || i <= -100) printf("very "); if(i > 0) printf("positive\n"); else if(i == 0) printf("zero\n"); else if(i < 0) printf("negative\n"); return 0; }

2. Cut and paste your AREA, RADIUS and VOL programs into a file called CIRC.C which accepts four options. The program should loop until the quit option is chosen.

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Control Flow - Solutions

C for Programmers

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3. Improve the error checking of your CIRC program such that the program will loop until the user enters a valid real number. Notice the getchar loop to discard unread input. When the character is entered via getchar, or the real number read via scanf, the return key is saved (it is buffered as we shall see in a later chapter). Although this doesnt cause a problem the first time through the loop, it does cause a problem the second and subsequent times. The value returned by scanf is important. When told to read one thing (as with %Lf) scanf returns one on success, if the input is not in the correct format zero is returned. If this is the case, the getchar loop is entered to discard this unwanted input. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int int long double long double long double const long double

ch; still_going = 1; radius = 0.0L; answer = 0.0L; height = 0.0L; pi = 3.1415926353890L;

while(still_going) { printf( "Area A\n" "Circumference C\n" "Volume V\n" "Quit Q\n\n" "Please choose "); ch = getchar();

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if(ch == 'A' || ch == 'C' || ch == 'V') { do { printf("please give the radius "); while(getchar() != '\n') ; } while(scanf("%Lf", &radius) != 1); } if(ch == 'V') { do { printf("please give the height "); while(getchar() != '\n') ; } while(scanf("%Lf", &height) != 1); } if(ch != 'A' && ch != 'C' && ch != 'V') while(getchar() != '\n') ; if(ch == 'A') { answer = pi * radius * radius; printf("Area of circle with radius %.3Lf is %.12Lf\n", radius, answer);

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90
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Control Flow - Solutions

C for Programmers

} else if(ch == 'C') { answer = 2.0 * pi * radius; printf("Circumference of circle with radius " "%.3Lf is %.12Lf\n", radius, answer); } else if(ch == 'V') { answer = pi * radius * radius * height; printf("Volume of cylinder with radius " "%.3Lf and height %.3Lf is %.12Lf\n", radius, height, answer); } else if(ch == 'Q') still_going = 0; else printf("Unknown option '%c' ignored\n\n", ch); } return 0; } 4. Write a program in POW.C which reads two numbers, the first a real, the second an integer. The program then outputs the first number raised to the power of the second. Careful consideration must be given to the initialization of answer and the loop condition count < p in the program below. Initializing answer with zero and or a loop condition of count <= p would have yielded very different (i.e. wrong) results. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int int double long double

printf("enter the number "); scanf("%lf", &n); printf("enter the power "); scanf("%d", &p);

for(answer = n; count < p; count++) answer = answer * n;

printf("%.3lf to the power of %d is %.9Lf\n", n, p, answer); return 0; }

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count = 1; p = 0; n = 0.0L; answer = 0.0L;

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Control Flow - Solutions

C for Programmers

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5. Write a program in DRAWX.C which draws an x of user specified height. Drawing the top left/bottom right diagonal is easy since * occurs when the row and column numbers are equal. For the other diagonal, * occurs when the column number is equal to the height less the row number plus one. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int height; int row; int column; printf("Enter height of 'x' "); scanf("%i", &height); for(row = 1; row <= height; row++) { for(column = 1; column <= height; column++) { if(row == column || column == height - row + 1) printf("*"); else printf(" "); } printf("\n"); } return 0; }

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92
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Control Flow - Solutions

C for Programmers

6. Write a program in BASES.C which offers the user a choice of converting integers between octal, decimal and hexadecimal. Prompt the user for either o, d or h and read the number in the chosen format. Then prompt the user for the output format (again o, d or h) and print the number out accordingly. A nice enhancement would be to offer the user only the different output formats, i.e. if o is chosen and an octal number read, the user is offered only d and h as output format. #include <stdio.h> int main(void) { int input; int i_option; int o_option; int keep_going; do { printf("Input options:\n" "Octal input o\n" "Decimal input d\n" "Hexadecimal input x i_option = getchar(); keep_going = 0; switch(i_option) { case 'o': printf("enter octal number "); scanf("%o", &input); break; case 'd': printf("enter decimal number "); scanf("%d", &input); break; case 'x': printf("enter hexadecimal number "); scanf("%x", &input); break; default: keep_going = 1; break; } while(getchar() != '\n') ;

");

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Control Flow - Solutions

C for Programmers

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} while(keep_going); do { if(i_option != 'o') printf("\nOctal output if(i_option != 'd') printf("\nDecimal output if(i_option != 'x') printf("\nHexadecimal output printf(" "); o");

d");

x");

o_option = getchar(); while(getchar() != '\n') ; keep_going = 0; switch(o_option) { case 'o': printf("%o\n", input); break; case 'd': printf("%d\n", input); break; case 'x': printf("%x\n", input); break; default: keep_going = 1; break; } } while(keep_going); return 0; }

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Functions
C for Programmers

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Functions

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96
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Functions
C for Programmers

Functions
Rules of functions Examples - writing a function, calling a function Function prototypes Visibility Call by value The stack auto, static and register

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Slide No. 1

Functions
This chapter examines functions in C.

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Functions
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The Rules
A function may accept as many parameters as it needs, or no parameters (like main) A function may return either one or no values Variables declared inside a function are only available to that function, unless explicitly passed to another function

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Slide No. 2

The Rules
Functions in C may take as many parameters as they need. An example of this is printf which may take an arbitrary number of parameters, here 7:

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Alternatively functions may take no parameters at all, like main int main(void)

printf("%i %.2lf %.2lg %c %u %o\n", j, f, g, c, pos, oct);

A function may either return a value or not. In particular it may return ONE value or not. C is a block structured language and variables declared within a function block may only be used within that block.

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98
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Functions
C for Programmers

Writing a Function - Example

this is the TYPE of the value handed back accept 3 doubles when called

int print_table(double start, double end, double step) { double d; int lines = 1; printf("Celsius\tFarenheit\n"); for(d = start; d <= end; d += step, lines++) printf("%.1lf\t%.1lf\n", d, d * 1.8 + 32); return lines; } this is the ACTUAL value handed back
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 3

Writing a Function - Example

There are a number of essential elements involved in writing functions: Return Type If a function is to return a value, the value must have a type. The type of the return value must be specified first. Obviously each function must have a unique name to distinguish it from the other functions in the program. A type and a name must be given to each parameter.

Function Name

Parameters

Return Value

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If the function is to return a value, the actual value (corresponding to the type already specified) must be passed back using the return keyword.

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Calling a Function - Example

IMPORTANT: this tells the compiler how print_table works #include <stdio.h> int int { print_table(double, double, double); main(void) int double how_many; end = 100.0; the compiler knows these should be doubles and converts them automatically

how_many = print_table(1.0, end, 3); print_table(end, 200, 15); return 0; }

here the functions return value is ignored - this is ok, if you dont want it, you dont have to use it
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 4

Calling a Function - Example

There are a number of essential elements when calling functions: Prototype A prototype informs the compiler how a function works. In this case: int print_table(double, double, double);

Call

Ignoring the Return

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The function is called (executed, run) by sending three parameters, as in: print_table(1.0, end, 3); how_many = print_table(1.0, end, 3); It is not necessary to use the returned value as in: print_table(end, 200, 15);

tells the compiler that the print_table function accepts three doubles and returns an integer.

even though the third parameter 3 is not of the correct type it is automatically converted by the compiler. If necessary the returned value may be assigned to a variable as in:

any return value that is not used is discarded. Note that here the 200 and the 15 are automatically converted from int to double.

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100
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Functions
C for Programmers

Calling a Function - Disaster!

now the compiler does not know how the function works #include <stdio.h>

int {

main(void) int how_many; double end = 100.0; how_many = print_table(1.0, end, 3); print_table(end, 200, 15); return 0; the compiler does NOT convert these ints to doubles. The function picks up doubles anyway!

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Slide No. 5

Calling a Function - Disaster!

Missing Prototypes The only difference between this and the previous example is the lack of the prototype: int print_table(double, double, double);

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how_many = print_table(1.0, end, 3); print_table(end, 200, 15); and

This missing line causes serious problems. Now the compiler does not have the information it needs at the two points of call:

The compiler assumes that all the parameters are correct. Thus the third parameter 3 is NOT converted from an integer to a double. Neither are the 200 or the 15. This is a major problem since integers and doubles are not the same size and not the same format. When the function picks up the parameters they are not what was intended and the function behaves strangely.

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Prototypes
The (optional) line
int print_table(double, double, double);

is known as a prototype If the compiler meets a call to an unknown function it guesses

Guess 1: the function returns an int, even if it doesnt Guess 2: you have passed the correct number of parameters and made sure they are all of the correct type, even if you havent

The prototype provides the compiler with important information about the return type and parameters
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 6

Prototypes
The all important missing line is called the function prototype. The compiler needs one of these for every single function called from your program. If you forget to provide a prototype and go ahead and call a function anyway, the compiler will assume some defaults.

When a Prototype is Missing

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First: the compiler will assume the function returns an integer. This is rather curious. A safer assumption might be that the function returns nothing, that way any attempt to use the returned value would generate an error. However, int it is. This is a special problem with the mathematical functions, sin, cos, tan, etc. which return double. By not prototyping these functions the compiler incorrectly truncates the doubles, using only 2 or 4 bytes of the 8 bytes that are returned. Second: the compiler assumes that the correct number of parameters have been passed and that the type of each one is correct. This was clearly not the case in the previous program, whereas the number of parameters was correct, although the types were not.

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102
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Functions
C for Programmers

Prototyping is Not Optional

To achieve working programs the compiler is best given a prototype for each function called When calling a Standard Library function, #include the file specified in the help page(s) this file will contain the prototype When calling one of your own functions, write a prototype by hand

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Slide No. 7

Prototyping is Not Optional

Since prototypes can make such a difference to whether a program works, it is curious C regards them as optional. Even though this is the case, we should regard them as compulsory. We must ensure that each function called is properly prototyped. This is more straightforward than it sounds since most C compilers come equipped with a warning level. Although the compiler will not complain if a call is made to an unprototyped function at a low warning level, turning the warning level up does cause a message to appear. Various programming standards employed by large software houses state that programs should compile without a single warning at the highest warning level. If we wish to call a Standard Library function, a prototype for it will already have been written and made available in one of the Standard header files. All we need to do is #include the relevant header file - its name will be given us by the online help or text manual. If we wish to call one of our own functions, we must write a prototype by hand.

Calling Standard Library Functions

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Writing Prototypes
Prototype:
int print_table(double, double, double);

Function header:
int { print_table(double start, double end, double step)

The function prototype may optionally include variable names (which are ignored)
int print_table(double start, double end, double step);

int

print_table(double x, double y, double z);

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Slide No. 8

Writing Prototypes
Convert The Function Header Into The Prototype Parameter Names Ignored Writing a function involves writing the function header. Once thats been done only a quick cut and paste is necessary to create the function prototype. You can either slice out the whole header, including the names of the parameters, or edit them out. In fact the compiler completely ignores parameter names in function prototypes, if provided, the names dont have to relate to the ones used in the function itself. The example above shows the print_table prototype using the name start or x for its first parameter. Either of these are ok, even if the name of the first parameter in fact turns out to be artichoke. In fact this begs the question as to why parameter names should be put in at all, if the compiler is just going to ignore them. The answer is that a function prototype which includes meaningful names is far more helpful than one which does not. The names start, stop and end provide meaning and save us having to find either the code for print_table or the manual which describes it.

Added Documentation

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104
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Functions
C for Programmers

Take Care With Semicolons

The prototype has a semicolon
int print_table(double start, double end, double step);

The function header has an open brace

int { print_table(double start, double end, double step)

Dont confuse the compiler by adding a semicolon into the function header!
int { print_table(double start, double end, double step);

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Slide No. 9

Take Care With Semicolons

Avoid Semicolons After The Function Header We have seen that the prototype can be an almost exact copy of the function header. If they are so similar, how exactly does the compiler tell them apart? It is all done by the character that follows the closing parenthesis. If that character is an opening brace, the compiler knows the text forms the function header, if the character is a semicolon, the compiler knows the text forms the function prototype. Adding a semicolon into the function header is particularly fatal. Meeting the semicolon first, the compiler assumes it has met the function prototype. After the prototype comes the beginning of a block, but what block?

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C for Programmers

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Example Prototypes
/* no parameters, int return value */ int get_integer(void); /* no parameters, double return value */ double get_double(void); /* no parameters, no return value */ void clear_screen(void); /* three int parameters, int return value */ int day_of_year(int day, int month, int year); /* three int parameters, long int return value */ long day_since_1_jan_1970(int, int, int); /* parameter checking DISABLED, double return value */ double k_and_r_function(); /* short int parameter, (default) int return value */ transfer(short int s);
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 10

Example Prototypes
Above are examples of function prototypes. Notice that void must be used to indicate the absence of a type. Thus in:

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int get_integer(); void clear_screen(void);

int get_integer(void);

void for the parameter list indicates there are no parameters. This is NOT the same as saying: which would have the effect of disabling parameter checking to the get_integer function. With this done, far from passing no parameters into the function, any user could pass two, fourteen or fifty parameters with impunity! C makes no distinction between functions (lumps of code that return a value) and procedures (lumps of code that execute, but return no value) as do languages like Pascal. In C there are just functions, functions which return things and functions which dont return anything. An example of a prototype for a function which does not return anything is:

The first void indicates no return value, the second indicates (as before) no parameters.

The day_of_year and day_since_1_jan_1970 function prototypes indicate the difference between naming parameters and not. With the day_of_year function it is obvious that the day, month and year must be provided in that order without resorting to any additional documentation. If day_since_1_jan_1970 were written by an American, the month might be required as the first parameter. It is impossible to tell without further recourse to documentation. The prototype for the transfer function demonstrates a rather curious C rule. If the return type is omitted, int is assumed.

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Functions
C for Programmers

Example Calls
int double long short int i; d; l; s = 5;

i = get_integer(); d = get_double(); clear_screen(); i = day_of_year(16, 7, 1969); l = day_since_1_jan_1970(1, 4, 1983); d = k_and_r_function(); d = k_and_r_function(19.7); d = k_and_r_function("hello world"); i = transfer(s); the compiler cannot tell which of these (if any) is correct - neither can we without resorting to documentation! no mention of void when calling these functions

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Slide No. 11

Example Calls
The most important thing to realize is that when calling a function with a prototype like int get_integer(void); it is NOT correct to say: i = get_integer(void);

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whereas it IS correct to say: i = get_integer(); The compiler just doesnt expect void at the point of call.

The examples above also illustrate a call to clear_screen. If you thought it would be pointless to call a function which takes no parameters and returns no value, here is an example. The clear_screen function does not need to be passed a parameter to tell it how many times to clear the screen, just once is enough. Similarly it does not need to return an integer to say whether it succeeded or failed. We assume it succeeds.

It is difficult to say what date day_since_1_jan_1970 is dealing with in the code above, it could be the 1st of April, or just as easily the 4th of January.

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Rules of Visibility
C is a block structured language, variables may only be used in functions declaring them
int { main(void) int float } void func(int v) { double d, e = 0.0, f; i++; g--; f = 0.0; } i = 5, j, k = 2; f = 2.8F, g;

compiler does not know about d

d = 3.7;

i and g not available here funcs f is used, not mains

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Slide No. 12

Rules of Visibility
C is a Block Structured Language Variables allocated within each function block may only be used within that function block. In fact C allows variables to be allocated wherever an opening brace is used, for instance: void { func(int v) double

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d, e = 0.0, f; if(e == 0.0) { int i, j = 5; i = j - 1; printf("i=%i, e=%lg\n", i, e); } d = 0.1; }

The two variables i and j are created only in the then part of the if statement. If the variable e didnt compare with zero, these variables would never be created. The variables are only available up until the } which closes the block they are allocated in. An attempt to access i or j on or after the line d = 0.1 would cause an error. The variables d, e and f are all available within this if block since the block lives inside the function block.

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Functions
C for Programmers

Call by Value
When a function is called the parameters are copied - call by value The function is unable to change any variable passed as a parameter In the next chapter pointers are discussed which allow call by reference We have already had a sneak preview of this mechanism with scanf

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Slide No. 13

Call by Value
C is a call by value language. Whenever a parameter is passed to a function a copy of the parameter is made. The function sees this copy and the original is protected from change.

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This can be a advantage and a disadvantage. If we wanted a get_current_date function, for instance, we would want three returns, the day, month and year, but functions may only return one value. Three functions get_current_day, get_current_month and get_current_year would be needed. Clearly this is inconvenient! In fact, C supports call by reference too. This is a mechanism by which the parameter becomes not a copy of the variable but its address. We have already seen this mechanism with scanf, which is able to alter its parameters easily. This is all tied up with the use of the mysterious & operator which will be explained in the next chapter.

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Call by Value - Example

#include <stdio.h> void change(int v); int { main(void) int var = 5; change(var); printf("main: var = %i\n", var); return 0; } void change(int v) { v *= 100; printf("change: v = %i\n", v); }

the function was not able to alter var

the function is able to alter v

change: v = 500 main: var = 5

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Slide No. 14

Call by Value - Example

This program shows an example of call by value. The main function allocates a variable var of type int and value 5. When this variable is passed to the change function a copy is made. This copy is picked up in the parameter v. v is then changed to 500 (to prove this, it is printed out). On leaving the change function the parameter v is thrown away. The variable var still contains 5.

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Functions
C for Programmers

C and the Stack

C uses a stack to store local variables (i.e. those declared in functions), it is also used when passing parameters to functions The calling function pushes the parameters The function is called The called function picks up the parameters The called function pushes its local variables When finished, the called function pops its local variables and jumps back to the calling function The calling function pops the parameters The return value is handled
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 15

C and the Stack

C is a stack-based language. Conceptually a stack is like a pile of books. New books must be added to the pile only at the top. If an attempt is made to add a new book to the middle of the pile, the whole thing will collapse. Similarly when books are removed from the pile, they must only be removed from the top since removing one from the middle or bottom of the pile would cause a collapse. Thus: a stack may only have a new item added to the top a stack may only have an existing item removed from the top

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You can imagine that while the books are in the pile, the spines of the books (i.e. the title and author) could be easily read. Thus there is no problem accessing items on the stack, it is only the addition and removal of items which is rigorously controlled. The list above shows the rules that C employs when calling functions. When a variable is passed as a parameter to a function a copy of the variable is placed on the stack. The function picks up this copy as the parameter. Since the function may only access the parameter (because the original variable was allocated in another function block) the original variable cannot be changed. If a function allocates any of its own variables, these too are placed on the stack. When the function finishes it is responsible for destroying these variables. When the function returns to the point of call, the calling function destroys the parameters that it copied onto the stack.

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Stack Example
#include <stdio.h> double power(int, int); int { main(void) int double x = 2; d;

d = power(x, 5); printf("%lf\n", d); return 0; } double power(int n, int p) { double result = n; while(--p > 0) result *= n; return result; }
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 16

32.0 2 5 ? 2

power: result power: n power: p main: d main: x

Stack Example
When the main function starts, it allocates storage for two variables x and d. These are placed on the bottom of the otherwise empty stack. When main calls the power function as in d = power(x, 5); 5 is copied onto the stack, then the value of x, which is 2. The power function is called. It immediately picks up two parameters n and p. The n happens to be where the 2 was copied, the p where the 5 was copied. The function requires its own local variable result which is placed on the stack above n and is initialized with the value 2.0. The loop executes 4 times, multiplying result by 2 each time. The value of p is now zero. The value stored in result by this stage is 32.0. This value is returned. Different compilers have different strategies for returning values from functions. Some compilers return values on the stack, others return values in registers. Some do both depending on wind direction and phase of the moon. Let us say here that the return value is copied into a handy register. The return keyword causes the power function to finish. Before it can truly finish, however, it is responsible for the destruction of the variable result which it created. This is removed (popped) from the stack. On return to the main function, the two parameters n and p are destroyed. The return value, saved in a handy register is transferred into the variable d (which is then printed on the next line). The return 0 causes main to finish. Now 0 is stored in a handy register, ready for the operating system to pick it up. Before things can truly finish, main must destroy its own variables x and d.

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Functions
C for Programmers

Storage
C stores local variables on the stack Global variables may be declared. These are not stack based, but are placed in the data segment Special keywords exist to specify where local variables are stored: auto - place on the stack (default) static - place in the data segment register - place in a CPU register Data may also be placed on the heap, this will be discussed in a later chapter

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Slide No. 17

Storage
When a program is running in memory it consists of a number of different parts: Code Segment This is where all the code lives, main, printf, scanf etc. etc. This segment is definitely read only (otherwise you could write self-modifying code!).

Stack

Data Segment

Heap

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This is where all the local variables are stored. We have seen how it becomes deeper as functions are called and shallower as those functions return. The stack alters size continuously during the execution of a program and is definitely NOT read only. This is a fixed sized area of the program where global variables are stored. Since global variables in a program are always there (not like local variables which are created and destroyed) there are always a fixed number of fixed sized variables thus the data segment is fixed size.

The last and strangest part of the executing program, the heap, can vary in size during execution. Its size is controlled by calls to the four dynamic memory allocation routines that C defines: malloc, calloc, realloc and free. The heap, and these routines, are discussed later in the course. Local variables which have been seen thus far have been stack based. Global variables may also be created (though we have not yet seen how this is done). Mixed in with locals and globals these notes have also hinted at the occasional use of registers. In fact keywords exist in C which allow us to control where local variables are placed - on the stack (which they are by default), in the data segment along with the global variables, or in registers.

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auto
Local variables are automatically allocated on entry into, and automatically deallocated on exit from, a function These variables are therefore called automatic Initial value: random Initialisation: recommended

int table(void) { int lines = 13; auto int columns;

auto keyword redundant

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Slide No. 18

auto
Stack Variables are Automatic To be honest, Cs auto keyword is a complete waste of space. Local variables are, by default, placed on the stack. When a function starts, stack storage is allocated. When the function ends, the stack storage is reclaimed. Since this happens totally automatically, stack based variables are called automatic variables.

Stack Variables are Initially Random

Performance

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int columns and auto int columns are exactly identical. In other words the auto keyword does nothing, it makes the automatic variable automatic (which it is anyway). An important thing to understand about automatic variables is although the compiler is happy to allocate storage from the stack it will NOT initialize the storage (unless explicitly instructed to do so). Thus automatic variables initially contain whatever that piece of stack last contained. You may see a quarter of a double, half of a return address, literally anything. Certainly whatever it is will make little sense. The upshot is that if you need a value in an automatic variable (including zero) it is vital to put that value in there by assignment. It is possible to imagine a scenario where a function is called, say one thousand times. The function allocates one stack based variable. Thus one thousand times the variable must be created, one thousand times the variable must be destroyed. If you are worried about the last nanosecond of performance, that may be something you might want to worry about.

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Functions
C for Programmers

static
The static keyword instructs the compiler to place a variable into the data segment The data segment is permanent (static) A value left in a static in one call to a function will still be there at the next call Initial value: 0 Initialisation: unnecessary if you like zeros
int { running_total(void) static int rows++; rows;

permanently allocated, but local to this function

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Slide No. 19

static
static Variables are Permanent By default, a variable is stack based, random and continually goes through an automatic creation and destruction process whenever the function declaring it is called. Adding static into a variable declaration causes the variable to be stored in the data segment. This is the same part of the program where the global variables are stored. Thus the variable is permanently allocated. This means the first time running_total is called, the storage for the variable rows has already been allocated. It has also already been initialized (to zero). If a value of 1 is left in the variable and the function returns, the next time the function is called the 1 will be seen. If 2 is left in the variable, the next time the 2 will be seen, etc. Since there is no creation and destruction a function containing one static variable should execute faster than one having to allocate and deallocate a stack based one. Although the variable is permanently allocated, its scope is local. The rows variable cannot be seen outside the running_total function. It is perfectly possible to have two static variables of the same name within two different functions: int func1(void) { static int i = 30; i++; int func2(void) { static int i = -30; i--;

static Variables are Initialized

static Variables Have Local Scope

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} }

The variable i in the function func1 will steadily increase every time the function is called. The variable i in the function func2 will steadily decrease. These two variables are permanent, separate and inaccessible by the other function.

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register
The register keyword tells the compiler to place a variable into a CPU register (you cannot specify which) If a register is unavailable the request will be ignored Largely redundant with optimising compilers Initial value: random Initialisation: recommended
void speedy_function(void) { register int i; for(i = 0; i < 10000; i++)

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Slide No. 20

register
The register keyword requests a variable be placed in a CPU register. The compiler is under no obligation to satisfy this request. The keyword goes back to K&R C, when there were no optimizers. Thus various optimization features were added to the language itself. If a register is available, it will be allocated. However, C will not clear it out, thus it will contain whatever value happened to be in there previously.

register Variables are Initially Random Slowing Code Down

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Optimizers for C have now been written and these are best left to decide which variables should be placed in registers. In fact is it possible to imagine a scenario where code actually runs slower as a result of the use of this keyword. Imagine the best strategy for optimizing a function is to place the first declared variable i into a CPU register. This is done for the first 10 lines of the function, then the variable j becomes the one most frequently used and thus i is swapped out of the register and j swapped in. The programmer tries to optimize and places i into a register. If only one register is available and the optimizer feels obliged to satisfy the request the second part of the function will run more slowly (since j needs to be placed in a register, but cannot). The optimizer is almost certainly better at making these decisions (unless you have written the optimizer and you know how it works) and should be left to its own devices.

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Functions
C for Programmers

Global Variables
Global variables are created by placing the declaration outside all functions They are placed in the data segment Initial value: 0 Initialisation: unnecessary if you like zeros
#include <stdio.h> double d;

int main(void) { int i; return 0; }

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variable d is global and available to all functions defined below it

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Slide No. 21

Global Variables
You should be aware that many programming standards for C ban the use of global variables. Since access to a global variable is universal and cannot be controlled or restricted it becomes difficult to keep track of who is modifying it and why. Nonetheless global variables may be easily created, by placing the variable declaration outside any function. This places the variable in the data segment (along with all the static local variables) where it is permanently allocated throughout the execution of the program. Just as with static local variables, initialization to zero is performed by the operating system when the program is first loaded into memory.

Global Variables are Initialized

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Review
Writing and calling functions The need for function prototypes Visibility C is call by value Local variables are stack based, this can be changed with the static and register keywords Global variables may be created, they are stored in the data segment

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Slide No. 22

Review Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. Which two characters help the compiler determine the difference between the function prototype and the function header? What is automatic about an automatic variable? What is the initial value of a register variable? What are the names of the four parts of an executing program?

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Functions - Exercises
C for Programmers

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Functions Practical Exercises

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Functions - Exercises
C for Programmers

Directory:

FUNCS

1. By now you have probably experienced problems with scanf insofar as when an invalid character is typed things go drastically wrong. In GETVAL.C write and test two functions: double int get_double(void); get_int(void);

which loop, prompting the user, until a valid double/valid integer are entered.

2. Copy POW.C from the FLOW directory. Turn your power calculation into a function with the following prototype: long double power(double first, int second);

Use your get_double and get_int functions from part 1 to read the double and integer from the user.

3. Copy CIRC.C from the FLOW directory. Write functions with the following prototypes: double double double char volume(double radius, double height); area(double radius); circumf(double radius); get_option(void);

Use the get_double function written in part 1 to read the radius (and height if necessary). The get_option function should accept only a, A, c, C, v, V, q or Q where the lowercase letters are the same as their uppercase equivalents. If you #include <ctype.h>, you will be able to use the tolower function which converts uppercase letters to their lowercase equivalent. This should make things a little easier. Look up tolower in the help.

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Functions Solutions

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Functions - Solutions
C for Programmers

1. In GETVAL.C write and test two functions: double int get_double(void); get_int(void);

which loop, prompting the user, until a valid double/valid integer are entered. #include <stdio.h> int get_int(void); double get_double(void); int { main(void) int i; double

d;

printf("type an integer "); i = get_int(); printf("the integer was %i\n", i); printf("type an double "); d = get_double(); printf("the double was %lg\n", d); return 0; } int { get_int(void)

double get_double(void) { double result;

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int result; printf("> "); while(scanf("%i", &result) != 1) { while(getchar() != '\n') ; printf("> "); } return result; printf("> "); while(scanf("%lf", &result) != 1) { while(getchar() != '\n') ; printf("> "); } return result;

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2. Copy POW.C from the FLOW directory. Turn your power calculation into a function. Use your get_double and get_int functions from part 1. In the function power the parameter may be treated destructively since call by value is used, and altering the parameter will have no effect on the main program. #include <stdio.h> int double long double int { get_int(); get_double(); power(double, int);

main(void) int p = 0; double n = 0.0; printf("enter the number "); n = get_double(); printf("enter the power "); p = get_int(); printf("%.3lf to the power of %d is %.9Lf\n", n, p, power(n, p)); return 0;

} long double power(double n, int p) { long double answer = n; for(--p; p > 0; p--) answer *= n; return answer;

} int {

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get_int(void) int result; printf("> "); while(scanf("%i", &result) != 1) { while(getchar() != '\n') ; printf("> "); } return result;

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Functions - Solutions
C for Programmers

double get_double(void) { double result; printf("> "); while(scanf("%lf", &result) != 1) { while(getchar() != '\n') ; printf("> "); } return result; }

3. Copy CIRC.C from the FLOW directory. Write functions with the following prototypes.... Use the get_double function written in part 1 to read the radius (and height if necessary). The get_option function should accept only a, A, c, C, v, V, q or Q where the lowercase letters are the same as their uppercase equivalents. Using tolower should make things a little easier. The version of get_double used here differs slightly from previous ones. Previously, if a double was entered correctly the input buffer was not emptied. This causes scanf(%c) in the get_option function to read the newline left behind in the input buffer (getchar would do exactly the same). Thus whatever the user types is ignored. This version always flushes the input buffer, regardless of whether the double was successfully read. #include <stdio.h> #include <ctype.h> double double double double char

const double

int main(void) { int ch; int still_going = 1; double radius = 0.0; double height = 0.0; while(still_going) {

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get_double(void); area(double radius); circumf(double radius); volume(double radius, double height); get_option(void); pi = 3.1415926353890; ch = get_option(); if(ch == 'a' || ch == 'c' || ch == 'v') { printf("enter the radius "); radius = get_double(); } if(ch == 'v') { printf("enter the height "); height = get_double(); }

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if(ch == 'a') printf("Area of circle with radius %.3lf is %.12lf\n", radius, area(radius)); else if(ch == 'c') printf("Circumference of circle with radius " "%.3lf is %.12lf\n", radius, circumf(radius)); else if(ch == 'v') printf("Volume of cylinder radius %.3lf, height %.3lf " "is %.12lf\n", radius, height, volume(radius, height)); else if(ch == 'q') still_going = 0; else printf("Unknown option '%c'\n\n", ch); } return 0; } double get_double(void) { int got; double result; do { printf("> "); got = scanf("%lf", &result); while(getchar() != '\n') ; } while(got != 1); return result; }

double area(double radius) { return pi * radius * radius; }

double circumf(double radius) { return 2.0 * pi * radius; }

double volume(double radius, double height) { return area(radius) * height; }

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Functions - Solutions
C for Programmers

char { char do {

get_option(void) ch;

printf( "Area A\n" "Circumference C\n" "Volume V\n" "Quit Q\n\n" "Please choose "); scanf("%c", &ch); ch = tolower(ch); while(getchar() != '\n') ; } while(ch != 'a' && ch != 'c' && ch != 'v' && ch != 'q'); return ch; }

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Pointers

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C for Programmers

Pointers
Declaring pointers The & operator The * operator Initialising pointers Type mismatches Call by reference Pointers to pointers

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Slide No. 1

Pointers
This chapter deals with the concepts and some of the many uses of pointers in the C language.

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Pointers - Why?
Using pointers allows us to:
Achieve call by reference (i.e. write functions which change their parameters) Handle arrays efficiently Handle structures (records) efficiently Create linked lists, trees, graphs etc. Put data onto the heap Create tables of functions for handling Windows events, signals etc.

Already been using pointers with scanf Care must be taken when using pointers since there are no safety features

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Slide No. 2

Pointers - Why?
As C is such a low level language it is difficult to do anything without pointers. We have already seen that it is impossible to write a function which alters any of its parameters. The next two chapters, dealing with arrays and dealing with structures, would be very difficult indeed without pointers. Pointers can also enable the writing of linked lists and other such data structures (we look into linked lists at the end of the structures chapter). Writing into the heap, which we will do towards the end of the course, would be impossible without pointers. The Standard Library, together with the Windows, Windows 95 and NT programming environments use pointers to functions quite extensively.

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One problem is that pointers have a bad reputation. They are supposed to be difficult to use and difficult to understand. This is, however, not the case, pointers are quite straightforward.

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C for Programmers

Declaring Pointers
Pointers are declared by using * Declare an integer:
int i;

Declare a pointer to an integer:

int *p;

There is some debate as to the best position of the *

int* p;

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Slide No. 3

Declaring Pointers
The first step is to know how to declare a pointer. This is done by using Cs multiply character * (which obviously doesnt perform a multiplication). The * is placed at some point between the keyword int and the variable name. Instead of creating an integer, a pointer to an integer is created. There has been, and continues to be, a long running debate amongst C programmers regarding the best position for the *. Should it be placed next to the type or next to the variable?

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Example Pointer Declarations

int long int float* char double* char* char* *pi; *p; pf; c, d, *pc; pd, e, f; start; end; /* pi is a pointer to an int */ /* p is a pointer to a long int */ /* pf is a pointer to a float */ /* c and d are a char pc is a pointer to char */ /* pd is pointer to a double e and f are double */ /* start is a pointer to a char */ /* end is a pointer to a char */

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Slide No. 4

Example Pointer Declarations

Pointers Have Different Types The first thing to notice about the examples above is that C has different kinds of pointer. It has pointers which point to ints and pointers which point to long ints. There are also pointers which point at floats and pointers to chars.

Positioning the *

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Notice that in: char c, d, *pc; double* pd, e, f;

This concept is rather strange to programmers with assembler backgrounds. In assembler there are just pointers. In C this is not possible, only pointers to certain types exist. This is so the compiler can keep track of how much valid data exists on the end of a pointer. For instance, when looking down the pointer start only 1 byte would be valid, but looking down the pointer pd 8 bytes would be valid and the data would be expected to be in IEEE format.

it seems reasonable that c and d are of type char, and pc is of type pointer to char. However it may seem less reasonable that in:

the type of e and f is double and NOT pointer to double. This illustrates the case for placing the * next to the variable and not next to the type. The last two examples show how supporters of the place the * next to the type school of thought would declare two pointers. One is declared on each line.

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C for Programmers

The & Operator

The &, address of operator, generates the address of a variable All variables have addresses except register variables
char g = 'z'; int { main(void) char char p = &c; p = &g; return 0; } c = 'a'; *p; p 0x1132 0x1132 p 0x91A2 0x91A2 g 'z' c 'a'

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Slide No. 5

The & Operator

The & operator, which we have been using all along with scanf, generates the address of a variable. You can take the address of any variable which is stack based or data segment based. In the example above the variable c is stack based. Because the variable g is global, it is placed in the data segment. It is not possible to take the address of any register variable, because CPU registers do not have addresses. Even if the request was ignored by the compiler, and the variable is stack based anyway, its address still cannot be taken. You see from the program above that pointers are really just numbers, although we cannot say or rely upon the number of bits required to hold the number (there will be as many bits as required by the hardware). The variable p contains not a character, but the address of a character. Firstly it contains the address of c, then it contains the address of g. The pointer p may only point to one variable at a time and when pointing to c it is not pointing anywhere else. By tradition addresses are written in hexadecimal notation. This helps to distinguish them from ordinary values. The value of a pointer may be seen by calling printf with the %p format specifier.

Pointers Are Really Just Numbers

Printing Pointers

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Rules
Pointers may only point to variables of the same type as the pointer has been declared to point to A pointer to an int may only point to an int
not to char, short int or long int, certainly not to float, double or long double

A pointer to a double may only point to a double

not to float or long double, certainly not to char or any of the integers

Etc......
int long *p; large = 27L; /* p is a pointer to an int */ /* large is a long int, initialised with 27 */ /* ERROR */
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p = &large;
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Rules
Assigning Addresses The compiler is very firm with regard to the rule that a pointer can only point at the type it is declared to point to. Let us imagine a machine where an int and a short int are the same size, (presumably 2 bytes). It would seem safe to assume that if we declared a pointer to an int the compiler would allow us to point it at an int and a short int with impunity. This is definitely not the case. The compiler disallows such behavior because of the possibility that the next machine the code is ported to has a 2 byte short int and a 4 byte int.

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How about the case where we are guaranteed two things will be the same size? Can a pointer to an int be used to point to an unsigned int? Again the answer is no. Here the compiler would disallow the behavior because using the unsigned int directly and in an expression versus the value at the end of the pointer (which would be expected to be int) could give very different results!

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C for Programmers

The * Operator
The *, points to operator, finds the value at the end of a pointer
#include <stdio.h> char g = 'z'; int { main(void) char char c = 'a'; *p; p 0x91A2 0x91A2 p 0x1132 0x1132 g 'z' c 'a'

p = &c; printf("%c\n", *p); p = &g; printf("%c\n", *p); return 0; }

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print what p points to

a z

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Slide No. 7

The * Operator
The * operator is in a sense the opposite of the & operator. & generates the address of a variable, the * uses the address that is stored in a variable and finds what is at that location in memory. Thus, in the example above, the pointer p is set to point to the variable c. The variable p contains the number 0x1132 (thats 4402 in case youre interested). *p causes the program to find what is stored at location 0x1132 in memory. Sure enough stored in location 0x1132 is the value 97. This 97 is converted by %c format specifier and a is printed. When the pointer is set to point to g, the pointer contains 0x91A2 (that is 37282 in decimal). Now the pointer points to the other end of memory into the data segment. Again when *p is used, the machine finds out what is stored in location 0x91A2 and finds 122. This is converted by the %c format specifier, printing z.

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Writing Down Pointers

It is not only possible to read the values at the end of a pointer as with:
char c = 'a'; char *p; p = &c; printf("%c\n", *p);

It is possible to write over the value at the end of a pointer:

p char c = 'a'; char *p; p = &c; *p = 'b'; printf("%c\n", *p);
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c 'a' 'b' 0x1132

0x1132

make what p points to equal to b

Slide No. 8

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Writing Down Pointers

We have just seen an example of reading the value at the end of a pointer. But it is possible not only to read a value, but to write over and thus change it. This is done in a very natural way, we change variables by using the assignment operator, =. Similarly the value at the end of a pointer may be changed by placing *pointer (where pointer is the variable containing the address) on the left hand side of an assignment. In the example above: *p = 'b';

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Now youre probably looking at this and thinking, why do it that way, since c = 'b';

literally says, take the value of 98 and write it into wherever p points (in other words write into memory location 0x1132, or the variable c).

would achieve the same result and be a lot easier to understand. Consider that the variables p and c may live in different blocks and you start to see how a function could alter a parameter passed down to it.

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C for Programmers

Initialisation Warning!
The following code contains a horrible error:
p ? 0x1212 i 13

#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) short short i = 13; *p;

*p = 23; printf("%hi\n", *p); return 0; }

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Slide No. 9

Initialization Warning!
Always Initialize Pointers The code above contains an all too common example of a pointer bug. The user presumably expects the statement: *p = 23;

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p = &i; *p = 23; General Protection Fault

to overwrite the variable i. If this is what is desired it would help if the pointer p were first set to point to i. This could be easily done by the single statement:

which is so sadly missing from this program. p is an automatic variable, stack based and initialized with a random value. All automatic variables are initialized with random values, pointers are no exception. Thus when the statement:

is executed we take 23 and randomly overwrite the two bytes of memory whose address appears in p. These two random bytes are very unlikely to be the variable i, although it is theoretically possible. We could write anywhere in the program. Writing into the code segment would cause us to crash immediately (because the code segment is read only). Writing into the data segment, the stack or the heap would work because we are allowed to write there (though some machines make parts of the data segment read only).

There is also a possibility that this random address lies outside the bounds of our program. If this is the case and we are running under a protect mode operating system (like Unix and NT) our program will be killed before it does any real damage. If not (say we were running under MS DOS) we would corrupt not our own program, but another one running in memory. This could produce unexpected results in another program. Under Windows this error produces the famous GPF or General Protection Fault.

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Initialise Pointers!
Pointers are best initialised! A pointer may be declared and initialised in a single step
short short i = 13; *p = &i;

This does NOT mean make what p points to equal to the address of i It DOES mean declare p as a pointer to a short int, make p equal to the address of i
short short *p = &i; short
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*p = &i; *p = &i;
Slide No. 10

Initialize Pointers!
Hours of grief may be saved by ensuring that all pointers are initialized before use. Three extra characters stop the program on the previous page from destroying the machine and transforms it into a well behaved program. In the line: short *p = &i;

Understanding Initialization

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This is the case for placing the * next to the type, if we had written short* p = &i;

it is very important to understand that the * is not the find what is pointed to operator. Instead it ensures we do not declare a short int, but a pointer to a short int instead.

It would have been somewhat more obvious that we were declaring p to be a pointer to a short int and that we were initializing p to point to i.

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C for Programmers

NULL
A special invalid pointer value exists #defined in various header files, called NULL When assigned to a pointer, or when found in a pointer, it indicates the pointer is invalid
#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) short short i = 13; *p = NULL;

if(p == NULL) printf("the pointer is invalid!\n"); else printf("the pointer points to %hi\n", *p); return 0; }
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 11

NULL
We have already seen the concept of preprocessor constants, and how they are #defined into existence. A special define exists in the stdio.h header file (and a few other of the Standard headers just in case), called NULL. It is a special invalid value of a pointer. The value may be placed in any kind of pointer, regardless of whether it points to int, long, float or double. You shouldnt enquire too closely into what the value of NULL actually is. Mostly it is defined as zero, but you should never assume this. On some machines zero is a legal pointer and so NULL will be defined as something else. Never write code assuming NULL and zero are the same thing, otherwise it will be non portable.

NULL and Zero

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A World of Difference!
There is a great deal of difference between:
p int int int i = 10, j = 14; *p = &i; *q = &j; 0x15A0 0x15A0 q *p = *q; 0x15A4 0x15A4 j 14 i 10 14

and:
int int int i = 10, j = 14; *p = &i; *q = &j; p 0x15A0 0x15A4 q 0x15A4 0x15A4
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i 10 0x15A0 j 14

p = q;

A World of Difference!
What is Pointed to vs the Pointer Itself It is important to understand the difference between: *p = *q; p = q;

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and

In the first, *p = *q, what is pointed to by p is overwritten with what is pointed to by q. Since p points to i, and q points to j, i is overwritten by the value stored in j. Thus i becomes 14.

In the second statement, p = q there are no *s. Thus the value contained in p itself is overwritten by the value in q. The value in q is 0x15A4 (which is 5540 in decimal) which is written into p. If p and q contain the same address, 0x15A4, they must point to the same place in memory, i.e. the variable j.

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Pointers
C for Programmers

Fill in the Gaps

int { main(void) i int int int i = 10, j = 14, k; *p = &i; *q = &j; 0x2100 j 0x2104 k p = &k; *p = *q; p = q; *p = *q; return 0; } 0x1208 p 0x120B q 0x1210

*p += 1;

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Slide No. 13

Fill in the Gaps

Using the variables and addresses provided, complete the picture. Do not attach any significance to the addresses given to the variables, just treat them as random numbers.

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Type Mismatch
The compiler will not allow type mismatches when assigning to pointers, or to where pointers point
p 0x15A0 int int int i = 10, j = 14; *p = &i; *q = &j; 0x15A0 q 0x15A4 p = *q; *p = q; 0x15A4 j 14 i 10

cannot write 0x15A4 into i

cannot write 14 into p

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Slide No. 14

Type Mismatch
The compiler checks very carefully the syntactic correctness of the pointer code you write. It will make sure when you assign to a pointer, an address is assigned. Similarly if you assign to what is at the end of a pointer, the compiler will check you assign the pointed to type. There are some programming errors in the program above. The statement: p = *q;

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Alternatively the statement: *p = q;

would assign what is pointed to by q (i.e. 14), into p. Although this would seem to make sense (because p just contains a number anyway) the compiler will not allow it because the types are wrong. We are assigning an int into an int*. The valid pointer 0x15A0 (5536 in decimal) is corrupted with 14. There is no guarantee that there is an integer at address 14, or even that 14 is a valid address.

takes the value stored in q, 0x15A4 (5540 in decimal) and writes it into what p points to, i.e. the variable i. This might seem to make sense, since 5540 is a valid number. However the address in q may be a different size to what can be stored in i. There are no guarantees in C that pointers and integers are the same size.

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C for Programmers

Call by Value - Reminder

#include <stdio.h> void change(int v); int { main(void) int var = 5; change(var); printf("main: var = %i\n", var); return 0; } void change(int v) { v *= 100; printf("change: v = %i\n", v); }

the function was not able to alter var

the function is able to alter v

change: v = 500 main: var = 5

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Slide No. 15

Call by Value - Reminder

This is a reminder of the call by value program. The main function allocates a variable var of type int and value 5. When this variable is passed to the change function a copy is made. This copy is picked up in the parameter v. v is then changed to 500 (to prove this, it is printed out). On leaving the change function the parameter v is thrown away. The variable var still contains 5.

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Call by Reference
prototype forces us to pass a pointer #include <stdio.h> void change(int* p); int { main(void) int var = 5; change(&var); printf("main: var = %i\n", var); return 0; } change: p main: var 0x1120 5

0x1120 void change(int* p) 0x1124 { *p *= 100; printf("change: *p = %i\n", *p); } change: *p = 500 main: var = 500
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 16

Call by Reference
This program demonstrates call by reference in C. Notice the prototype which requires a single pointer to int to be passed as a parameter.

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change(&var); When the change function returns, var retains its value of 500.

When the change function is invoked, the address of var is passed across:

The variable p, declared as the parameter to function change, thus points to the variable var within main. This takes some thinking about since var is not directly accessible to main (because it is declared in another function block) however p is and so is wherever it points. By using the *p notation the change function writes down the pointer over var which is changed to 500.

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C for Programmers

Pointers to Pointers
C allows pointers to any type It is possible to declare a pointer to a pointer
#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) int int int i = 16; *p = &i; **pp; i 0x2320 p 0x2324 pp 0x2328
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 17

pp is a pointer to a pointer to an int

16

pp = &p; printf("%i\n", **pp); return 0; }

0x2320

0x2324

Pointers to Pointers
The declaration: int i; *p; declares i to be of type int: int

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int **pp; printf("%p", pp); would print 0x2324 whereas printf("%p", *pp); would print 0x2320 (what pp points to). printf("%i", **pp); would cause what 0x2320 points to to be printed, i.e. the value stored in location 0x2320 which is 16.

declares p to be of type pointer to int. One * means one pointer to. Thus in the declaration:

two *s must therefore declare pp to be of type a pointer to a pointer to int. Just as p must point to ints, so pp must point to pointers to int. This is indeed the case, since pp is made to point to p. *p causes 16 to be printed

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Review
int { main(void) int int int int i = 10, j = 7, k; *p = &i; *q = &j; *pp = &p; i j k

**pp += 1; *pp = &k; **pp = *q; i = *q***pp; i = *q/**pp; return 0; } /* headache? */; pp

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Slide No. 18

Review Questions
What values should be placed in the boxes?

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C for Programmers

Directory:

POINT

1. Work your way through the following code fragments. What would be printed? When you have decided, compile and run the program POINTEX.C to check your answers. You will find it helpful, especially with some of the later exercises, to draw boxes representing the variables and arrows representing the pointers. a) int int * i = -23; p = &i;

printf("*p = %i\n", *p); b) int int * i; p = &i;

printf("*p = %i\n", *p); c) int int * i = 48; p;

printf("*p = %i\n", *p); d) int int * int i = 10; p = &i; j;

j = ++*p; printf("j = %i\n", j); printf("i = %i\n", i); e) int int * int *

*p = *q; printf("i = %i, j = %i\n", i, j); printf("*p = %i, *q = %i\n", *p, *q); i = 10; j = 20;

p = q; printf("i = %i, j = %i\n", i, j); printf("*p = %i, *q = %i\n", *p, *q); f) int int * int * i = 10, j = 0; p = &i; q = &j;

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i = 10, j = 20; p = &i; q = &j;

p = q; printf("i = %i, j = %i\n", i, j); printf("*p = %i, *q = %i\n", *p, *q); *p = *q; printf("i = %i, j = %i\n", i, j); printf("*p = %i, *q = %i\n", *p, *q);

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g) float ten = 10.0F; float hundred = 100.0F; float * fp0 = &ten, * fp1 = &hundred; fp1 = fp0; fp0 = &hundred; *fp1 = *fp0; printf("ten/hundred = %f\n", ten/hundred); h) char a = 'b', b = 'c', c, d = 'e'; char *l = &c, *m = &b, *n, *o = &a; n = &b; *m = ++*o; m = n; *l = 'a'; printf("a = %c, b = %c, c = %c, d = %c\n", a, b, c, d); printf("*l = %c, *m = %c, *n = %c, *o = %c\n", *l, *m, *n, *o); i) int int * int ** i = 2, j = 3, k; p = &i, *q = &j; r;

r = &p; printf("**r k = *p**q; printf("k = *p = *q; printf("**r k = **r**q; printf("k = k = *p/ *q; printf("k =

= %i\n", **r); %i\n", k); = %i\n", **r); %i\n", k); %i\n", k);

2. Open the file SWAP.C. You will see the program reads two integers, then calls the swap function to swap them. The program doesnt work because it uses call by value. Alter the function to use call by reference and confirm it works.

3. In the file BIGGEST.C two functions are called:

and

The first function is passed pointers to two integers. The function should return whichever pointer points to the larger integer. The second function should return whichever pointer points to the largest of the three integers whose addresses are provided.

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int *biggest_of_two(int*, int*); int *biggest_of_three(int*, int*, int*); void div_rem(int a, int b, int *divides, int *remains);

4. Open the file DIV.C. You will see the program reads two integers. Then a function with the following prototype is called:

This function is passed the two integers. It divides them (using integer division), and writes the answer over wherever divides points. Then it finds the remainder and writes it into where remains points. Thus for 20 and 3, 20 divided by 3 is 6, remainder 2. Implement the div_rem function.

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5. The program in CHOP.C reads a double before calling the chop function, which has the following prototype: void chop(double d, long *whole_part, double *fraction_part); This function chops the double into two parts, the whole part and the fraction. So 365.25 would be chopped into 365 and .25. Implement and test the function.

6. The floor function returns, as a double, the whole part of its parameter (the fractional part is truncated). By checking this returned value against the maximum value of a long (found in limits.h) print an error message if the chop function would overflow the long whose address is passed.

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Pointers Solutions

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C for Programmers

2. Open the file SWAP.C. You will see the program reads two integers, then calls the function swap to swap them. Alter the function to use call by reference and confirm it works. #include <stdio.h> void swap(int*, int*); int { main(void) int int a = 100; b = -5;

printf("the initial value of a is %i\n", a); printf("the initial value of b is %i\n", b); swap(&a, &b); printf("after swap, the value of a is %i\n", a); printf("and the value of b is %i\n", b); return 0; } void swap(int *i, int *j) { int temp = *i; *i = *j; *j = temp; }

3. In the file BIGGEST.C implement the two functions called:

and

The biggest_of_three function could have been implemented with a complex series of if/then/else constructs, however since the biggest_of_two function was already implemented, it seemed reasonable to get it to do most of the work. #include <stdio.h>

int* biggest_of_two(int*, int*); int* biggest_of_three(int*, int*, int*);

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int *biggest_of_two(int*, int*); int *biggest_of_three(int*, int*, int*);

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int {

main(void) int int int int a = 100; b = -5; c = 200; *p;

p = biggest_of_two(&a, &b); printf("the biggest of %i and %i is %i\n", a, b, *p); p = biggest_of_three(&a, &b, &c); printf("the biggest of %i %i and %i is %i\n", a, b, c, *p); return 0; } int* biggest_of_two(int * p, int * q) { return (*p > *q) ? p : q; } int* biggest_of_three(int * p, int * q, int * r) { int *first = biggest_of_two(p, q); int *second = biggest_of_two(q, r); return biggest_of_two(first, second); }

4. In DIV.C implement

#include <stdio.h>

void div_rem(int a, int b, int *divides, int *remains); int { main(void) int int int

printf("enter two integers "); scanf("%i %i", &a, &b); div_rem(a, b, &div, &rem);

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void div_rem(int a, int b, int *divides, int *remains); a, b; div = 0; rem = 0;

printf("%i divided by %i = %i " "remainder %i\n", a, b, div, rem); return 0; }

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void div_rem(int a, int b, int *divides, int *remains) { *divides = a / b; *remains = a % b; }

5. The program in CHOP.C reads a double before calling the chop function, which has the following prototype: void chop(double d, long *whole_part, double *fraction_part); 6. By checking the floor function returned value against the maximum value of a long print an error message if the chop function would overflow the long whose address is passed. One of the most important things in the following program is to include math.h. Without this header file, the compiler assumes floor returns an integer. Thus the truncated double actually returned is corrupted. Since it is the cornerstone of all calculations in chop, it is important this value be intact. Use of the floor function is important, since if the user types 32767.9 and the maximum value of a long were 32767, testing the double directly against LONG_MAX would cause our overflow message to appear, despite the whole value being able to fit into a long int. #include <stdio.h> #include <math.h> #include <limits.h> void chop(double d, long *whole_part, double *fraction_part); int { main(void) double long double

printf("enter a double "); scanf("%lf", &d);

chop(d, &whole, &fraction);

printf("%lf chopped is %ld and %.5lg\n", d, whole, fraction); return 0; }

void chop(double d, long *whole_part, double *fraction_part) { double truncated = floor(d);

if(truncated > LONG_MAX) { printf("assigning %.0lf to a long int would overflow " "(maximum %ld)\n", truncated, LONG_MAX); *whole_part = LONG_MAX; } else *whole_part = (long)truncated; *fraction_part = d - truncated; }

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d = 0.0; whole = 0; fraction = 0.0;

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Arrays in C

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Arrays in C
C for Programmers

Arrays in C
Declaring arrays Accessing elements Passing arrays into functions Using pointers to access arrays Strings The null terminator

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Slide No. 1

Arrays in C
This chapter discusses all aspects of arrays in C.

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Declaring Arrays
An array is a collection of data items (called elements) all of the same type It is declared using a type, a variable name and a CONSTANT placed in square brackets C always allocates the array in a single block of memory The size of the array, once declared, is fixed forever - there is no equivalent of, for instance, the redim command in BASIC

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Slide No. 2

Declaring Arrays
An important fact to understand about arrays is that they consist of the same type all the way through. For instance, an array of 10 int is a group of 10 integers all bunched together. The array doesnt change type half way through so there are 5 int and 5 float, or 1 int, 1 float followed by 1 int and 1 float five times. Data structures like these could be created in C, but an array isnt the way to do it. Thus to create an array we merely need a type for the elements and a count. For instance: long a[5]; creates an array called a which consists of 5 long ints. It is a rule of C that the storage for an array is physically contiguous in memory. Thus wherever, say, the second element sits in memory, the third element will be adjacent to it, the fourth next to that and so on.

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C for Programmers

Examples
#define int long int double long double SIZE a[5]; big[100]; d[100]; v[SIZE]; 10 /* /* /* /* a is an array of 5 ints */ big is 400 bytes! */ but d is 800 bytes! */ 10 long doubles, 100 bytes */ all five elements initialised

int double short long

a[5] d[100] primes[] n[50]

= = = =

{ { { {

10, 20, 30, 40, 50 }; 1.5, 2.7 }; 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 }; 0 }; compiler fixes size at 7 elements

int const int int double short

i = 7; c = 5; a[i]; d[c]; primes[];

first two elements initialised, remaining ones set to zero

quickest way of setting ALL elements to zero

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Slide No. 3

Examples
Above are examples of declaring and initializing arrays. Notice that C can support arrays of any type, including structures (which will be covered the next chapter), except void (which isnt a type so much as the absence of a type). You will notice that a constant must appear within the brackets so: long int a[10];

Initializing Arrays

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is fine, as is: But: #define SIZE 10 long int a[SIZE]; int size = 10; long int a[size]; and const int a_size = 10; long int a[a_size];

will NOT compile. The last is rather curious since a_size is obviously constant, however, the compiler will not accept it. Another thing to point out is that the number provided must be an integral type, int a[5.3] is obviously nonsense.

1. The number of initializing values is exactly the same as the number of elements in the array. In this case the values are assigned one to one, e.g. int a[5] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 }; 2. The number of initializing values is less than the number of elements in the array. Here the values are assigned one to one until they run out. The remaining array elements are initialized to zero, e.g. int a[5] = { 1, 2 }; 3. The number of elements in the array has not been specified, but a number of initializing values has. Here the compiler fixes the size of the array to the number of initializing values and they are assigned one to one, e.g. int a[] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };

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Accessing Elements
The elements are accessed via an integer which ranges from 0..size-1 There is no bounds checking
int main(void) { int a[6]; int i = 7; a[0] = 59; a[5] = -10; a[i/2] = 2; a[6] = 0; a[-1] = 5; return 0; }
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a 0 1 2 3 4 5

Accessing Elements
Numbering Starts at Zero THE most important thing to remember about arrays in C is the scheme by which the elements are numbered. The FIRST element in the array is element number ZERO, the second element is number one and so on. The LAST element in the array a above is element number FIVE, i.e. the total number of elements less one.

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This scheme, together with the fact that there is no bounds checking in C accounts for a great deal of errors where array bounds accessing is concerned. It is all too easy to write a[6] = 0 and index one beyond the end of the array. In this case whatever variable were located in the piece of memory (maybe the variable i) would be corrupted. Notice that the array access a[i/2] is fine, since i is an integer and thus i/2 causes integer division.

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C for Programmers

Array Names
There is a special and unusual property of array names in C The name of an array is a pointer to the start of the array, i.e. the zeroth element, thus a == &a[0]
int int float float p = a; fp = f; a[10]; *p; f[5] *fp; /* p = &a[0] */ p fp a f

/* fp = &f[0] */

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Slide No. 5

Array Names
A Pointer to the Start Cannot Assign to an Array In C, array names have a rather unusual property. The compiler treats the name of an array as an address which may be used to initialize a pointer without error. The address is that of the first element (i.e. the element with index 0). Note that the address is a constant. If you are wondering what would happen with the following: int int a[10]; b[10];

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a = b;

the answer is that youd get a compiler error. The address that a yields is a constant and thus it cannot be assigned to. This makes sense. If it were possible to assign to the name of an array, the compiler might forget the address at which the array lived in memory.

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Passing Arrays to Functions

When an array is passed to a function a pointer to the zeroth element is passed across The function may alter any element The corresponding parameter may be declared as a pointer, or by using the following special syntax

int add_elements(int a[], int size) {

int add_elements(int *p, int size) {

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Slide No. 6

Passing Arrays to Functions

If we declare an array: int a[60];

Bounds Checking Within Functions

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and then pass this array to a function: function(a); int * a;

the compiler treats the name of the array a in exactly the same way it did before, i.e. as a pointer to the zeroth element of the array. This means that a pointer is passed to the function, i.e. the array is NOT passed by value. One problem with this strategy is that there is no way for the function to know how many elements are in the array (all the function gets is a pointer to one integer, this could be one lone integer or there could be one hundred other integers immediately after it). This accounts for the second parameter in the two versions of the add_elements function above. This parameter must be provided by us as the valid number of elements in the array. Note that there is some special syntax which makes the parameter a pointer. This is: int a[] This is one of very few places this syntax may be used. Try to use it to declare an array and the compiler will complain because it cannot determine how much storage to allocate for the array. All it is doing here is the same as:

Since pointers are being used here and we can write down pointers, any element of the array may be changed.

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Example
primes
#include <stdio.h> void int { sum(long [], int); main(void)

1 2 3

long

primes[6] = { 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 };

5 7 11 a sz 6

sum(primes, 6); printf("%li\n", primes[0]); return 0; } void { sum(long a[], int sz) int long i; total = 0;

for(i = 0; i < sz; i++) total += a[i]; a[0] = total; }

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provides bounds checking

the total is written over element zero

sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 7

Example
A Pointer is Passed In the example above the array primes is passed down to the function sum by way of a pointer. a is initialized to point to primes[0], which contains the value 1.

Bounds Checking

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for(i = 0; i < sz; i++)

Within the function the array access a[i] is quite valid. When i is zero, a[0] gives access to the value 1. When i is one, a[1] gives access to the value 2 and so on. Think of i as an offset of the number of long ints beyond where a points. The second parameter, sz is 6 and provides bounds checking. You will see the for loop:

is ideally suited for accessing the array elements. a[0] gives access to the first element, containing 1. The last element to be accessed will be a[5] (because i being equal to 6 causes the loop to exit) which contains the 11. Notice that because call by reference is used, the sum function is able to alter any element of the array. In this example, element a[0], in other words prime[0] is altered to contain the sum.

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Using Pointers
Pointers may be used to access array elements rather than using constructs involving [ ] Pointers in C are automatically scaled by the size of the object pointed to when involved in arithmetic
long v[6] = { 1,2, 3,4,5,6 }; long *p; p = v; printf("%ld\n", *p); p++; printf("%ld\n", *p); 1 p += 4; printf("%ld\n", *p); 2 6
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p += 4 p++ p 1000 v 1 2 3 4 5 6 1000 1016 1008 1012 1020 1004

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Slide No. 8

Using Pointers
Pointers in C are ideally suited for accessing the elements of an array. We have already seen how the name of an array acts like a pointer.

Addition With Pointers

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In the example above the array v starts at address 1000 in memory, i.e. the address of element zero is 1000. Since the elements are long ints and hence 4 bytes in size, the next element, v[1] sits at address 1004 in memory.

If a pointer to a long int is initialised with v it will contain 1000. The printf prints what is pointed to by p, i.e. 1. The most important thing to realize is that on the next line p++ the value contained by p does NOT become 1001. The compiler, realizing that p is a pointer to a long int, and knowing that longs are 4 bytes in size makes the value 1004. Addition to pointers is scaled by the size of the object pointed to. printf now prints 2 at the end of the pointer 1004. With the next statement p += 4, the 4 is scaled by 4, thus 16 is added to the pointer. 1004 + 16 = 1020. This is the address of the sixth element, v[5]. Now the printf prints 6.

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C for Programmers

Pointers Go Backwards Too

Scaling not only happens when addition is done, it happens with subtraction too

long v[6] = { 1,2, 3,4,5,6 }; long *p; p = v + 5; printf("%ld\n", *p); p--; printf("%ld\n", *p); p -= 2; printf("%ld\n", *p); p-=2 p 1020 6 5 3 v 1 2 3 4 5 6 1016 1000 1008 1004 1012 1020 p--

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Slide No. 9

Pointers Go Backwards Too

This scaling of pointers by the size of the object pointed to not only occurs with addition. Whenever subtraction is done on a pointer, the scaling occurs too.

Subtraction From Pointers

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So, in the assignment: p = v + 5; When the statement: p--; With the statement: p -= 2;

as we have already seen, v gives rise to the address 1000 and the 5 is scaled by the size of a long int, 4 bytes to give 1000 + 5 * 4, i.e. 1020. Thus the pointer p points to the last of the long integers within the array, element v[5], containing 6.

is executed the pointer does NOT become 1019. Instead the compiler subtracts one times the size of a long int. Thus 4 bytes are subtracted and the pointer goes from 1020 to 1016. Thus the pointer now points to the element v[4] containing 5.

the 2 is scaled by 4, giving 8. 1016 - 8 gives 1008, this being the address of the element v[2].

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Pointers May be Subtracted

When two pointers into the same array are subtracted C scales again, giving the number of array elements separating them
double d[7] = { 1.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.4, 5.5, 6.6, 7.7 }; double *p1; double *p2; p1 = d + 1; p2 = d + 6; printf("%i\n", p2 - p1); 5

p1 2008

p2 2048

d 1.1 2.2 3.3 4.4 5.5 6.6 7.7

2000 2016 2032 2048 2008 2024 2040

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Slide No. 10

Pointers May be Subtracted

We have discussed adding and subtracting integers from pointers. When this occurs the compiler scales the integer by the size of the thing pointed to and adds or subtracts the scaled amount. When two pointers are subtracted (note: two pointers may NOT be added) the compiler scales the distance between them. In the example above we are using an array of double, each double being 8 bytes in size. If the address of the first is 2000, the address of the second is 2008, the third is 2016 etc. In the statement: p1 = d + 1;

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d yields the address 2000, 1 is scaled by 8 giving 2000 + 8, i.e. 2008. In: p2 = d + 6; d yields the address 2000, 6 is scaled by 8 giving 2000 + 48, i.e. 2048. When these two pointers are subtracted in: p2 - p1 p1 - p2

the apparent answer is 2048 - 2008 = 40. However, the compiler scales the 40 by the size of the object pointed to. Since these are pointers to double, it scales by 8 bytes, thus 40 / 8 = 5; Notice there are some rules here. The first pointer p2 must point higher into memory than the second pointer p1. If the subtraction had been written as

the result would not have been meaningful. Also, the two pointers must point into the same array. If you subtract two pointers into different arrays this only gives information on where in memory the compiler has placed the arrays.

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Using Pointers - Example

#include <stdio.h> long sum(long*, int); primes int { main(void) long primes[6] = { 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 }; printf("%li\n", sum(primes, 6)); 5 return 0; } long sum(long *p, int sz) { long *end = p + sz; long total = 0; while(p < end) total += *p++; return total; }
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 11

1 2 3

1000 1004 1008 1012 1016 1020 1024

7 11

p 1000 end 1024

Using Pointers - Example

Above is an example of using pointers to handle an array. In the statement: sum(primes, 6)

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The initialization: long *end = p + sz; while(p < end) and NOT: while(p <= end) total += *p++; The statement: is no longer true and the loop terminates. The value stored in total, 34, is returned.

the use of the name of the array primes causes the address of the zeroth element, 1000, to be copied into p. The 6 is copied into sz and provides bounds checking.

sets the pointer end to be 1000 + 6 * 4 (since long int is 4 bytes in size), i.e. 1024. The location with address 1024 lies one beyond the end of the array, hence

adds into total (initially zero) the value at the end of the pointer p, i.e. 1. The pointer is then incremented, 4 is added, p becoming 1004. Since 1004 is less than the 1024 stored in end, the loop continues and the value at location 1004, i.e. 2 is added in to total. The pointer increases to 1008, still less than 1024. It is only when all the values in the array have been added, i.e. 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11 that the pointer p points one beyond the 11 to the location whose address is 1024. Since the pointer p now contains 1024 and the pointer end contains 1024 the condition: while(p < end)

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* and ++
*p++ means: *p++ find the value at the end of the pointer *p++ increment the POINTER to point to the next element (*p)++ means: (*p)++ find the value at the end of the pointer (*p)++ increment the VALUE AT THE END OF THE POINTER (the pointer never moves) *++p means: *++p increment the pointer *++p find the value at the end of the pointer
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 12

* and ++
In *p++ Which Operator is Done First? In fact ++ has a higher precedence than *. If ++ gets done first, why isnt the pointer incremented and THEN the value at the end of the pointer obtained? Clearly in the last program this didnt happen. To understand the answer it is important to remember the register used when postfix ++ is specified. In int i = 5, j;

(*p)++

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j = i++;

The value of i, 5, is saved in a register. i is then incremented, becoming 6. The value in the register, 5, is then transferred into j. Thus the increment is done before the assignment, yet is appears as though the assignment happens first. Now consider: x = *p++ and imagine that p contains 1000 (as before) and that p points to long ints (as before). The value of p, 1000, is saved in a register. p is incremented and becomes 1004. The pre-incremented value of 1000, saved in the register is used with *. Thus we find what is stored in location 1000. This was the value 1 which is transferred into x. With (*p)++ the contents of location 1000, i.e. 1, is saved in the register. The contents of location 1000 are then incremented. The 1 becomes a 2 and the pointer still contains 1000. This construct is guaranteed never to move the pointer, but to continually increment at the end of the pointer, i.e. the value in element zero of the array.

*++p

With *++p, because prefix increment is used, the register is not used. The value of p, 1000, is incremented directly, becoming 1004. The value stored in location 1004, i.e. 2, is then accessed. This construct is guaranteed to miss the first value in the array.

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C for Programmers

Which Notation?
An axiom of C states a[i] is equivalent to *(a + i)
short short a[8] = { 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 }; *p = a; a[3]); *(a + 3)); *(p + 3)); p[3]); 3[a]);

printf("%i\n", printf("%i\n", printf("%i\n", printf("%i\n", printf("%i\n",

40 40 40 40 40

p 1000

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
1000 1004 1008 1012 1002 1006 1010 1014

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Slide No. 13

Which Notation?
If both array access notation, a[index], and pointer notation, *p++, may be used to access array elements which is better? First, here are all the variations:

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Use What is Easiest!

A fundamental truth (what mathematicians call an axiom) in C is that any array access a[i] is equivalent to *(a+i). Consider a[3] which will access the element containing 40. This element is also accessed by *(a+3). Since a is the name of an array, the address 1000 is yielded giving *(1000+3). Since the address has type pointer to short int, the 3 is scaled by the size of the object pointed to, i.e. *(1000+3*2). The contents of location 1006 is the same 40 as yielded by a[3]. Now consider *(p+3). The pointer p contains the address 1000. So *(p+3) gives *(1000+3). Because of the type of the pointer, 3 is scaled by the size of a short int giving *(1000+3*2), i.e. the contents of location 1006, i.e. 40. The next variation, p[3], looks strange. How can something that is clearly not an array be used on the outside of a set of brackets? To understand this, all that is needed is to apply the axiom above, i.e. a[i], and hence p[3], is equivalent to *(a+i), hence *(p+3). Above is an explanation of how *(p+3) works. This last variation, 3[a], looks strangest of all. However, a[3] is equivalent to *(a+3), but *(a+3) must be equivalent to *(3+a) since + is commutative (10+20 is the same as 20+10). This, reapplying the axiom, must be equivalent to 3[a]. It is not generally recommended to write array accesses this way, however it not only must compile, but must access the element containing 40. This doesnt answer the question of which notation is best, pointer or array access. The answer is stick with what is easier to read and understand. Neither a[3] nor *(p+3) notations will have any significant speed or efficiency advantage over one another. If they both produce approximately the same speed code, why not choose the one that is clearest and makes the code most maintainable?

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Strings
C has no native string type, instead we use arrays of char A special character, called a null, marks the end (dont confuse this with the NULL pointer ) This may be written as \0 (zero not capital o) This is the only character whose ASCII value is zero Depending on how arrays of characters are built, we may need to add the null by hand, or the compiler may add it for us

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Slide No. 14

Strings
The sudden topic change may seem a little strange until you realize that C doesnt really support strings. In C, strings are just arrays of characters, hence the discussion here. C has a special marker to denote the last character in a string. This character is called the null and is written as '\0'. You should not confuse this null with the NULL pointer seen in the pointers chapter. The difference is that NULL is an invalid pointer value and may be defined in some strange and exotic way. The null character is entirely different as it is always, and is guaranteed to be, zero.

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char c = 0;

Why the strange way of writing '\0' rather than just 0? This is because the compiler assigns the type of int to 0, whereas it assigns the type char to '\0'. The difference between the types is the number of bits, int gives 16 or 32 bits worth of zero, char gives 8 bits worth of zero. Thus, potentially, the compiler might see a problem with:

since there are 16 or 32 bits of zero on the right of =, but room for only 8 of those bits in c.

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C for Programmers

Example
char char char char first_name[5] = { 'J', 'o', 'h', 'n', '\0' }; last_name[6] other[] = "Minor"; = "Tony Blurt";

characters[7] = "No null";

this special case specifically excludes the null terminator

first_name last_name other characters
'J' 'M' 'T' 'N' 'o' 'i' 'h' 'n' 'n' 'o' 'y' 'n' 0 'r' 32 'u' 0 'B' 'l' 'l' 'l' 'u' 'r' 't' 0

'o' 'n' 'o' 32

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Slide No. 15

Example
The example above shows the two ways of constructing strings in C. The first requires the string to be assembled by hand as in:

Character Arrays vs. Strings

Null Added Automatically

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char first_name[5] = { 'J', 'o', 'h', 'n', '\0' }; The second method is much more convenient and is shown by: char last_name[6] = "Minor"; char characters[7] = "No null";

Each character value occupies a successive position in the array. Here the compiler is not smart enough to figure we are constructing a string and so we must add the null character '\0' by hand. If we had forgotten, the array of characters would have been just that, an array of characters, not a string.

Here too the characters occupy successive locations in the array. The compiler realizes we are constructing a string and automatically adds the null terminator, thus 6 slots in the array and NOT 5. As already seen, when providing an initial value with an array, the size may be omitted, as in: char other[] = "Tony Blurt"; Here, the size deduced by the compiler is 11 which includes space for the null terminator. A special case exists in C when the size is set to exactly the number of characters used in the initialization not including the null character. As in:

Excluding Null

Here the compiler deliberately excludes the null terminator. Here is an array of characters and not a string.

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Printing Strings
Strings may be printed by hand Alternatively printf supports %s
char other[] = "Tony Blurt";

char

*p;

int

i = 0;

p = other; while(*p != '\0') printf("%c", *p++); printf("\n");

while(other[i] != '\0') printf("%c", other[i++]); printf("\n");

printf("%s\n", other);

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Slide No. 16

Printing Strings
printf %s Format Specifier Strings may be printed by hand, character by character until the null is found or by using the %s format specifier to printf. scanf understands this format specifier too and will read a sequence of characters from the keyboard. Consider the way: printf("%s\n", other);

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actually works. Being an array, other generates the address of the first character in the array. If this address were, say, 2010 the %s format specifier tells printf to print the character stored at location 2010. This is the character T. printf then increments its pointer to become 2011 (because char is being delt with, there is no scaling of the pointer). The value at this location o is tested to see if it null. Since it is not, this value is printed too. Again the pointer is incremented and becomes 2012. The character in this location n is tested to see if it is null, since it is not, it is printed. This carries on right through the y, space, B, l, u, r and t. With t the pointer is 2019. Since the t is not null, it is printed, the pointer is incremented. Now its value is 2020 and the value \0 stored at that location is tested. printf breaks out of its loop and returns to the caller. Consider also the chaos that would result if the array characters defined previously were thrown at printf and the %s format specifier. This array of characters did not contain the null terminator and, since there is no bounds checking in C, printf would continue printing characters randomly from memory until by the laws of chance found a byte containing zero. This is a very popular error in C programs.

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C for Programmers

Null Really Does Mark the End!

#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) char other[] = "Tony Blurt"; even though the rest of the data is still there, printf will NOT move past the null terminator

printf("%s\n", other); other[4] = '\0'; printf("%s\n", other); return 0; } Tony Blurt Tony

other

'T'

'o' 'n'

'y'

32

'B'

'l'

'u'

'r'

't'

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Slide No. 17

Null Really Does Mark the End!

The example here shows how printf will not move past the null terminator. In the first case, 11 characters are output (including the space).

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When the null terminator is written into the fifth position in the array only the four characters before it are printed. Those other characters are still there, but simply not printed.

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Assigning to Strings
Strings may be initialised with =, but not assigned to with = Remember the name of an array is a CONSTANT pointer to the zeroth element
#include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> int { main(void) char who[] = "Tony Blurt";

who = "John Minor"; strcpy(who, "John Minor"); return 0; }

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 18

Assigning to Strings
Dont make the mistake of trying to assign values into strings at run time as in: who = "John Minor";

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strcpy(who, "John Minor"); notice how the format is: strcpy(destination, source); strcpy(who, "a really very long string indeed"); who[sizeof(who) - 1] = '\0';

By trying to assign to who the compiler would attempt to assign to the address at which the T is stored (since who is the name of an array and therefore the address of the zeroth element). This address is a constant. Instead the Standard Library function strcpy should be used as in:

this routine contains a loop (similar to that contained in printf) which walks the string checking for the null terminator. While it hasnt been found it continues copying into the target array. It ensures the null is copied too, thus making who a valid string rather than just an array of characters. Notice also how strcpy does absolutely no bounds checking, so:

would overflow the array who and corrupt the memory around it. This would very likely cause the program to crash. A safer option entirely is to use strcpys cousin strncpy which is count driven: strncpy(who, "a really very long string indeed", sizeof(who)); This copies either up to the null terminator, or up to the count provided (here 11, the number of bytes yielded by sizeof). Unfortunately when strncpy hits the count first, it fails to null terminate. We have to do this by hand as in:

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C for Programmers

Pointing to Strings
To save us declaring many character arrays to store strings, the compiler can store them directly in the data segment We need only declare a pointer The compiler may recycle some of these strings, therefore we must NOT alter any of the characters
char char *p = "Data segment!!"; *q = "nt!!"; q 0xF10A p 0xF100
'D' 0xF100
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'a'

't'

'a'

32

's'

'e'

'g'

'm' 'e' 'n' 0xF10A

't'

'!'

'!'

Slide No. 19

Pointing to Strings
Strings May be Stored in the Data Segment The compiler stores strings in the data segment whenever we use double quotes and are not initializing an array of characters. For instance: char str[] = "this is a string";

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char *str = "this is a string"; char char *q = "NT!!"; *q = "nt"; or even: const char *p = "Data segment";

does not cause str, or the characters t, h, i etc. to be placed in the data segment. Instead we get a normal stack based array of characters. However, the entirely different initialization:

declares a stack based pointer str pointing directly into the data segment. The ANSI and ISO Standards committees thought it would be really neat if the compiler could optimize the storage of these strings. Thus the compiler is allowed to set more than one pointer into the same block of memory, as shown above. Obviously it can only do this when one string is a substring of another. If we had changed the initialization to read:

then the compiler would not have been able to perform this optimization. Other storage in the data segment would need to be allocated. Because we dont know how many pointers will be pointing into a block of storage it is inadvisable to write down any of these pointers. Really the declaration would be better as:

Which declares p as a pointer to a constant character. In fact it is not only D (the character to which p is set to point) which is the constant character, all the characters accessible by p become constant.

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Example
this utterly pointless statement causes the compiler to store the characters, unfortunately we forget to save the address #include <stdio.h> int { main(void) char *p = "a string in the data segment\n";

"a second string in the data segment\n"; printf("a third string in the data segment\n"); printf("%s", p); printf(p); return 0; } a third string in the data segment a string in the data segment a string in the data segment
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Example
The program above gives an insight into the nature of strings stored in the data segment. Each of the lines:

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and

char *p = "a string in the data segment\n"; "a second string in the data segment\n"; printf("a third string in the data segment\n"); printf("%s", p);

cause strings to be stored in the data segment. The second of these is rather a waste of time (indeed most compilers will produce a warning to this effect) as although the characters are carefully stored by the compiler we forget to provide a variable to store the address. Thus the address is forgotten and unless we trawl the data segment looking for them wed have a hard task finding them. A smart compiler may decide not to store these characters at all. Although the third statement: printf("a third string in the data segment\n");

does not provide a variable to store the address, it does pass the address as the first and only parameter to printf (remember the address will be that of the a at the front of the string). printf takes this address and prints the characters stored at successive locations until the null is encountered.

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C for Programmers

The fourth line also causes characters to be placed in the data segment, though perhaps not as obviously as with the previous statements. Here only three characters are stored, %, s and the null, \0. As before the address of the first character, the %, is passed to printf, which encounters the %s format specifier. This instructs it to take the address stored in p and to walk down the array of characters it finds there, stopping when the null is encountered. The statement: printf(p); passes the pointer p directly to printf. Instead of having to wade through a %s, it is handed a pointer to the character a on the front of a second string in the data segment\n.

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Multidimensional Arrays
C does not support multidimensional arrays However, C does support arrays of any type including arrays of arrays
float rainfall[12][365]; rainfall is an array of 12 arrays of 365 float exam_marks is an array of 500 arrays of 10 short int

short exam_marks[500][10];

const int brighton = 7; int day_of_year = 238; rainfall[brighton][day_of_year] = 0.0F;

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Slide No. 21

Multidimensional Arrays
Sometimes a simple array just isnt enough. Say a program needed to store the rainfall for 12 places for each of the 365 days in the year (pretend it isnt a leap year). 12 arrays of 365 reals would be needed. This is exactly what:
float rainfall[12][365];

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printf("rainfall was %f\n", rainfall[5][108]);

gives. Alternatively imagine a (big) college with up to 500 students completing exams. Each student may sit up to 10 exams. This would call for 500 arrays of 10 integers (were not interested in fractions of a percent, so whole numbers will do). This is what: short exam_marks[500][10]; gives. Although it may be tempting to regard these variables as multi dimensional arrays, C doesnt treat them as such. Firstly, to access the 5th locations rainfall on the 108th day of the year we would write: and NOT (as in some languages):

printf("rainfall was %f\n", rainfall[5, 108]);

which wouldnt compile. In fact, C expects these variables to be initialized as arrays of arrays. Consider:
int rainfall_in_mm_per_month[4][12] = { 17, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 48, 37, { 13, 13, 18, 20, 27, 29, 29, 26, { 7, 9, 11, 11, 12, 14, 16, 13, { 29, 35, 40, 44, 47, 51, 59, 57, { 28, 19, 18, 10 20, 15, 11, 8 11, 8, 6, 3 42, 39, 35, 28 }, }, }, },

};

where each of the four arrays of twelve floats are initialized separately.

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C for Programmers

Review
How many times does the following program loop?
#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) int int i; a[10];

for(i = 0; i <= 10; i++) { printf("%d\n", i); a[i] = 0; } return 0; }

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Slide No. 22

Review
Time for a break. How many times will the loop execute?

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Summary
Arrays are declared with a type, a name, [ ] and a CONSTANT Access to elements by array name, [ ] and an integer Arrays passed into functions by pointer Pointer arithmetic Strings - arrays of characters with a null terminator Sometimes compiler stores null for us (when double quotes are used) otherwise we have to store it ourselves
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 23

Summary

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Arrays in C - Exercises
C for Programmers

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Arrays Practical Exercises

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182
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Arrays in C - Exercises
C for Programmers

Directory:

ARRAYS

1. In the file ARRAY1.C. There is a call to a function: void print_array(int a[], int count);

Implement this function using either pointer or array index notation. This file also contains a call to the preprocessor macro ASIZE which determines the number of elements in an array. Dont worry about this, the macro works and how it works will be discussed in a later chapter. 2. In the file ARRAY2.C there is a call to the function: float average(int a[], int count); Implement this function which averages the count values in the array a and returns the answer as a float. You will need to cut and paste your print_array function from the previous exercise. 3. In ARRAY3.C you need to write the copy_array function, which has the prototype: void copy_array(int to[], int from[], int count);

which copies the array passed as its second parameter into the array passed as its first parameter. The third parameter is a count of the number of elements to be copied. You should assume the target array has a number of elements greater than or equal to that of the source array. Write this routine using either pointers or array index notation. Once again, you will need to cut and paste your print_array function. 4. In ARRAY4.C, implement the function int

such that the function returns a pointer to the largest element in the array pointed to by a.

5. In ARRAY5.C, there is a call to the print_in_reverse function which has the following prototype: void print_in_reverse(float *a, int count); Using pointers, write this function to print the array in reverse order.

6. Open the file STRING1.C. There are two strings declared and a call to the function len for each one. The function has the prototype int len(char *str);

and returns the number of characters in the string. Implement this function by walking down the array searching for the null terminator character. 7. Open the file STRING2.C. Implement the count_char function with the prototype: int count_char(char *str, char what);

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*biggest(int *a, int count);

which returns the number of occurrences of the character what within the string str.

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8. Open the file STRING3.C. There is a call to the copy_string function which has the prototype: void copy_string(char *to, char *from);

Notice that unlike the copy_array function, there is no third parameter to indicate the number of characters to be copied. Always assume there is enough storage in the target array to contain the data from the source array. 9. Open the file LOTTERY.C. If you run the program you will see that 6 random numbers in the range 1..49 are stored in the selected array before it is printed. No checking is done to see if the same number occurs more than once. Add the required checking and as a final touch, sort the numbers before you print them. Could you think of a better strategy for generating the 6 different numbers?

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Arrays Solutions

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C for Programmers

1. In the file ARRAY1.C implement the function void print_array(int a[], int count); This solution uses array index notation #include <stdio.h> #define A_SIZE(A) sizeof(A)/sizeof(A[0])

void int {

print_array(int a[], int count); main(void) int values[] = { 17, 87, 27, 34, 52, 79, 103, 109, 187, 214 };

printf("The array contains the following values\n"); print_array(values, A_SIZE(values)); return 0; } void { print_array(int a[], int count) int i;

2. In the file ARRAY2.C implement the function

The only problem here is to ensure that the average is calculated using floating point arithmetic. This will not necessarily happen since the routine deals with an array of integers. By declaring the sum as a float, when the sum is divided by the number of elements, floating point division is achieved. #include <stdio.h> #define A_SIZE(A)

void float

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printf("\n"); float average(int a[], int count); sizeof(A)/sizeof(A[0]) print_array(int a[], int count); average(int a[], int count);

for(i = 0; i < count; i++) printf("%i\t", a[i]);

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int {

main(void) int values[] = { 17, 87, 27, 34, 52, 79, 103, 109, 187, 214 };

printf("The array contains the following values\n"); print_array(values, A_SIZE(values)); printf("and has an average of %.2f\n", average(values, A_SIZE(values))); return 0; } void { print_array(int a[], int count) int i;

for(i = 0; i < count; i++) printf("%i\t", a[i]); printf("\n"); } float { average(int a[], int count) float int av = 0.0F; i;

3. In ARRAY3.C implement the function: void

#include <stdio.h> #define A_SIZE(A)

void void

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for(i = 0; i < count; i++) av += a[i]; return av / count; copy_array(int to[], int from[], int count); sizeof(A)/sizeof(A[0]) print_array(int a[], int count); copy_array(int to[], int from[], int count);

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C for Programmers

int {

main(void) int int orig[6] = { 17, 27, 37, 47, 57, 67 }; copy[6] = { -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1 };

copy_array(copy, orig, A_SIZE(copy)); printf("The copy contains the following values\n"); print_array(copy, A_SIZE(copy)); return 0; } /* This function is as before */ void print_array(int a[], int count) { int i; for(i = 0; i < count; i++) printf("%i\t", a[i]); printf("\n"); } void { copy_array(int to[], int from[], int count) int i;

4. In ARRAY4.C, implement the function int

The function biggest initializes a pointer current_biggest to the first element of the array. It then starts searching one beyond this element (since it is pointless to compare the first element with itself). #include <stdio.h> #define A_SIZE(A)

int* biggest(int *a, int count);

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*biggest(int *a, int count); sizeof(A)/sizeof(A[0])

for(i = 0; i < count; i++) to[i] = from[i];

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int {

main(void) int int values[16] = { 47, 17, 38, 91, 33, 24, 99, 35, 42, 10, 11, 43, 32, 97, 108, -8 }; *p;

p = biggest(values, A_SIZE(values)); printf("the biggest element in the array is %i\n", *p); return 0; } int* biggest(int *a, int count) { int *current_biggest = a; int *p = a + 1; int *end = a + count; while(p < end) { if(*current_biggest < *p) current_biggest = p; p++; } return current_biggest; }

5. In ARRAY5.C implement the print_in_reverse function which has the following prototype: void print_in_reverse(float *a, int count); The -1 in the initialization of end is important, since without it, end points one beyond the end of the array and this element is printed within the loop. Where no -1 is used, *end-- would need to be changed to *--end. #include <stdio.h> #define A_SIZE(A)

void int {

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sizeof(A)/sizeof(A[0]) print_in_reverse(float a[], int count); main(void) float values[6] = { 12.1F, 22.2F, 32.3F, 42.4F, 52.5F, 62.6F }; printf("The array in reverse\n"); print_in_reverse(values, A_SIZE(values)); return 0;

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C for Programmers

void {

print_in_reverse(float a[], int count) float * end = a + count - 1; while(end >= a) printf("%.1f\t", *end--); printf("\n");

6. In STRING1.C implement the function len which has the prototype int len(char *str);

Although the while loop within slen is already consise, it would be possible to write while(*str++) which would achieve the same results. This would rely on the ASCII values of the characters being non zero (true). When the null terminator is encountered, it has a value of zero (false). #include <stdio.h> int slen(char *str);

int {

main(void) char char s1[] = "Question 6."; s2[] = "Twenty eight characters long";

} int {

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printf("The string \"%s\" is %i characters long\n", s2, slen(s2)); return 0; slen(char* str) int count = 0; while(*str++ != '\0') count++; return count;

printf("The string \"%s\" is %i characters long\n", s1, slen(s1));

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7. In STRING2.C implement the count_char function which has the prototype: int count_char(char *str, char what);

The solution uses the tricky, yet popular, construct n += first == second. This relies on the guaranteed result of a boolean expression being 1 or 0. If first and second are not alike false, i.e. 0, results. When added into the running total, no difference is made. If first and second are the same true, i.e. 1, results. When added to the running total, the total is increased by one more. By the end of the loop we have counted all the trues. This is a count of the matching characters. #include <stdio.h> int int { count_char(char *str, char what); main(void) char char s1[] = "Twenty eight characters long"; s2[] = "count_char";

printf("The string \"%s\" contains '%c' %i times\n", s1, 'e', count_char(s1, 'e')); printf("The string \"%s\" contains '%c' %i times\n", s2, 'c', count_char(s2, 'c')); return 0; } int { count_char(char *str, char what)

8. In STRING3.C implement: void

The copy_string function uses one of the most concise C constructs imaginable. Here the = is not a mistake (normally == would be intended). One byte at a time is copied via the =, both pointers being moved to the next byte by the ++ operators. The byte that has just been copied is then tested. C treats any non zero value as true. Thus if we had copied A its ASCII value would be 65 and thus true. Copying the next character gives another ASCII value and so on. At the end of the from string is a null terminator. This is the only character whose ASCII value is zero. Zero always tests false. Dont forget the assignment must complete before the value may be tested. #include <stdio.h> void copy_string(char to[], char from[]);

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int count = 0; while(*str != '\0') { count += *str == what; str++; } return count; copy_string(char *to, char *from);

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C for Programmers

int {

main(void) char char s1[] = "Twenty eight characters long"; s2[] = "Important data";

copy_string(s1, s2); printf("The string s1 now contains \"%s\"\n", s1); return 0; } void { copy_string(char to[], char from[]) while(*to++ = *from++) ; }

9. In LOTTERY.C 6 random numbers in the range 1..49 are stored in the selected array before printing. No checking is done to see if the same number occurs more than once. Add the required checking and as a final touch, sort the numbers before you print them. The search function checks to see if the new number to be added is already present in the array. Although it is a brute force approach, there are only a maximum of 6 numbers so this is not a problem. Once chosen, the Standard Library routine qsort is used to sort the numbers. This routine requires the int_compare function. Look up qsort in the help to understand what is going on here. #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <time.h>

#define TOTAL_NUMBER void int int int int {

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6 seed_generator(void); get_rand_in_range(int from, int to); search(int target, int array[], int size); int_compare(const void* v_one, const void* v_two); main(void) int int int i; r; selected[TOTAL_NUMBER]; seed_generator(); for(i = 0; i < TOTAL_NUMBER; i++) { do r = get_rand_in_range(1, 49); while(search(r, selected, i)); selected[i] = r; }

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qsort(selected, TOTAL_NUMBER, sizeof(int), int_compare); for(i = 0; i < TOTAL_NUMBER; i++) printf("%i\t", selected[i]); printf("\n"); return 0; } int { get_rand_in_range(int from, int to) int min = (from > to) ? to : from;

return rand() % abs(to - from + 1) + min; }

void {

seed_generator(void) time_t now;

now = time(NULL); srand((unsigned)now); } int { search(int target, int array[], int size) int i;

} int {

Could you think of a better strategy for generating the 6 different numbers?

This solution uses an array of hits with 49 slots. Say 17 is drawn, location 17 in the array is tested to see if 17 has been drawn before. If it has, the location will contain 1. If not (the array is cleared at the start) array element 17 is set to 1. We are finished when there are 6 1s in the array. The index of each slot containing 1 is printed, i.e. 17 plus the other five. Since the array is searched in ascending order there is no need for sorting.

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for(i = 0; i < size; i++) if(array[i] == target) return 1; return 0; int_compare(const void* v_one, const void* v_two) const int* const int* one = v_one; two = v_two; return *one - *two;

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C for Programmers

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <time.h> #define MAX #define TOTAL_NUMBER void int int int { 49 6

seed_generator(void); get_rand_in_range(int from, int to); count_entries(int array[]); main(void) int int int i = 0; r; all[MAX + 1] = { 0 };

/* Nothing selected */

seed_generator(); while(count_entries(all) < TOTAL_NUMBER) { do r = get_rand_in_range(1, 49); while(all[r]); all[r] = 1; }

} int {

} void {

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printf("\n"); return 0; get_rand_in_range(int from, int to) int min = (from > to) ? to : from; return rand() % abs(to - from + 1) + min; seed_generator(void) time_t now; now = time(NULL); srand((unsigned)now);

for(i = 1; i <= MAX; i++) if(all[i]) printf("%i\t", i);

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int {

count_entries(int array[]) int int i; total;

for(i = 1, total = 0; i <= MAX; i++) total += array[i] == 1; return total; }

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Structures in C
C for Programmers

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Structures in C

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Structures in C
C for Programmers

Structures in C
Concepts Creating a structure template Using the template to create an instance Initialising an instance Accessing an instances members Passing instances to functions Linked lists

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Slide No. 1

Structures in C
This chapters investigates structures (records) in C.

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Concepts
A structure is a collection of one of more variables grouped together under a single name for convenient handling The variables in a structure are called members and may have any type, including arrays or other structures The steps are:
set-up a template (blueprint) to tell the compiler how to build the structure Use the template to create as many instances of the structure as desired Access the members of an instance as desired

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Slide No. 2

Concepts
Thus far we have examined arrays. The fundamental property of the array is that all of the elements are exactly the same type. Sometimes this is not what is desired. We would like to group things of potentially different types together in a tidy lump for convenience. Whereas the parts of an array are called elements the parts of a structure are called members. Just as it is possible to have arrays of any type, so it is possible to have any type within a structure (except void). It is possible to place arrays inside structures, structures inside structures and possible to create arrays of structures. The first step is to set up a blueprint to tell the compiler how to make the kinds of structures we want. For instance, if you wanted to build a car, youd need a detailed drawing first. Just because you possess the drawing does not mean you have a car. It would be necessary to take the drawing to a factory and get them to make one. The factory wouldnt just stop at one, it could make two, three or even three hundred. Each car would be a single individual instance, with its own doors, wheels, mirrors etc.

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Structures in C
C for Programmers

Setting up the Template

Structure templates are created by using the struct keyword
struct Date { int day; int month; int year; }; struct Book { char title[80]; char author[80]; float price; char isbn[20]; }; struct Library_member { char name[80]; char address[200]; long member_number; float fines[10]; struct Date dob; struct Date enrolled; }; struct Library_book { struct Book b; struct Date due; struct Library_member *who; };
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Setting up the Template

The four examples above show how the template (or blueprint) is specified to the compiler. The keyword struct is followed by a name (called a tag). The tag helps us to tell the compiler which of the templates were interested in. Just because we have a structure template does not mean we have any structures. No stack, data segment or heap memory is allocated when we create a structure template. Just because we have a blueprint telling us that a book has a title, author, ISBN number and price does not mean we have a book. The Date structure, consisting as it does of three integers offers advantages over an array of three integers. With an array the elements would be numbered 0, 1 and 2. This would give no clue as to which one was the day, which the month and which the year. Using a structure gives these members names so there can be no confusion.

Structures vs. Arrays

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The Book structure not only contains members of different types (char and float) it also contains three arrays. The Library_member structure contains two Date structures, a date of birth as well as a date of enrolment within the library. Finally the Library_book structure contains a Book structure, a Date structure and a pointer to a Library_member structure.

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Creating Instances
Having created the template, an instance (or instances) of the structure may be declared
struct Date { int day; int month; int year; } today, tomorrow; struct Date next_monday; struct Date next_week[7];

instances must be declared before the ; ...

... or struct Date has to be repeated

an array of 7 date instances

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Creating Instances
Instance? The template gives the compiler all the information it needs on how to build an instance or instances. An instance is defined in the dictionary as an example, or illustration of. Going back to the car example, the blueprint enables us to make many cars. Each car is different and distinct. If one car is painted blue, it doesnt mean all cars are painted blue. Each car is an instance. Each instance is separate from every other instance and separate from the template. There is only ever one template (unless you want to start building slightly different kinds of car). Above, the Date template is used to create two date instances, today and tomorrow. Any variable names placed after the closing brace and before the terminating semicolon are structures of the specified type. After the semicolon of the structure template, struct Date needs to be repeated.

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next_week[0].day the month of the fourth date would be accessed with: next_week[3].month and the year of the last date with: next_week[6].year

With the array next_week, each element of the array is an individual Date structure. Each element has its own distinct day, month and year members. For instance, the day member of the first (i.e. zeroth) date would be accessed with:

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C for Programmers

Initialising Instances
Structure instances may be initialised using braces (as with arrays)
int primes[7] = { 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 }; Date bug_day = { 1, 1, 2000 };

struct

struct Book k_and_r = { "The C Programming Language 2nd edition", "Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie", 31.95, "0-13-110362-8" struct Book }; {
char char float char }; title[80]; author[80]; price; isbn[20];

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Slide No. 5

Initializing Instances
In the last chapter we saw how braces were used in the initialization of arrays, as in the primes example above. The seven slots in the array are filled with the corresponding value from the braces. A similar syntax is used in the initialization of structures. With the initialization of bug_day above, the first value 1 is assigned into bug_days first member, day. The second value 1 is assigned into bug_days second member, month. The 2000 is assigned into bug_days third member year. It is just as though we had written: struct Date bug_day; bug_day.day = 1; bug_day.month = 1; bug_day.year = 2000;

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struct Book k_and_r;

With the initialization of k_and_r the first string is assigned to the member title, the second string assigned to the member author etc. It is as though we had written:

strcpy(k_and_r.title, "The C Programming Language 2nd edition"); strcpy(k_and_r.author, "Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie"); k_and_r.price = 31.95; strcpy(k_and_r.isbn, "0-13-110362-8");

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Structures Within Structures

struct Library_member { char name[80]; char address[200]; long member_number; float fines[10]; struct Date dob; struct Date enrolled; };

initialises first 4 elements of array fines, remainder are initialised to 0.0

struct Library_member m = { "Arthur Dent", "16 New Bypass", 42, { 0.10, 2.58, 0.13, 1.10 }, { 18, 9, 1959 }, { 1, 4, 1978 } };

initialises day, month and year of dob initialises day, month and year of enrolled

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Slide No. 6

Structures Within Structures

We have already seen that it is possible to declare structures within structures, here is an example of how to initialize them. To initialize a structure or an array braces are used. To initialize an array within a structure two sets of braces must be used. To initialize a structure within a structure, again, two sets of braces must be used. It is as though we had written:
struct Library_member m;

Reminder Avoid Leading Zeros

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Although a small point, notice the date initialization: { 18, 9, 1959 } above. It is important to resist the temptation to write: { 18, 09, 1959 }

strcpy(m.name, "Arthur Dent"); strcpy(m.address, "16 New Bypass"); m.member_number = 42; m.fines[0] = 0.10; m.fines[1] = 2.58; m.fines[2] = 0.13; m.fines[3] = 1.10; m.fines[4] = 0.00; m.fines[5] = 0.00; m.fines[6] = 0.00; m.fines[7] = 0.00; m.fines[8] = 0.00; m.fines[9] = 0.00; m.dob.day = 18; m.dob.month = 9; m.dob.year = 1959; m.enrolled.day = 1; m.enrolled.month = 4; m.enrolled.year = 1978;

since the leading zero introduces an octal number and 9 is not a valid octal digit.

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C for Programmers

Accessing Members
Members are accessed using the instance name, . and the member name
struct Library_member { char name[80]; char address[200]; long member_number; float fines[10]; struct Date dob; struct struct Date enrolled; };

Library_member m;

printf("name = %s\n", m.name); printf("membership number = %li\n", m.member_number); printf("fines: "); for(i = 0; i < 10 && m.fines[i] > 0.0; i++) printf("%.2f ", m.fines[i]); printf("\njoined %i/%i/%i\n", m.enrolled.day, m.enrolled.month, m.enrolled.year);

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Slide No. 7

Accessing Members
Members of structures are accessed using Cs . operator. The syntax is: structure_variable.member_name

Accessing Members Which are Arrays

Accessing Members Which are Structures

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m.fines[0] would access the first (i.e. zeroth) element of the array. When a structure is nested inside a structure, two dots must be used as in m.enrolled.month

If the member being accessed happens to be an array (as is the case with fines), square brackets must be used to access the elements (just as they would with any other array):

which literally says the member of m called enrolled, which has a member called month. If month were a structure, a third dot would be needed to access one of its members and so on.

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Unusual Properties
Structures have some very un-C-like properties, certainly when considering how arrays are handled
Arrays Name is Passed to functions by Returned from functions May be assigned with = pointer to zeroth element pointer no way no way Structures the structure itself value or pointer by value or pointer yes

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Slide No. 8

Unusual Properties
Common Features Between Arrays and Structures Differences Between Arrays and Structures Structures and arrays have features in common. Both cause the compiler to group variables together. In the case of arrays, the variables are elements and have the same type. In the case of structures the variables are members and may have differing type. Despite this, the compiler does not treat arrays and structures in the same way. As seen in the last chapter, in C the name of an array yields the address of the zeroth element of the array. With structures, the name of a structure instance is just the name of the structure instance, NOT a pointer to one of the members. When an array is passed to a function you have no choice as to how the array is passed. As the name of an array is automatically a pointer to the start, arrays are passed by pointer. There is no mechanism to request an array to be passed by value. Structures, on the other hand may be passed either by value or by pointer. An array cannot be returned from a function. The nature of arrays makes it possible to return a pointer to a particular element, however this is not be the same as returning the whole array. It could be argued that by returning a pointer to the first element, the whole array is returned, however this is a somewhat weak argument. With structures the programmer may choose to return a structure or a pointer to the structure. Finally, arrays cannot be assigned with Cs assignment operator. Since the name of an array is a constant pointer to the first element, it may not appear on the left hand side of an assignment (since no constant may be assigned to). Two structures may be assigned to one another. The values stored in the members of the right hand structure are copied over the members of the left hand structure, even if these members are arrays or other structures.

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Instances may be Assigned

Two structure instances may be assigned to one another via = All the members of the instance are copied (including arrays or other structures)
struct Library_member m = { "Arthur Dent", ..... }; struct Library_member tmp; tmp = m; copies array name, array address, long integer member_number, array fines, Date structure dob and Date structure enrolled
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 9

Instances May be Assigned

Cannot Assign Arrays It is not possible to assign arrays in C, consider: int int a[10]; b[10];

Can Assign Structures Containing Arrays

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a = b; Consider: struct A { int array[10]; }; struct A a, b; a = b;

The name of the array a is a constant pointer to the zeroth element of a. A constant may not be assigned to, thus the compiler will throw out the assignment a = b.

Now both instances a and b contain an array of 10 integers. The ten elements contained in b.array are copied over the ten elements in a.array. Not only does this statement compile, it also works! All the members of a structure are copied, no matter how complicated they are. Members which are arrays are copied, members which are nested structures are also copied.

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Passing Instances to Functions

An instance of a structure may be passed to a function by value or by pointer Pass by value becomes less and less efficient as the structure size increases Pass by pointer remains efficient regardless of the structure size
void void by_value(struct Library_member); by_reference(struct Library_member *);

by_value(m); by_reference(&m); compiler writes a pointer (4 bytes?) onto the stack

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compiler writes 300+ bytes onto the stack

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Passing Instances to Functions

Pass by Value or Pass by Reference? As a programmer you have a choice of passing a structure instance either by value or by pointer. It is important to consider which of these is better. When passing an array to a function there is no choice. There isnt a choice for one important reason, it is invariably less efficient to pass an array by value than it is by pointer. Consider an array of 100 long int. Since a long int is 4 bytes in size, and C guarantees to allocate an array in contiguous storage, the array would be a total of 400 bytes. If the compiler used pass by value, it would need to copy 400 bytes onto the stack. This would be time consuming and we may, on a small machine, run out of stack space (remember we would need to maintain two copies - the original and the parameter). Here we are considering a small array. Arrays can very quickly become larger and occupy even more storage. When the compiler uses pass by reference it copies a pointer onto the stack. This pointer may be 2 or 4 bytes, perhaps larger, but there is no way its size will compare unfavorably with 400 bytes. The same arguments apply to structures. The Library_member structure is over 300 bytes in size. The choice between copying over 300 bytes vs. copying around 4 bytes is an easy one to make.

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Pointers to Structures
Passing pointers to structure instances is more efficient Dealing with an instance at the end of a pointer is not so straightforward!
void member_display(struct Library_member *p) { printf("name = %s\n", (*p).name); printf("membership number = %li\n", (*p).member_number); printf("fines: "); for(i = 0; i < 10 && (*p).fines[i] > 0.0; i++) printf("%.2f ", (*p).fines[i]); printf("\njoined %i/%i/%i\n", (*p).enrolled.day, (*p).enrolled.month, (*p).enrolled.year); }

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Slide No. 11

Pointers to Structures
Passing a pointer to a structure in preference to passing the structure by value will almost invariably be more efficient. Unfortunately when a pointer to a structure is passed, coding the function becomes tricky. The rather messy construct: (*p).name

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is necessary to access the member called name (an array of characters) of the structure at the end of the pointer.

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Why (*p).name ?
The messy syntax is needed because . has higher precedence than *, thus: *p.name means what p.name points to (a problem because there is no structure instance p) As Kernighan and Ritchie foresaw pointers and structures being used frequently they invented a new operator p->name = (*p).name

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Slide No. 12

Why (*p).name?
The question occurs as to why: is necessary as opposed to: (*p).name *p.name

A New Operator

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Thus: *p.name would implicitly mean: *(p.name)

The two operators * and . live at different levels in the precedence table. In fact ., the structure member operator, is one of the highest precedence operators there is. The pointer to operator, * although being a high precedence operator is not quite as high up the table.

For this to compile there would need to be a structure called p. However p does not have type structure, but pointer to structure. Things get worse. If p were a structure after all, the name member would be accessed. The * operator would find where p.name pointed. Far from accessing what we thought (a pointer to the zeroth element of the array) we would access the first character of the name. With printfs fundamental inability to tell when weve got things right or wrong, printing the first character with the %s format specifier would be a fundamental error (printf would take the ASCII value of the character, go to that location in memory and print out all the bytes it found there up until the next byte containing zero).

Since Kernighan and Ritchie foresaw themselves using pointers to structures frequently, they invented an operator that would be easier to use. This new operator consists of two separate characters - and > combined together into >. This is similar to the combination of divide, /, and multiply, *, which gives the open comment sequence. The messy (*p).name now becomes p->name which is both easier to write and easier to read.

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C for Programmers

Using p->name
Now dealing with the instance at the end of the pointer is more straightforward
void member_display(struct Library_member *p) { printf("name = %s\n", p->name); printf("address = %s\n", p->address); printf("membership number = %li\n", p->member_number); printf("fines: "); for(i = 0; i < 10 && p->fines[i] > 0.0; i++) printf("%.2f ", p->fines[i]); printf("\njoined %i/%i/%i\n", p->enrolled.day, p->enrolled.month, p->enrolled.year); }

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Slide No. 13

Using p->name
As can be seen from the code above, the notation:

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although exactly equivalent to: (*p).name Note: p->enrolled.day and NOT: p->enrolled->day since enrolled is a structure and not a pointer to a structure.

p->name

is easier to read, easier to write and easier to understand. All that is happening is that the member name of the structure at the end of the pointer p is being accessed.

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Pass by Reference - Warning

Although pass by reference is more efficient, the function can alter the structure (perhaps inadvertently) Use a pointer to a constant structure instead
void member_display(struct Library_member *p) { printf("fines: "); for(i = 0; i < 10 && p->fines[i] = 0.0; i++) printf("%.2f ", p->fines[i]); } function alters the library member instance

void member_display(const struct Library_member *p) { .... }

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 14

Pass by Reference - Warning

We have already seen how passing structure instances by reference is more efficient than pass by value. However, never forget that when a pointer is passed we have the ability to alter the thing at the end of the pointer. This is certainly true with arrays where any element of the array may be altered by a function passed a pointer to the start. Although we may not intend to alter the structure, we may do so accidentally. Above is one of the most popular mistakes in C, confusing = with ==. The upshot is that instead of testing against 0.0, we assign 0.0 into the zeroth element of the fines array. Thus the array, and hence the structure are changed. The solution to this problem which lies with the const keyword (discussed in the first chapter). In C it is possible to declare a pointer to a constant. So: int *p;

const to the Rescue!

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declares p to be a pointer to an integer, whereas: const int *p; p++;

declares p to be a pointer to a constant integer. The pointer p may change, so

would be allowed. However the value at the end of the pointer could not be changed, thus *p = 17; would NOT compile. The parameter p to the function member_display has type pointer to constant structure Library_member meaning the structure Library member on the end of the pointer cannot be changed.

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C for Programmers

Returning Structure Instances

Structure instances may be returned by value from functions This can be as inefficient as with pass by value Sometimes it is convenient!
struct Complex add(struct Complex a, struct Complex b) { struct Complex result = a; result.real_part += b.real_part; result.imag_part += b.imag_part; return result; } struct Complex c1 = { 1.0, 1.1 }; struct Complex c2 = { 2.0, 2.1 }; struct Complex c3; c3 = add(c1, c2);
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/* c3 = c1 + c2 */
Slide No. 15

Returning Structure Instances

As well as pass by value, it is also possible to return structures by value in C. The same consideration should be given to efficiency. The larger the structure the less efficient return by value becomes as opposed to return by pointer. Sometimes the benefits of return by value outweigh the inefficiencies. Take for example the code above which manipulates complex numbers. The add function returns the structure result by value. Consider this version which attempts to use return by pointer:
struct Complex* add(struct Complex a, struct Complex b) { struct Complex result = a; /* as above */ return &result; }

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void { result->real_part = a->real_part + b->real_part; result->imag_part = a->imag_part + b->imag_part; } struct Complex c1 = { 1.0, 1.1 }, c2 = { 2.0, 2.1 }, c3; add(&c1, &c2, &c3);

This function contains a fatal error! The variable result is stack based, thus it is allocated on entry into the function and deallocated on exit from the function. When this function returns to the calling function it hands back a pointer to a piece of storage which has been deallocated. Any attempt to use that storage would be very unwise indeed. Here is a working version which attempts to be as efficient as possible:
add(struct Complex *a, struct Complex *b, struct Complex *result)

Pass by pointer is used for all parameters. There is no inefficient return by value, however consider how this function must be called and whether the resulting code is as obvious as the code above:

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Linked Lists
A linked list node containing a single forward pointer may be declared as follows
struct Node { int struct Node }; data; /* or whatever */ *next_in_line; pointer to next Node structure

A linked list node containing a forward and a backward pointer may be declared as follows
struct Node { int struct Node struct Node }; data; *next_in_line; *previous_in_line; pointer to next Node structure pointer to previous Node structure
Slide No. 16

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Linked Lists
It is possible to declare and manipulate any number of advanced data structures in C, like linked lists, binary trees, red/black trees, multi threaded trees, directed graphs and so on. Above is the first step in manipulating linked lists, i.e. declaring the template. This particular template assumes the linked list will contain integers. The sort of picture were looking for is as follows:

A Recursive Template?

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data next_in_line 10 data next_in_line 16 data next_in_line 28

where each structure contains one integer and one pointer to the next structure. The integer is stored in the member data, while the pointer is stored in the member next_in_line. The structure template: struct Node { int struct Node* };

data; next_in_line;

looks rather curious because the structure refers to itself. What it says is a Node structure consists of an integer, followed by a pointer to another Node structure. Although the compiler is not entirely sure about the followed by a pointer to another Node structure it is sure about pointers and how many bytes they occupy. Thus it creates a pointer sized hole in the structure and proceeds onwards.

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Example
#include <stdio.h> struct Node { char struct Node }; struct struct struct struct Node Node Node Node a1 a2 a3 a4 = = = =

name[10]; *next_in_line;

{ { { {

"John", NULL }; "Harriet", &a1 }, "Claire", &a2 } "Tony", &a3 };

a4 Tony\0 0x1020 0x1012

a3 Claire\0 0x102E 0x1020

a2 Harriet\0 0x1032 0x102E

a1 John\0 NULL 0x1032

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Slide No. 17

Example
In the example above, the data has changed from integers to strings. Other than that, all else is the same. A Node structure consists of data followed by a pointer to another Node structure. Four nodes are declared, a1 through a4. Notice that a1 is declared first and goes at the end of the chain. a2 is declared next and points back at a1. This is the only way to do this, since if we attempted to make a1 point forwards to a2 the compiler would complain because when a1 is initialized, a2 doesnt exist. An alternative would be to declare the structures as follows: struct struct struct struct Node Node Node Node a1 a2 a3 a4 = = = = { { { { "John", NULL }; "Harriet", NULL }; "Claire", NULL }; "Tony", NULL };

Creating a List

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and then fill in the gaps by writing: a4.next_in_line = &a3; a3.next_in_line = &a2; a2.next_in_line = &a1; a1.next_in_line = &a2; a2.next_in_line = &a3; a3.next_in_line = &a4;

Which would give exactly the same picture as above. Of course it would be just as possible to write:

and make the chain run the opposite way. Here a1 would be the first node and a4 the last node in the chain.

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Printing the List

The list may be printed with the following code:
struct Node * current = &a4; while(current != NULL) { printf("%s\n", current->name); current = current->next_in_line; }

current 0x1012

a4 Tony\0 0x1020 0x1012 Claire\0 0x102E 0x1020 Harriet\0 0x1032 0x102E John\0 NULL 0x1032

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Slide No. 18

Printing the List

Above is an example of how to visit, and print the data contained in, each node in the list. A pointer is set to point at the first node in the list. This is done with:

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struct Node *current = &a4; The loop condition is: while(current != NULL) printf("%s\n", current->name); current = current->next_in_line; while(current != NULL)

creating a Node pointer called current and initializing it to point to the first node in the chain. Notice that if we had initialized this to point to, say, a1, we would be sunk since there is no way to get from a1 back to a2.

let us imagine (even though it is not always true) that NULL is zero. We check the address contained in current, i.e. 0x1012 against zero. Clearly current is not zero, thus the loop is entered. The statement

causes the name member of the structure at address 0x1012 to be printed, i.e. Tony. Then the statement

is executed, causing the value of the next_in_line member, i.e. 0x1020 to be transferred into current. Now the pointer current points to the second structure instance a3. Once again the loop condition

is evaluated. Now current is 0x1020 and is still not zero, hence the condition is still true and so the loop is entered once more.

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Printing the List (Continued)

The statement printf("%s\n", current->name); is executed, causing the name member of the structure at address 0x1020 to be accessed, i.e. Claire. Next, the statement current = current->next_in_line; is executed taking the value of the member next_in_line, i.e. 0x102E and transferring it into current. Now current points to the third structure instance, a2. Again the loop condition is evaluated: while(current != NULL) Since 0x102E is not zero the condition is again true and the loop body is entered. Now the statement printf("%s\n", current->name); prints Harriet, i.e. the value contained in the name field for the structure whose address is 0x102E. The statement current = current->next_in_line;

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printf("%s\n", current->name); current = current->next_in_line; while(current != NULL)

causes the value in the next_in_line member, i.e. 0x1032 to be transferred into current. Now current points to the last of the structure instances a1. The loop condition: while(current != NULL) is evaluated, since 0x1032 does not contain zero, the condition is still true and the loop body is entered once more. The statement:

prints John since this is the value in the name field of the structure whose address is 0x1032. Now the statement

causes the value NULL to be transferred into current (since this is the value stored in the next_in_line member of the structure whose address is 0x1032). Now the current pointer is invalid. The loop condition

is evaluated. Since current does contain NULL, the condition is no longer true and the loop terminates.

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Summary
Creating structure templates using struct Creating and initialising instances Accessing members Passing instances to functions by value and by reference A new operator: -> Return by value Linked lists

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Slide No. 19

Summary

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Structures in C - Exercises
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Structures Practical Exercises

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Structures in C - Exercises
C for Programmers

Directory:

STRUCT

1. Open CARD1.C which declares and initializes two card structures. There are two functions for you to implement: void void print_card_by_value(struct Card which); print_card_by_ref(struct Card * p);

The first of these is passed a copy of the card to print out. The second is passed a pointer to the card. Both functions should print the same output.

2. In CARD2.C are the definitions of several cards. Implement the is_red function which has the following prototype: int is_red(struct Card * p);

This function should return true (i.e. 1) if the argument points to a red card (a heart or a diamond) and return false (i.e. 0) otherwise. You will need to copy your print_card_by_ref function from part 1 and rename it print_card.

3. Open the file CARD3.C. Implement the function may_be_placed which has the following prototype: int may_be_placed(struct Card * lower, struct Card * upper);

This function uses the rules of solitaire to return true if the card upper may be placed on the card lower. The cards must be of different colors, the upper card (i.e. the one being placed) must have a value which is one less than the lower card (i.e. the one already there). You will need your print_card and is_red functions.

4. In LIST1.C Node structures are declared, like those in the chapter notes. Implement the function: void print_list(struct Node *first_in_list);

which will print out all the integers in the list.

5. The file LIST2.C has an exact copy of the Nodes declared in LIST1.C. Now there is a call to the function void print_list_in_reverse(struct Node *first_in_list);

Using recursion, print the integers in reverse order. If you are unfamiliar with recursion, ask your instructor.

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6. Linked lists enable new values to be inserted merely by altering a few pointers. LIST3.C creates the same list as in LIST1.C and LIST2.C, but also declares three other nodes which should be inserted into the correct point in the list. Implement the function: struct Node* insert(struct Node *first_in_list, struct Node *new_node); which will insert each of the three nodes at the correct point in the list. Notice that one insertion occurs at the start, one in the middle and one at the end of the list. Remove the comments when you are ready to try these insertions. You will need your print_list function from LIST1.C.

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Structures Solutions

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C for Programmers

1. In CARD1.C implement the functions: void void print_card_by_value(struct Card which); print_card_by_ref(struct Card * p);

The print_card_by_value function is straightforward, print_card_by_ref more elaborate. The essential difference between the two is merely the difference between use of . and ->. The shorter version (with one printf) is used throughout the following solutions for brevity. #include <stdio.h> struct { Card int char }; void void print_card_by_value(struct Card which); print_card_by_ref(struct Card * p); index; suit;

int {

main(void) struct Card struct Card king_of_spades = { 13, 's' }; four_of_clubs = { 4, 'c' };

print_card_by_value(king_of_spades); print_card_by_ref(&king_of_spades);

} void { }

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return 0; print_card_by_value(struct Card which) printf("%i of %c\n", which.index, which.suit);

print_card_by_value(four_of_clubs); print_card_by_ref(&four_of_clubs);

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void {

print_card_by_ref(struct Card * p) switch(p->index) { case 14: case 1: printf("Ace"); break; case 13: printf("King"); break; case 12: printf("Queen"); break; case 11: printf("Jack"); break; default: printf("%i", p->index); break; } printf(" of "); switch(p->suit) { case 'c': printf("clubs\n"); break; case 'd': printf("diamonds\n"); break; case 's': printf("spades\n"); break; case 'h': printf("hearts\n"); break; }

2. In CARD2.C implement the is_red function which has the following prototype: int is_red(struct Card * p);

The value returned from is_red (i.e. one or zero) is already the value yielded by Cs == operator. #include <stdio.h>

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C for Programmers

#define ASIZE(A) struct { Card int char }; int void index; suit;

sizeof(A)/sizeof(A[0])

is_red(struct Card* p); print_card(struct Card * p);

int {

main(void) int struct Card { 13, { 4, { 9, { 12, { 5, }; i; hand[] = { 's' }, 'c' }, 'd' }, 'h' }, 'c' }

for(i = 0; i < ASIZE(hand); i++) { printf("the "); print_card(&hand[i]); if(is_red(&hand[i])) printf(" is red\n"); else printf(" is not red\n");

} void { } int { }

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} return 0; print_card(struct Card * p) printf("%i of %c\n", p->index, p->suit); is_red(struct Card * p) return p->suit == 'h' || p->suit == 'd';

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3. In CARD3.C implement the function may_be_placed #include <stdio.h> #define ASIZE(A) struct { Card int char }; int void int int { is_red(struct Card* p); print_card(struct Card * p); may_be_placed(struct Card * lower, struct Card * upper); main(void) int struct Card { 13, { 4, { 9, { 12, { 5, }; struct Card { 10, { 3, { 8, { 11, { 4, }; i; lower_cards[] = { 's' }, 'c' }, 'd' }, 'h' }, 'c' } upper_cards[] = { 'c' }, 'd' }, 'd' }, 's' }, 's' } index; suit; sizeof(A)/sizeof(A[0])

} void {

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for(i = 0; i < ASIZE(lower_cards); i++) { printf("the "); print_card(&upper_cards[i]); print_card(&lower_cards[i]); printf("\n"); } return 0; print_card(struct Card * p) printf("%i of %c\n", p->index, p->suit);

if(may_be_placed(&lower_cards[i], &upper_cards[i])) printf(" may be placed on the "); else printf(" may NOT be placed on the ");

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C for Programmers

int {

may_be_placed(struct Card * lower, struct Card * upper) /* If both the same colour, that's bad */ if(is_red(lower) == is_red(upper)) return 0; /* Ace does not take part */ if(lower->index == 14 || upper->index == 14) return 0; if(lower->index == upper->index + 1) return 1; return 0;

} int { } is_red(struct Card * p) return p->suit == 'h' || p->suit == 'd';

4. In LIST1.C implement the function: void print_list(struct Node *first_in_list); Rather than creating a local variable and assigning the value of first_in_list, this version of print_list uses the parameter directly. Since call by value is always used, any parameter may be treated destructively. Note that now the parameter name used in the prototype does not correspond to that used in the function header. C doesnt care about this and indeed this is good because the user sees first_in_list and knows the correct parameter to pass whereas the function sees current which is far more meaningful than changing the first_in_list pointer. #include <stdio.h> struct Node { int struct

}; void

int {

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Node* data; next_in_line; print_list(struct Node * first_in_list); main(void) struct struct struct struct Node Node Node Node n1 n2 n3 n4 = = = = { { { { 100, 80, 40, 10, NULL NULL NULL NULL }; }; }; }; n4.next_in_line = &n3; n3.next_in_line = &n2; n2.next_in_line = &n1; print_list(&n4); return 0;

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void {

print_list(struct Node * current) while(current != NULL) { printf("%i\t", current->data); current = current->next_in_line; } printf("\n");

5. In LIST2.C implement the function void print_list_in_reverse(struct Node *first_in_list); The first version of print_list_in_reverse suffers from the problem of no trailing newline. Whereas this is not a problem with DOS (since COMMAND.COM always prints a few newlines just in case) it is an annoyance with other operating systems (like Unix). #include <stdio.h> struct Node { int struct

data; Node* next_in_line;

}; void print_list_in_reverse(struct Node * first_in_list);

int {

main(void)

} void {

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struct struct struct struct Node Node Node Node n1 n2 n3 n4 = = = = { { { { 100, 80, 40, 10, NULL NULL NULL NULL }; }; }; }; n4.next_in_line = &n3; n3.next_in_line = &n2; n2.next_in_line = &n1; print_list_in_reverse(&n4); return 0; print_list_in_reverse(struct Node * p) if(p == NULL) return; print_list_in_reverse(p->next_in_line); printf("%i\t", p->data);

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C for Programmers

This second version copes with this newline problem using a static variable. Remember that all instances of the print_list_in_reverse function will share the same static. void { print_list_in_reverse(struct Node * p) static int newline;

if(p == NULL) return; ++newline; print_list_in_reverse(p->next_in_line); --newline; printf("%i\t", p->data); if(newline == 0) printf("\n"); }

6. In LIST3.C implement the function: struct Node* insert(struct Node *first_in_list, struct Node *new_node); The insert function keeps the pointer lag one step behind the insertion point. This makes it very easy to refer to the node which must be rewired (especially as there is no way via traversing the list to return back to it). Since it is initialised to NULL, it is possible to detect when the body of the find the insertion point has not been entered. In this case the new node becomes the new head of the list. #include <stdio.h> struct Node { int struct

};

void struct

int {

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data; Node* next_in_line; main(void) struct struct struct struct struct Node Node Node Node Node n1 = { 100, n2 = { 80, n3 = { 40, n4 = { 10, * head; NULL NULL NULL NULL }; }; }; }; struct struct struct Node new_head = { 1, NULL }; Node new_tail = { 200, NULL }; Node new_middle = { 60, NULL }; n4.next_in_line = &n3; n3.next_in_line = &n2; n2.next_in_line = &n1; head = &n4;

print_list(struct Node * first_in_list); Node*insert(struct Node *first_in_list, struct Node *new_node);

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printf("Before insersions, list is "); print_list(head); printf("inserting %i into middle of list\n", new_middle.data); head = insert(head, &new_middle); print_list(head); printf("inserting %i at end of list\n", new_tail.data); head = insert(head, &new_tail); print_list(head); printf("inserting %i in front of list\n", new_head.data); head = insert(head, &new_head); print_list(head); return 0; }

void {

print_list(struct Node * current) while(current != NULL) { printf("%i\t", current->data); current = current->next_in_line; } printf("\n");

} struct { Node*insert(struct Node *p, struct Node *new_node) struct struct Node* start = p; Node* lag = NULL;

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while(p != NULL && p->data < new_node->data) { lag = p; p = p->next_in_line; } if(lag == NULL) { /* insert before list */ new_node->next_in_line = p; return new_node; } lag->next_in_line = new_node; new_node->next_in_line = p; return start;

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C for Programmers

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Reading C declarations

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234
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Reading C Declarations
C for Programmers

Reading C Declarations
Introduction SOAC Examples typedef Examples revisited

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Slide No. 1

Reading C Declarations
Reading declarations in C is almost impossible unless you know the rules. Fortunately the rules are very simple indeed and are covered in this chapter.

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C for Programmers

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Introduction
Up until now we have seen straightforward declarations:
long int* sum; p;

Plus a few trickier ones:

void member_display(const struct Library_member *p);

However, they can become much worse:

int float long double *p[15]; (*pfa)[23]; (*f)(char, int); *(*(*n)(void))[5];

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Slide No. 2

Introduction
Thus far in the course we have seen some straightforward declarations. We have declared ints, floats, arrays of char, structures containing doubles, pointers to those structures. However, C has the capability to declare some really mind boggling things, as you can see above. Trying to understand these declarations is almost entirely hopeless until you understand the rules the compiler uses.

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C for Programmers

SOAC
Find the variable being declared Spiral Outwards Anti Clockwise say: On meeting:
* [] () pointer to array of function taking .... and returning

Remember to read struct S, union U or enum E all at once Remember to read adjacent collections of [ ] [ ] all at once

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Slide No. 3

SOAC
Fortunately, although mind boggling things may be declared, the rules the compiler uses are far from mind boggling. They are very straightforward and may be remember as SOAC (most easily remembered if pronounced as soak). As mentioned above this stands for Spiral Outwards Anti Clockwise. Start spiraling from the variable name and if while spiraling you meet any of the characters *, [ ] etc. mentioned above, say the corresponding thing. The only other things to remember is that structures, enums (which we havent covered yet) and unions (which we also havent covered yet) followed by their tags should be read in one go. Also array of array declarations (effectively multi-dimensional arrays) should be read in one go.

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Example 1.
What is int * p[15] ?

int

[15]

p is an array of 15 pointers to integers

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Slide No. 4

Example 1.
The declaration int * p[15] could declare p as: 1. an array of 15 pointers to integers, or 2. a pointer to an array of 15 integers

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so which is it? [15] causing us to say integer. Putting all this together gives: 1. 2. 3. 4. p is an array of 15 pointers to integer

Always start reading at the name of the variable being declared, here p. Spiral outwards anti clockwise (in other words right from here). We immediately find:

which causes us to say array of 15. Carrying on spiraling again, the next thing we meet is the * which causes us to say pointer to, or in this case where were dealing with 15 of them, perhaps pointers to. Spiraling again, we sail between the ] and the ; and meet int

The variable p is therefore an array containing 15 elements, each of which is a pointer to an integer.

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C for Programmers

Example 2.
What is double (*p)[38] ?

double

(* p

) [38];

p is a pointer to an array of 38 doubles

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Slide No. 5

Example 2.
Essentially the only difference between this and the last example is the extra set of parentheses around *p. Whereas these might look as though they have little effect, they change the order in which we see things when we spiral. Starting at p we spiral inside the parenthesis and see the * causing us to say pointer to. Now spiraling outwards we meet the [38]

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causing us to say array of 38. From there we spiral round and see: double Putting this together: 1. 2. 3. 4. p is a pointer to an array of 38 double(s) Thus the variable p is a single pointer. At the end of the pointer (once initialized) will be a single array of 38 doubles.

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C for Programmers

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Example 3.
What is short **ab[5][10] ?

short

ab

[5][10]

ab is an array of 5 arrays of 10 arrays of pointers to pointers to short int

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Slide No. 6

Example 3.
Although were throwing in the kitchen sink here, it doesnt really make things that much more difficult.

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Find the variable being declared ab and spiral. We find: [5][10] Putting this together: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. ab is an array of 5 arrays of 10 pointers to pointers to short int

which we read in one go according to our special rule giving array of 5 arrays of 10. Spiraling again we meet the * closest to ab and say pointer to. Spiraling between the ] and the semicolon we meet the next * causing us to say pointer to again. Spiraling once again between the ] and the semicolon we meet short

Thus ab is a collection of 50 pointers, each pointing to a slot in memory containing an address. This address is the address of a short integer somewhere else in memory.

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C for Programmers

Example 4.
What is long * f(int, float) ?

long

(int, float)

f is a function taking an int and a float returning a pointer to a long int

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Slide No. 7

Example 4.
Here we see the function returning parentheses. Once again starting at f we spiral and find

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(int, float) Putting this together gives: 1. 2. 3. 4. f is a function (taking an int and a float as parameters) returning a pointer to a long Thus we find this is merely a function prototype for the function f.

and say function (taking an int and a float as parameters) returning, next spiral to find * causing us to say pointer to, then spiraling between the closing parenthesis and the semicolon to finally land on long.

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Example 5.
What is int (*pf)(void) ?

int

( * pf

) (void)

pf is a pointer to a function taking no parameters and returning an int

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Slide No. 8

Example 5.
This example shows the effect of placing parentheses around *pf when dealing with functions. The variable being declared is pf. We spiral inside the closing parenthesis and meet the * causing us to say pointer to. From there we spiral out to find: (void) which causes us to say function (taking no parameters) and returning. From there we spiral and find: int

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Putting this together gives: 1. 2. 3. 4. pf is a pointer to a function (taking no parameters) and returning an integer

Thus pf is not a function prototype, but the declaration of a single individual pointer. At the end of this pointer is a function. The course has examined the concept of pointers and seen pointers initialized to point at the stack and at the data segment. It is also possible to point pointers into the heap (which will be discussed later). pf is an example of a pointer which can point into the code segment. This is the area of the program which contains the various functions in the program, main, printf, scanf etc.

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Reading C Declarations
C for Programmers

Example 6.
What is struct Book (*fpa[8])(void) ?

struct Book

( * fpa[8] ) (void)

fpa is an array of 8 pointers to functions, taking no parameters, returning Book structures

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Slide No. 9

Example 6.
Here once again, the kitchen sink has been thrown into this declaration and without our rules it would be almost impossible to understand.

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Starting with fpa and spiraling we find: [8] struct Book which, according to our special case, we read in one go. Putting this together gives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. fpa is an array of 8 pointers to functions (taking no parameters) returning Book structures

causing us to say array of 8. Spiraling onwards we find * causing us to say pointer to. Next we encounter: (void) causing us to say function (taking no parameters) returning. Now we meet

Thus fpa is an array of 8 slots. Each slot contains a pointer. Each pointer points to a function. Each function returns one Book structure by value.

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Example 7.
What is char (*(*fprp)(void))[6] ?

char

* fprp

(void) )

[6] ;

fprp is a pointer to a function taking no parameters returning a pointer to an array of 6 char

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 10

Example 7.
The declaration above is hideous and the temptation arises to start screaming. However, fprp is being declared. Spiraling inside the parenthesis leads us to * and we say pointer to. Spiraling further leads us to: (void)

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[6] which is an array of 6, and finally we alight on char Putting this together gives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. fprp is a pointer to a function (taking no parameters) returning a pointer to an array of 6 char

causing us to say function (taking no parameters) returning. Spiraling beyond this leads us to the second * causing us to say pointer to. Now we spiral to

Thus only one pointer is being declared here. The remainder of the declaration merely serves to tell us what type is at the end of the pointer (once it has been initialized). It is, in fact, a code pointer and points to a function. The function takes no parameters but returns a pointer. The returned pointer points to an array of 6 characters.

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C for Programmers

Example 8.
What is int * (*(*ptf)(int))(char) ?

int

( * ( * ptf

) (int) ) (char)

ptf is a pointer to a function, taking an integer, returning a pointer to a function, taking a char, returning a pointer to an int
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 11

Example 8.
Although hideous, this declaration is only one degree worse than the last. Finding ptf and spiraling inside the parenthesis we find * causing us to say pointer to. Now we spiral and find (int)

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(char) int Putting this together: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ptf is a pointer to a function taking an integer and returning a pointer to a function taking a character and returning an integer

meaning function taking an integer and returning. Spiraling further we find another * meaning pointer to. Spiraling further we find

meaning function taking a character and returning. Again another * meaning pointer to, then finally spiraling just in front of the semicolon to meet

Thus ptf declares a single pointer. Again the rest of the declaration serves only to tell us what is at the end of the pointer once initialized. At the end of the pointer lives a function. This function expects an integer as a parameter. The function returns a pointer. The returned pointer points to another function which expects a character as a parameter. This function (the one taking the character) returns a single integer value.

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typedef
It doesnt have to be this difficult! The declaration can be broken into simpler steps by using typedef To tackle typedef, pretend it isnt there and read the declaration as for a variable When finished remember that a type has been declared, not a variable

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Slide No. 12

typedef
When we read a declaration, we break it down into a number of simpler steps. It is possible to give each one of these simpler steps to the compiler using the typedef keyword. To understand typedef, ignore it. Pretend it isnt there and that a variable is being declared. Read the declaration just as for any other variable. But remember, once the declaration has been fully read the compiler has declared a type rather than a variable. This becomes a completely new compiler type and may be used just as validly wherever int, float, double etc. were used.

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C for Programmers

Example 1 Revisited
Simplify int * p[15]

typedef

int * pti

pti is a pointer to an int

pti

p[15];

p is an array of 15 pointer to int

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Slide No. 13

Example 1 Revisited
We want to simplify the declaration int * p[15] which, you will remember, declares p as an array of 15 pointers to integer. Starting from the end of this, create a new type pointer to int. If we wrote: int * pti;

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typedef int * pti; vs. int* int int* p; *p; and especially the problem with p, q; where the type of both p and q is pointer to int without the problems mentioned above.

we would declare a variable pti of type pointer to integer. By placing typedef before this, as in:

we create a new type called pti. Wherever pti is used in a declaration, the compiler will understand pointer to integer, just as wherever int is used in a declaration the compiler understands integer. This, as a quick aside, gives a possible solution to the dilemma of where to place the * in a declaration. You will remember the problems and merits of:

where p has type pointer to int, but q has type int. This typedef can solve the latter problem as in: pti p, q;

Having created this new type, declaring an array of 15 pointers to integers merely becomes: pti p[15];

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Example 3 Revisited
Simplify short **ab[5][10]

typedef

short * * pt_pt_s

typedef

pt_pt_s

ao5[5];

pt_pt_s is a pointer to a pointer to a short

ao5 is an array of 5 pointers to pointers to short

ao5

ab[10];

ab is an array of 10 arrays of 5 pointers to pointers to short

sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 14

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997

Example 3 Revisited
We wish to simplify the declaration short **ab[5][10] which as we already know declares ab as an array of 5 arrays of 10 pointers to pointers to short int. Start from the back with the pointers to pointers to short int: typedef short * * pt_pt_s;

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creates a new type called pt_pt_s meaning pointer to pointer to short. In fact we could stop here and define ab as: pt_pt_s ab[5][10]; typedef pt_pt_s ao5[5];

which is slightly more obvious than it was. However, again peeling away from the back, here is a definition for an array of 5 pointers to pointers to short:

(Remember that if the typedef were covered, we would be creating a variable called ao5 which would be an array of 5 pointers to pointers to short). Once this has been done, creating ab is easily done. We just need 10 of the ao5s as follows: ao5 ab[10];

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C for Programmers

Example 5 Revisited
Simplify int (*pf)(void)

typedef int

fri(void);

fri

* pf

fri is a function, taking no parameters, returning an int

pf is a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning an int

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Slide No. 15

Example 5 Revisited
Now we wish to simplify the declaration of pf in int (*pf)(void) which as we already know declares pf to be a pointer to a function taking no parameters and returning an integer. Tackling this last part first, a new type is created, fri which is a function, taking no parameters, returning an integer typedef int fri(void);

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From here pf is created quite simply by declaring a pointer to an fri as: fri * pf;

does this quite nicely. Remember that if typedef were covered we would be writing a function prototype for fri.

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Example 6 Revisited
Simplify struct Book (*fpa[8])(void)

typedef struct Book f(void);

typedef f

fp

f is a function, taking no parameters, returning a Book structure

fp is a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a Book structure

fp

fpa[8];

fpa is an array of 8 pointers to functions, taking no parameters, returning a Book structure

Slide No. 16

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Example 6 Revisited
We wish to simplify the declaration struct Book (*fpa[8])(void) which as we already know declares fpa as an array of 8 pointers to functions, taking no parameters, returning Book structures. We start by creating a typedef for a single function, taking no parameters, returning a Book structure. Such a function would be: struct Book f(void);

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Adding the typedef ensures that instead of f being the function it instead becomes the new type: typedef struct Book f(void); Now all we have to do is create a pointer to one of these: typedef f *fp; Now all we need is an array of 8 of these: fp fpa[8];

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250
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C for Programmers

Example 7 Revisited
Simplify char (*(*fprp)(void))[6]

typedef

char

( *

pta6c

) [6] ;

typedef

pta6c f(void);

pta6c is a pointer to an array of 6 char

f is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 6 char fprp is a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 6 char
sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 17

fprp

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997

Example 7 Revisited
We wish to simplify the declaration char (*(*fprp)(void))[6] which, as we already know declares fprp as a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 6 characters. The first thing to tackle, once again, is the last part of this declaration, the pointer to an array of 6 characters. This can be done in one step as above, or in two steps as: typedef char array_of_6_char[6]; typedef array_of_6_char *pta6c;

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Now for a function, taking no parameters, that returns one of these: typedef pta6c f(void); All that is left is to create fprp as a pointer to one of these: f *fprp;

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Example 8 Revisited
Simplify int * (*(*ptf)(int))(char)

typedef int * pti

typedef pti f(char);

pti is a pointer to an int

f is a function, taking a char, returning a pointer to an int

typedef

* ptfri

ptfri

( * ptf

)(int) ;

ptfri is a pointer to a function, taking a char, returning a pointer to an int

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997

ptf is a pointer to a function, taking int, returning a pointer to a function, taking a char, returning a pointer to an int
sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 18

Example 8 Revisited
Finally, we wish to simplify the declaration int * (*(*ptf)(int))(char) which as we already know declares ptf as a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a pointer to a function, taking a char, returning a pointer to an int. Starting at the end with the pointer to int part, typedef int

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*pti; typedef pti f(char); Now, a pointer to one of these: typedef f *ptfri; typedef ptfri func_returning_ptfri(int); Now, a pointer to one of these: typedef func_returning_ptfri *ptf_r_ptfri; So that finally the variable ptf can be declared: ptf_r_ptfri ptf; Alternatively we could have used the previous typedef as in: func_returning_ptfri *ptf;

creates the type pti which is a pointer to an int. Again picking away at the end, we need a function taking a char returning one of these, thus:

Next a function, taking an int and returning a pointer to one of these (there wasnt room for this step above):

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C for Programmers

Summary
Dont Panic! SOAC - Spiral Outwards Anti Clockwise To simplify, use typedef(s)

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Slide No. 19

Summary

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Reading C Declarations - Exercises

C for Programmers

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Reading C Declarations Practical Exercises

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254
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Reading C Declarations - Exercises

C for Programmers

1. What types do the following variables have? int int int int int int int char char char char char char char float float float float short short short short long long long *a; b[10]; *c[10]; (*d)[10]; *(*e)[10]; (**f)[10]; *(**g)[10]; h(void); *i(void); (*j)(void); *(*k)(void); **l(void); (**m)(void); *(**n)(void); (*o(void))[6]; *(*p(void))[6]; (**q(void))[6]; *(**r(void))[6]; (*s(void))(int); *(*t(void))(int); (**u(void))(int); *(**v(void))(int); (*(*x(void))(int))[6]; *(*(*y(void))(int))[6]; *(*(*(*z)(void))[7])(void);

2. Using typedef, simplify the declaration of: e g l n p u x z in 3 steps in 4 steps in 3 steps in 3 steps in 4 steps in 4 steps in 5 steps in 7 steps

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Reading C Declarations - Solutions

C for Programmers

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Reading C declarations Solutions

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256
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Reading C Declarations - Solutions

C for Programmers

1. What types do the following variables have? int *a;

a is a pointer to int. int b[10];

b is an array of 10 int. int *c[10];

c is an array of 10 pointers to int. int (*d)[10];

d is a pointer to an array of 10 int. int *(*e)[10];

e is a pointer to an array of 10 pointers to int. int (**f)[10];

f is a pointer to a pointer to an array of 10 int. int *(**g)[10];

g is a pointer to a pointer to an array of 10 pointer to int. char h(void);

h is a function, taking no parameters, returning a char. char *i(void);

i is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to char. char (*j)(void);

j is a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a char. char *(*k)(void);

k is a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a char. char **l(void);

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(**m)(void);

l is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a pointer to a char. char

m is a pointer to a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a char.

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char

*(**n)(void);

n is a pointer to a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a char. float (*o(void))[6];

o is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 6 float. float *(*p(void))[6];

p is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 6 pointers to float. float (**q(void))[6];

q is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a pointer to an array of 6 float. float *(**r(void))[6];

r is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a pointer to an array of 6 pointer to float. short (*s(void))(int);

s is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a short. short *(*t(void))(int);

t is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a pointer to a short. short

u is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a short. short *(**v(void))(int);

v is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a pointer to a short. long (*(*x(void))(int))[6];

x is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a pointer to an array of 6 long. long *(*(*y(void))(int))[6];

y is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a pointer to an array of 6 pointers to long. long *(*(*(*z)(void))[7])(void);

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(**u(void))(int);

z is a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 7 pointers to functions, taking no parameters, returning pointers to long.

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Reading C Declarations - Solutions

C for Programmers

2. Using typedef, simplify the declaration of: e in 3 steps. e is a pointer to an array of 10 pointers to int. i) typedef for pointer to int: typedef int * int_ptr; ii) typedef for 10 of i: typedef int_ptr arr_int_ptr[10]; iii) typedef for a pointer to ii: typedef arr_int_ptr * ptr_arr_int_ptr;

g in 4 steps. g is a pointer to a pointer to an array of 10 pointer to int.

Continuing from (iii) above: iv) typedef for a pointer to iii: typedef ptr_arr_int_ptr * ptr_ptr_arr_int_ptr;

l in 3 steps. l is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a pointer to a char.

i) typedef for a pointer to a char: typedef char * ptr_char; ii) typedef for a pointer to i: typedef ptr_char * ptr_ptr_char; iii) typedef of a function returning ii: typedef ptr_ptr_char func_returning_ptr_ptr_char(void);

n in 3 steps. n is a pointer to a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a char.

i) typedef for a pointer to a char:

ii) typedef for a function, taking no parameters, returning i: typedef ptr_char func_returning_ptr_char(void);

iii) typedef of a pointer to ii: typedef ptr_to_func * ptr_char func_returning_ptr_char;

p in 4 steps. p is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 6 pointers to float.

i) typedef for a pointer to a float:

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typedef char * ptr_char; typedef float * ptr_flt; typedef ptr_flt arr_ptr_flt[6];

ii) typedef for an array of 6 is:

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iii) typedef of a pointer to ii: typedef arr_ptr_flt * ptr_to_arr; iv) typedef of a function returning iii: typedef ptr_to_arr func_returning_ptr_to_arr(void); u in 4 steps. u is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a short.

i) typedef for the function taking an int and returning a short: typedef short f(int); ii) typedef for a pointer to i: typedef f * ptr_func; iii) typedef of a pointer to ii: typedef ptr_func * ptr_ptr_func; iv) typedef of a function returning iii: typedef ptr_ptr_func func_returning_ptr_ptr_func(void); x in 5 steps. x is a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to a function, taking an int, returning a pointer to an array of 6 long.

i) typedef for an array of 6 long: typedef long arr_long[6]; ii) typedef for a pointer to i: typedef arr_long * ptr_arr_long; iii) typedef of a function taking an int and returning a ii: typedef ptr_arr_long f(int); iv) typedef for a pointer to iii:

v) typedef for a function, taking no parameters returning iv: typedef ptr_to_func func(void);

z in 7 steps. z is a pointer to a function, taking no parameters, returning a pointer to an array of 7 pointers to functions, taking no parameters, returning pointers to long.

i) typedef for a pointer to a long:

ii) typedef for a function, taking no parameters, returning i: typedef ptl f(void); iii) typedef of a pointer to ii:

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typedef f * ptr_to_func; typedef long * ptl; typedef f * ptr_func;

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C for Programmers

iv) typedef for an array of 7 iii: typedef ptr_func arr_ptr_func[7]; v) typedef for a pointer to a iv: typedef arr_ptr_func * ptr_arr_ptr_func; vi) typedef for a function, taking no parameters, returning iv: typedef ptr_arr_ptr_func frp(void); vii) typedef for a pointer to a vi: typedef frp * ptr_frp;

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Handling Files in C
C for Programmers

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Handling Files in C

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262
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Handling Files in C
C for Programmers

Handling Files in C
Streams stdin, stdout, stderr Opening files When things go wrong - perror Copying files Accessing the command line Dealing with binary files

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Slide No. 1

Handling Files in C
This chapter discusses how the Standard Library makes files accessible from the C language.

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Handling Files in C
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Introduction
File handling is not built into the C language itself It is provided by The Standard Library (via a set of routines invariably beginning with f) Covered by The Standard, the routines will always be there and work the same way, regardless of hardware/operating system Files are presented as a sequence of characters It is easy to move forwards reading/writing characters, it is less easy (though far from impossible) to go backwards

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Slide No. 2

Introduction
The Standard Library Some languages have special keywords for dealing with files. C doesnt, instead it uses routines in the Standard Library which, because they are covered by The Standard will always work the same way despite the environment they are used in. Thus a Cray running Unix or a PC running CP/M (if there are any), the mechanism for opening a file is exactly the same. Opening a file is rather like being presented with a large array of characters, except whereas an array provides random access to its elements a file provides sequential access to its characters. It is possible to achieve random access, but the routines are most easily driven forwards through the file character by character.

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264
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Handling Files in C
C for Programmers

Streams
Before a file can be read or written, a data structure known as a stream must be associated with it A stream is usually a pointer to a structure (although it isnt necessary to know this) There are three streams opened by every C program, stdin, stdout and stderr stdin (standard input) is connected to the keyboard and may be read from stdout (standard output) and stderr (standard error) are connected to the screen and may be written to
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 3

Streams
The procedure by which files are manipulated in C is that a stream must be associated with a file to be read or written. A stream is a black box (although not in the aircraft sense) in that you dont really need to know what is going on in a stream. In fact it is best not to have to know, since there can be some headache inducing stuff happening in there. As far as we are concerned the stream is transparent, we dont know what is it and we dont care. This is a similar idea to the handle concept popularized with Microsoft Windows programming. We dont know what a handle is, we just get them back from functions and pass them around to other functions that are interested in them. Same idea with a stream. Whenever a C program runs (it doesnt matter what it does) it has 3 streams associated with it. These are: 1. the standard input, or stdin, connected to the keyboard. When characters are read from stdin the program will wait for the user to type something. scanf, for instance, uses stdin. 2. the standard output, or stdout, connected to the screen. When characters are written to stdout characters appear on the screen. printf, for instance, uses stdout. 3. the standard error, or stderr, also connected to the screen. Characters written to stderr will also appear on the screen. The perror function uses stderr.

stdin, stdout and stderr

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What is a Stream?
Although implementations vary, a stream creates a buffer between the program running in memory and the file on the disk This reduces the programs need to access slow hardware devices Characters are silently read a block at a time into the buffer, or written a block at a time to the file
a b c d e f g h i j k l

output stream
a b c d e f g h i j

input stream

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Slide No. 4

What is a Stream?
It is all very well saying a stream must be associated with each file to be manipulated, but what is a stream and what does it do? The Standard does not say how a stream should be implemented, this is left to the compiler writers. Streams were invented in the very early days of C when devices were slow (much slower than they are today). Programs executing in memory run much faster than hardware devices can provide the information they need. It was found that when a program read characters individually from a disk, the program would have to wait excessively for the correct part of the disk to spin around. The character would be grabbed and processed, then the program would have to wait again for the disk. In the intervening years manufacturers have invented caches (large buffers) so the disk never reads a single character. Thus when the program requests the next character it is provided immediately from the buffer. Complex algorithms are used to determine which characters should be buffered and which should be discarded. Streams do this buffering in software. Thus if the device you are using does not support caching, it doesnt matter because the stream will do it for you. If the device does cache requests, there is a minor duplication of effort.

Fast Programs Deal with Slow Hardware

Caches and Streams

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C for Programmers

Why stdout and stderr?

There are two output streams because of redirection, supported by Unix, DOS, OS/2 etc.
#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) printf("written to stdout\n"); fprintf(stderr, "written to stderr\n"); return 0; } C:> outprog written to stderr written to stdout C:> outprog > file.txt written to stderr C:> type file.txt written to stdout output written to stderr first because it is unbuffered

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Slide No. 5

Why stdout and stderr?

It seems strange to have two separate streams, stdout and stderr both going to the screen. After all, there is only one screen and it seems odd that a minimalist language like C would specifically attempt to cope with us having two monitors on our desks. The real reason C has two streams going to the same place goes to the heart of Unix. Remember that C and Unix grew up together. Unix invented the idea of file redirection and of the pipe. In fact both ideas proved so popular that were adopted into other operating systems, e.g. MS-DOS, Windows 95, NT and OS/2 to name but a few. The idea is that: prog

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prog | print

would run a program normally with its output going to the screen in front of us, but: prog > myfile.txt would run the program and take its screen output and write it to the file myfile.txt which is created in whatever directory the user is running in. Alternatively:

would take the screen output and run it through the program called print (which Im guessing would cause it to appear on a handy printer).

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Why stdout and stderr? (Continued)

These ideas have become fundamental to Unix, but in the early days it was discovered there was a problem. If the program prog needed to output any error messages these would either be mixed into the file, or printed on the line printer. What was needed was a way to write messages to the user that would be independent of the redirection currently in force. This was done by creating two separate streams, one for output, stdout, the other for errors, stderr. Although the standard output of the programs is redirected above, the standard error remains attached to the screen. stderr guarantees the program a direct connection to the user despite any redirection currently in force.

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C for Programmers

stdin is Line Buffered

Characters typed at the keyboard are buffered until Enter/Return is pressed
#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) int ch; C:> inprog abc read 'a' read 'b' read 'c' read ' ' d read 'd' read ' ' ^Z EOF C:>

while((ch = getchar()) != EOF) printf("read '%c'\n", ch); printf("EOF\n"); return 0; } declared as an int, even though we are dealing with characters
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Slide No. 6

stdin is Line Buffered

Above is a program that uses the getchar routine. The important thing to notice is that because getchar uses the stdin stream, and stdin is line buffered, the characters abc which are typed are not processed until the enter key is pressed. Then they (and the enter key) are processed in one go as the loop executes four times. By this time getchar has run out of characters and it must go back to the keyboard and wait for more. The second time around only d is typed, again followed by the enter key. These two characters, d and enter are processed in one go as the loop executes twice. Under MS-DOS the Control Z character is used to indicate end of file. When this is typed (again followed by enter) the getchar routine returns EOF and the loop terminates. It must seem curious that the variable ch is declared as type int and not char since we are dealing with characters, after all. The reason for this is that neither K&R C nor Standard C says whether char is signed or unsigned. This seems rather irrelevant until it is revealed that the value of the EOF define is -1. Now, if a compiler chose to implement char as an unsigned quantity, when getchar returned -1 to indicate end of file, it would cause 255 to be stored (since an unsigned variable cannot represent a negative value). When the 255 were compared with the -1 value of EOF, the comparison would fail. Thus the poor user would repeatedly type ^Z (or whatever your local flavour of end of file is) with no effect. Using the type int guarantees that signed values may be represented properly.

Signaling End of File

int not char

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Opening Files
Files are opened and streams created with the fopen function
FILE* fopen(const char* name, const char* mode); #include <stdio.h> int { main(void) FILE* FILE* FILE* in; out; append; streams, youll need one for each file you want open

in = fopen("autoexec.bat", "r"); out = fopen("autoexec.bak", "w"); append = fopen("config.sys", "a");

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Slide No. 7

Opening Files
Before a file may be manipulated, a stream must be associated with it. This association between stream and file is made with the fopen routine.

The Stream Type

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A stream is actually declared as: FILE *

All that is needed is to plug in the file name, the access mode (read, write, append) and the stream comes back. This is similar in concept to placing coins in a slot machine, pressing buttons and obtaining a chocolate bar. One kind of thing goes in (the coins, the file name) and another kind of thing comes back out (the chocolate bar, the stream).

i.e. a pointer to a FILE structure. If you want to see what this structure looks like, it is defined in the stdio.h header.

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C for Programmers

Dealing with Errors

fopen may fail for one of many reasons, how to tell which?
void perror(const char* message); #include <stdio.h> int { main(void) FILE* in;

if((in = fopen("autoexec.bat", "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "open of autoexec.bat failed "); perror("because"); return 1; } open of autoexec.bat failed because: No such file or directory

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Slide No. 8

Dealing with Errors

The important thing to realize about streams is that because they are pointers it is possible for fopen to indicate a problem by returning NULL. This is a special definition of an invalid pointer seen previously. Thus if fopen returns NULL, we are guaranteed something has gone wrong. The problem is that something has gone wrong is not really good enough. We need to know what has gone wrong and whether we can fix it. Is it merely that the user has spelt the filename wrong and needs to be given the opportunity to try again or has the network crashed? The Standard Library deals with errors by manipulating a variable called errno, the error number. Each implementation of C assigns a unique number to each possible error situation. Thus 1 could be file does not exist, 2 could be not enough memory and so on. It is possible to access errno by placing: extern int errno;

What Went Wrong?

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this would produce: open of autoexec failed because 1 In which case no text is prepended to the error text.

somewhere at the top of the program. After the failed call to fopen we could say: fprintf("open of autoexec failed because %i\n", errno);

which is rather unhelpful. What perror does is to look up the value of 1 in a table and find a useful text message. Notice that it prints whatever string is passed to it (because in the program above) followed by a : character. If you dont want this, invoke it as: perror("");

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File Access Problem

Can you see why the following will ALWAYS fail, despite the file existing and being fully accessible?
if((in = fopen("C:\autoexec.bat", "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "open of autoexec.bat failed "); perror("because"); return 1; } C:> dir C:\autoexec.bat Volume in drive C is MS-DOS_62 Directory of C:\ autoexec bat 1 file(s) 805 29/07/90 8:15 805 bytes 1,264,183,808 bytes free

C:> myprog open of autoexec.bat failed because: No such file or directory

Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 9

File Access Problem

There is a rather nasty problem waiting in the wings when C interacts with operating systems like MS-DOS, NT and OS/2 which use pathnames of the form:

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\name\text\afile but not Unix which uses pathnames of the form: /name/text/afile \\name\\text\\afile

The problem is with the directory separator character, \ vs. /. Why is this such a problem? Remember that the character sequences \n, \t and \a have special significance in C (as do \f, \r, \v and \x). The file we would actually be trying to open would be: <newline>ame<tab>ext<alert>file No such problem exists in Unix, because C attaches no special significance to /n which it sees as two characters, not one as in the case of \n. There are two solutions. The first: (which is rather inelegant) is to prepend \ as follows:

The second: despite the fact we are not using Unix, specify a Unix style path. Some routine somewhere within the depths of MS-DOS, Windows, NT etc. seems to understand and switch the separators around the other way. This behavior is not covered by The Standard and thus you cant rely upon it. The safest choice is the first solution which will always work, even though it does look messy.

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Displaying a File
#include <stdio.h> int main(void) { char in_name[80]; FILE *in_stream; int ch; printf("Display file: "); scanf("%79s", in_name); if((in_stream = fopen(in_name, "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "open of %s for reading failed ", in_name); perror("because"); return 1; } while((ch = fgetc(in_stream)) != EOF) putchar(ch); fclose(in_stream); return 0; }
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 10

Displaying a File
Reading the Pathname but Avoiding Overflow The array in_name being 80 characters in length gives the user room to specify a reasonably lengthy path and filename. Dont think that all filenames should be 13 characters in length just because your operating system uses eight dot three format. The user will invariably need to specify a few directories too. The pathname that results can be almost any length. scanf("%79s", in_name);

The Programs Return Code

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Once again perror is used when something goes wrong to produce a descriptive explanation. Notice that for the first time we are using return 1;

uses %79s to prevent the user from corrupting memory if more than 79 characters are typed (space is left for the null terminator). You will also notice this scanf is missing an &. Normally this is fatal, however here it is not a mistake. An array name automatically yields the address of the zeroth character. Thus we are providing the address that scanf needs, &in_name is redundant.

to indicate the failure of the program. When the file has not been opened the program cannot be said to have succeeded. It thus indicates failure by returning a non zero value. In fact any value 1 up to and including 255 will do.

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Example - Copying Files

#include <stdio.h> int { main(void) char FILE int in_name[80], out_name[80]; *in_stream, *out_stream; ch;

printf("Source file: "); scanf("%79s", in_name); if((in_stream = fopen(in_name, "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "open of %s for reading failed ", in_name); perror("because"); return 1; } printf("Destination file: "); scanf("%79s", out_name); if((out_stream = fopen(out_name, "w")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "open of %s for writing failed ", out_name); perror("because"); return 1; } while((ch = fgetc(in_stream)) != EOF) fputc(ch, out_stream); fclose(in_stream); fclose(out_stream); return 0; }
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 11

Example - Copying Files

Reading and Writing Files Two arrays are needed for the input and output file names. The first file is, as before, opened for reading by specifying r to fopen. The second file is opened for writing by specifying w to fopen. Characters are then transferred between files until EOF is encountered within the source file. Strictly speaking when we fail to open the destination file for writing, before the return, we should fclose the source file. This is not actually necessary, since on normal exit from a program, C closes all open files. This does not happen if the program crashes. Closing the output file will cause any operating system dependent end of file character(s) to be written. The loop: while((ch = fgetc(in_stream)) != EOF) fputc(out_stream, ch);

Closing files

Transferring the data

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ch = fgetc(in_name)

uses the Standard Library routine fgetc to obtain the next character in sequence from the input file. Notice the call is NOT:

i.e. we use the stream associated with the file rather than the name of the file. Any attempt to pass in_name to fgetc would produce compiler errors. The character obtained from the file is checked against EOF to see if we have processed all of the characters. If not, the character is written to the output file (again via the stream associated with the file, out_stream and not via the name of the file in out_name).

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Example - Copying Files (Continued)

Blissful Ignorance of Hidden Buffers Notice that although both in_stream and out_stream have buffers associated with them, we need to know nothing about these buffers. We are not required to fill them, empty them, increment pointers, decrement pointers or even know the buffers exist. The fgetc and fputc routines manage everything behind the scenes. Finally when end of file is encountered in the input file, the loop terminates and the program calls fclose to close the input and output files. This is really unnecessary since C will close files for us when the program finishes (which it is about to do via return), however it is good practice. There are only so many files you can open simultaneously (the limit usually defined by the operating system). If you can open one file, close it, then open another and close that there is no limit on the number of files your application could deal with. There is, of course, always the danger of forgetting to close files and then turning this code into a function which would be called repeatedly. On each call, one precious file descriptor would be used up. Eventually fopen would fail with too many open files. Once again, fclose deals with the stream, in_stream and not the file name in_name. Programs Return Code Finally the return 0;

Cleaning up

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indicates the success (i.e. successful copy) of our program.

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Convenience Problem
Although our copy file program works, it is not as convenient as the real thing
C:> copyprog Source file: \autoexec.bat Destination file: \autoexec.bak C:> dir C:\autoexec.* Volume in drive C is MS-DOS_62 Directory of C:\ autoexec bak autoexec bat 2 file(s) 805 31/12/99 12:34 805 29/07/90 8:15 1610 bytes 1,264,183,003 bytes free C:> copyprog \autoexec.bat \autoexec.000 Source file: program still prompts despite begin given file names on the command line
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 12

Convenience Problem
Typing Pathnames Here we can see our program working. Note that when prompted for the source and destination files it is neither necessary nor correct to type: \\autoexec.bat

No Command Line Interface

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It is only the compiler (actually its the preprocessor) which converts \a from the two character sequence into the alert character. Once the program has been compiled, the preprocessor is out of the picture, thus typing the filename is straightforward and we dont have to make a note that since the program was written in C pathnames should be typed in a strange format. The fact remains that although our program works, it fails to pick up file names from the command line. It cannot be used as conveniently as the real thing. Clearly we would like to emulate the behavior of supplied programs like the real copy command.

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C for Programmers

Accessing the Command Line

The command line may be accessed via two parameters to main, by convention these are called argc and argv The first is a count of the number of words including the program name itself The second is an array of pointers to the words
int main(int argc, char *argv[])

argc

argv

c o p y p r o g . e x e \0 \ a u t o e x e c . b a t \0 \ a u t o e x e c . 0 0 0 \0 NULL

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Slide No. 13

Accessing the Command Line

In environments which support C it is possible to access the command line in a clean and portable way. To do this we must change the way main is defined. If we use the header we have seen thus far during the course: int main(void)

argc argv

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int main(int argc, char* argv[]) int main(int sky, char* blue[]) The pointers in the argv array are guaranteed to point to strings (i.e. null terminated arrays of characters).

our program will ignore all words the user types on the command line (command line parameters). If on the other hand we use the header:

the program may pick up and process as many parameters (words) the user provides. Since the two variables argc and argv are parameters they are ours to name whatever we choose, for instance:

Providing we do not change their types the names we use are largely our choice. However, there is a convention that these parameters are always called argc and argv. This maintains consistency across all applications, across all countries, so when you see argv being manipulated, you know that command line parameters are being accessed. The parameters are: an integer containing a count of the number of words the user typed an array of pointers to strings, these strings are the actual words the user typed or an exact copy of them.

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Example
#include <stdio.h> int { main(int argc, char *argv[]) int j;

for(j = 0; j < argc; j++) printf("argv[%i] = \"%s\"\n", j, argv[j]); return 0; } C:> argprog one two three argv[0] = "C:\cct\course\cprog\files\slideprog\argprog.exe" argv[1] = "one" argv[2] = "two" argv[3] = "three"

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Slide No. 13

Example
The program above shows a C program accessing its command line. Note that element zero of the array contains a pointer to the program name, including its full path (although a few operating systems provide only the program name). This path may be used as the directory in which to find .ini and other data files. Although argc provides a convenient count of the number of parameters the argv array itself contains a NULL terminator (a NULL pointer, not a null terminator \0). The loop could have been written as: for(j = 0; argv[j] != NULL; j++) printf("argv[%i] = \"%s\"\n", j, argv[j]);

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In fact, argc isnt strictly necessary, its there to make our lives slightly easier.

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C for Programmers

Useful Routines
File reading routines:
int int char* fscanf(FILE* stream, const char* format, ...); fgetc(FILE* stream); fgets(char* buffer, int size, FILE* stream);

File writing routines:

int int int fprintf(FILE* stream, const char* format, ...); fputc(int ch, FILE* stream); fputs(const char* buffer, FILE* stream);

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Slide No. 15

Useful Routines
fscanf The fscanf routine is just like scanf, except for the first parameter which you will see is of the stream type. To read an int, a float and a word of not more than 39 characters into an array from the keyboard: scanf("%I %f %39s", &j, &flt, word);

fgets

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to read these things from a file: fscanf(in_stream, "%I %f %39s", &j, &flt, word); The fgetc routine has already been used in the file copy program to read individual characters from an input file.
char line[100];

The fgets routine reads whole lines as strings. The only problem is fixing the length of the string. The storage used must be allocated by the user as an array of characters. Doing this involves putting a figure on how long the longest line will be. Lines longer than this magical figure will be truncated. For a short lines fgets will append the newline character, \n (just before the null terminator). When a long line is encountered, fgets truncates it and does not append a newline. Thus the presence or absence of the newline indicates whether the line was longer than our buffer length.

fgets(line, sizeof(line), in_stream); if(strchr(line, '\n') == NULL) printf("line \"%s\" truncated at %I characters\n", line, sizeof(line));

The Standard Library routine strchr finds a character within a string and returns a pointer to it, if present, or NULL if absent.

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Useful Routines - (Continued)

fprintf The fprintf routine is just like printf, except for the first parameter which you will see is of the stream type. To write an int, a float to one decimal place and a word, left justified within a field of 39 characters: printf("%i %.1f %-39s", j, flt, word); to write these things to a file: fprintf(out_stream, "%i %.1f %-39s", j, flt, word); in fact, printf(???) is the equivalent of fprintf(stdout, ???). The fputc routine can be seen in the file copy program a few pages ago and writes single characters to a file. fputs The fputs routine writes a string to a file, as follows: char line[100];

fgets(line, sizeof(line), in_stream); fputs(line, out_stream); All the characters in the character array are written, up until the null terminator \0. If you have a newline character at the end of the buffer this will be written out too, otherwise you will output part of a line. Presumably a newline character must be appended by hand at some stage.

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Although fgets is driven by a character count (in order not to overflow the buffer), the fputs routine is driven by the position of the null terminator and thus does not need a count. Passing a non null terminated array of characters to fputs would cause serious problems.

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C for Programmers

Example
long int double float char l1, l2; j, ch; d; f; buf[200]; example input
28.325|9000000:68000/13

in = fopen("in.txt", "r") .... out = fopen("out.txt", "w") ....

9000000:13:28.33

fscanf(in, "%lf|%li:%li/%i", &d, &l1, &l2, &j); fprintf(out, "%li:%i:%.2lf\n", l1, j, d); fgetc(in); fgets(buf, sizeof(buf), in); fputs(buf, out); ignore next character in input file (newline?) read next line, or next 199 characters, whichever is less

write that line to the output file (null terminator provided by fgets tells fputs how long the line was)
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 15

Example
The example program above shows fscanf reading a double, two long ints and an int from the file in.txt. The double is separated from the first long int by a vertical bar |, the two long ints are separated from one another by a :, while the long int is separated from the int by /.

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ch = fgetc(in); fgets Stop Conditions These characters are then written to the output file via the fputs routine.

When output to the file out.txt via the fprintf routine, the first long int, int and double are separated by : characters. The next call is to fgetc which reads one single character from the input stream. This assumes there is a newline character immediately after the .... 68000/13 information which we have just read. This newline character is discarded. Normally we would have said

but here there seems no point assigning the newline character to anything since were really not that interested in it. Why all this fuss over a simple newline character? The fgets routine reads everything up until the next newline character. If we do not discard the one at the end of the line, fgets will immediately find it and read an empty line. fgets will stop reading characters if it encounters end of file, \n or it reads 199 characters (it is careful to leave room for the null terminator) from the file into the buffer buf. A null terminator is placed immediately after the last character read.

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Binary Files
The Standard Library also allows binary files to be manipulated

size_t size_t int long void int int

b must be added into the fopen options Character translation is disabled Random access becomes easier Finding the end of file can become more difficult Data is read and written in blocks
fread(void* p, size_t size, size_t n, FILE* stream); fwrite(const void* p, size_t size, size_t n, FILE* stream); fseek(FILE* stream, long offset, int whence); ftell(FILE* stream); rewind(FILE* stream); fgetpos(FILE* stream, fpos_t* pos); fsetpos(FILE* stream, const fpos_t* pos);

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Slide No. 17

Binary Files
Thus far we have examined text files, i.e. the characters contained within each file consist entirely of ASCII (or EBCDIC) characters. Thus the file contents may be examined, edited, printed etc. Storing, say, a double as ASCII text can be rather inefficient, consider storing the characters 3.1415926535890 (thats 15 characters) in a file. Then some other character, perhaps space or newline would be needed to separate this from the next number. That pushes the total to 16 bytes. Storing the double itself would only cost 8 bytes. Storing another double next to it would be another 8 bytes. No separator is required since we know the exact size of each double. This would be called a binary file since on opening the file we would see not recognizable characters but a collection of bits making up our double. In fact we would see 8 characters corresponding to the 8 bytes in the double. These characters would appear almost random and would almost certainly not be readable in a human sense. The double containing pi could be written to a binary file as follows: double FILE* pi = 3.1415926535890; out_stream;

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out_stream = fopen("out.bin", "wb"); fwrite(&pi, sizeof(double), 1, out_stream);

The normal checking of the return value from fopen, which is necessary with binary files too, has been omitted for brevity.

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C for Programmers

Binary Files (Continued)

fopen wb The wb option to fopen puts the stream into binary write mode. This is very important, because there are a number of significant changes in the way the various routines work with binary files. Fortunately these changes are subtle and we just go ahead and write the program without needing to worry about them. Well, mostly. The first change in the behavior of the routines concerns the Control Z problem. When MS-DOS was invented, someone decided to place a special marker at the end of each file. The marker chosen was Control-Z (whose ASCII value is 26). Writing a byte containing 26 to a file is no problem. Reading a byte containing 26 back again is a problem. If in text mode, the 26 will appear as end of file, fgetc will return EOF and you will not be able to read any further. It is therefore very important that you read binary files in binary mode. If you read a binary file in text mode you will get some small percentage of the way through the file, find a 26, and inexplicably stop. Since MS-DOS had an influence on the design of Windows 95, NT and OS/2 they all share this problem, even though no one actually does store Control-Z at the end of files any more (this is because there were too many problems when an application failed to write the Control-Z. Such EOF-less files grew without limit and eventually ate all the disk space). This begs the question as to how, if our end of file character has been used up, we can detect end of file with a binary file. This isnt really that different a question to how with modern files we can detect end of file when there is no appended Control-Z. This is all done by the operating system which somewhere must maintain a count of the number of bytes in the file (the dir command certainly doesnt open each file and count the number of bytes each time you run it).

The Control Z Problem

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Binary Files (Continued)

The Newline Problem The second change in behavior revolves around the newline character \n. To understand what a newline really does, you need to think of the movement of a print head either for a teletype or for a printer (back in the days when printers had print heads). At the end of a line the print head returns to column one. This is called a carriage return. Then the paper moves up one line, called a line feed. Thus a single newline character would seem to do two things. Under Unix there is an immense amount of heavy code within the terminal driver to make sure these two things happen whenever a \n is output. This behavior can even be turned off whenever appropriate. MS-DOS is a much more simple operating system. It was decided that a newline character should do one thing and not two. It is therefore necessary to place two characters \r and \n at the end of each line in an MS-DOS file. The \r, carriage return character moves the cursor to column one, the \n causes the line feed to move to the next line. Clearly we have not taken this into account thus far. In fact the Standard Library routines take care of this for us. If we do the following: FILE* out_stream;

out_stream = fopen("out.txt", "w"); fprintf(out_stream, "hi\n");

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FILE* out_stream; out_stream = fopen("out.bin", "wb"); fprintf(out_stream, "hi\n"); The upshot is: text mode binary mode text mode binary mode write 10 write 10 read 13 read 13

Because out_stream is opened in text mode, four characters are written to the file, h, i, \r, \n. If we had done the following:

then only three characters would have been written, h, i, \n. Without the carriage returns in the file, listing it would produce some interesting effects.

13 10 written 10 written see 13 (if 13 not followed by 10) see 10 (if 13 followed by 10) see 13

You can imagine that if a binary file were read in text mode and these 10s and 13s were embedded within, say, a double the value would not be pulled back out properly.

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Binary Files (Continued)

The Movement Problem A further problem arises with random movement around the file. Say we wish to move forwards 100 bytes in a file. If the file were opened in text mode every time we moved over a 10 it would count as two characters. Thus if there were 3 10s within the next 100 bytes would that mean we should move forwards 103 bytes instead? If the file were opened in binary mode there wouldnt be a problem since a 10 is a 10, moving 100 bytes would mean 100 bytes. There are two mechanisms for moving around files. As just discussed these work best with binary files. The traditional method is to use the fseek function. int fseek(FILE* stream, long offset, int whence); The second parameter, of type long is the position we wish to move to. Thus if we wished to move to the 30th byte in the file (regardless of our current position): fseek(stream, 30L, SEEK_SET); Where stream is the stream opened for reading or writing in binary mode and SEEK_SET is a constant defined in stdio.h which says move relative to the start of the file. Two other constants SEEK_CUR, move relative to the current position and SEEK_END, move relative to the end of the file, are available. When SEEK_SET is used, the position specified must not be negative. When SEEK_CUR is used, the position may be either positive or negative, when SEEK_END is used the value should be negative. The ftell function may be used to determine the current position within the file. A fundamental problem with fseek and ftell is that the maximum value of a long is 231-1. In byte terms we can move to any position within a 2.1 Gigabyte file. If the file is larger were in trouble. To address this problem, the Standard Library defines two other routines: int fgetpos(FILE *stream, fpos_t *pos); int fsetpos(FILE *stream, const fpos_t *pos);

Moving Around Files

fsetpos vs. fseek

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where fpos_t is an implementation specific type able to hold a position within a file of arbitrary size. Unfortunately you need to visit the point you wish to return to first. In other words fgetpos must be called to initialize an fpos_t before fsetpos can called using the fpos_t. It is not possible to say move the position forwards by 3000 bytes as it is with fseek, though you could say move the position backwards by 3000 bytes as long as you had remembered to save the position 3000 bytes ago.

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Example
double long double fpos_t d; lda[35]; where; read one chunk of 8 bytes

in = fopen("binary.dat", "rb"); out = fopen("binnew.dat", "wb"); fread(&d, sizeof(d), 1, in); fgetpos(in, &where); fread(lda, sizeof(lda), 1, in); fsetpos(in, &where); fread(lda, sizeof(long double), 35, in); fwrite(lda, sizeof(long double), 20, out); fseek(in, 0L, SEEK_END); move to end of binary.dat
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remember current position in file

read one chunk of 350 bytes return to previous position read 35 chunks of 10 bytes write 20 long doubles from lda
Slide No. 17

Example
This is an example of some of the routines mentioned. It is an example only, not a particularly coherent program. Firstly the files are opened in binary mode by appending b to the file mode. The first fread transfers sizeof(d) == 8 bytes, multiplied by 1 (the next parameter) from the stream in into the variable d. The current position is saved using the fgetpos function. The second fread transfers sizeof(lda) == 350 bytes, multiplied by 1, into lda. As lda is an array, it is not necessary to place an & before it as the case with d.

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fseek(in, 0L, SEEK_SET); we would have moved back to the start of the file. This would have been equivalent to: rewind(in);

Using the fsetpos function, the file position is returned to the point at which the 35 long doubles are stored (just after the initial 8 byte double which was read into d). These long doubles are then re-read. This time the parameters to fread are sizeof(long double) == 10 bytes and 35 because we need to read 35 chunks of 10 bytes. The net effect is exactly the same. 350 bytes are transferred from the file directly into the array lda. We then write the first 20 long doubles from the lda array to the file out. The call to fseek moves the current file position to zero bytes from the end of the file (because SEEK_END is used). If the call had been

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Summary
Streams stdin, stdout, stderr fopen opening text files functions: perror, fprintf, fscanf, fgetc, fputc variables: argc, argv b option to fopen to open binary files functions: fread, fwrite, fseek, ftell

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Slide No. 19

Summary

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Handling Files in C - Exercises

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Handling Files in C Practical Exercises

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Handling Files in C - Exercises

C for Programmers

Directory:

STDLIB

1. Write a program called SHOW which displays text files a screenfull at a time (rather like more). Prompt for the name of the file to display. Assume the screen is 20 lines long. 2. Update SHOW such that it tests for a file name on the command line, so SHOW SHOW.C would display its own source code. If no file name is provided, prompt for one as before. 3. Further update SHOW so that it will display each one in a list of files: SHOW SHOW.C FCOPY.C ELE.TXT Using the prompt press return for next file <name> when the end of the first two files has been reached. Do not produce this prompt after ELE.TXT 4. The file ELE.TXT is a text file containing details about the elements in the Periodic Table. The format of each line in the file is: nm 45.234 100.95 340.98 where nm is the two letter element name, 45.234 is the atomic weight (or relative molecular mass as it is now called), 100.95 is the melting point and 340.98 the boiling point. Write a program ELEMS to read this text file and display it, 20 lines at a time on the screen. 5. Using ELEMS as a basis, write a program ELBIN to read the text information from ELE.TXT and write it to a binary file ELE.BIN. Then write a BINSHOW program to read the binary file and display the results on the screen. The results should look the same as for your ELEMS program. If you write floats to the file, you should notice the binary file is smaller than its text equivalent. 6. When a program is compiled, all strings that are to be loaded into the data segment at run time are written into the executable. If the executable is opened for reading in binary mode, these strings may be found and printed. Write such a program STRINGS.C which prints out sequences of 4 or more printable characters. The character classification routines from <ctype.h> may be helpful in determining what is printable and what is not.

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Handling Files in C Solutions

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C for Programmers

1. Write a program called SHOW which displays text files a screenful at a time (rather like more). Prompt for the name of the file to display. Assume the screen is 20 lines long. Using scanf to prompt for the filename leaves an unread newline character in the input buffer. This must be discarded or the first call to getchar in the show function will appear to do nothing (it will merely pick up the newline from the buffer). The call to getchar immediately after the call to scanf discards this newline. Notice also how the show function uses getchar within a loop. Typing abc<return> would cause four characters to be saved in the input buffer. If getchar is only called once each time, three other pages will zoom past. The return value from show is used as the return value from the program. Thus when show fails to open a file the return value is 1. When everything goes well, the return value is 0. #include <stdio.h> #define STOP_LINE int int { show(char*); main(void) char name[100+1];

20

printf("File to show "); scanf("%100s", name); getchar(); return show(name); } int { show(char* filename) int int FILE*

if((stream = fopen(filename, "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open file %s, ", filename); perror(""); return 1; } while((ch = fgetc(stream)) != EOF) { putchar(ch); if(ch == '\n') { lines++; if(lines == STOP_LINE) { lines = 0; while(getchar() != '\n') ; } } } fclose(stream); return 0; }

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ch; lines = 0; stream;

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2. Update SHOW such that it tests for a file name on the command line By using strncpy to copy characters, the program is protected from overflowing the array name. However, strncpy does not guarantee to null terminate the buffer in the case where the maximum possible number of characters were copied across. Thus the program ensures the buffer is null terminated. #include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #define STOP_LINE int int { show(char*); main(int argc, char* argv[]) char name[100+1]; 20

if(argc == 1) { printf("File to show "); scanf("%100s", name); getchar(); } else { strncpy(name, argv[1], sizeof(name)); name[sizeof(name) - 1] = '\0'; } return show(name); } int {

show(char* filename) int int FILE* ch; lines = 0; stream;

if((stream = fopen(filename, "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open file %s, ", filename); perror(""); return 1; } while((ch = fgetc(stream)) != EOF) { putchar(ch); if(ch == '\n') { lines++; if(lines == STOP_LINE) { lines = 0; while(getchar() != '\n') ; } } } fclose(stream); return 0; }

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3. Further update SHOW so that it will display each one in a list of files. With this version, the character array needed if there are no command line parameters is declared within the if statement. If the array is required, the storage is allocated and used. Whereas many different possible error strategies exist (the program could exit when the first error occurs opening a file) this program stores the error status and continues. When the program finishes this error value is returned. #include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #define STOP_LINE int int { show(char*); main(int argc, char* argv[]) int int i; err = 0; 20

if(argc == 1) { char name[100+1]; printf("File to show "); scanf("%100s", name); getchar(); return show(name); }

for(i = 1; i < argc; i++) { if(show(argv[i])) err = 1;

return err; }

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if(i < argc - 1) { printf("press return for next file %s\n", argv[i + 1]); while(getchar() != '\n') ; }

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int {

show(char* filename) int ch; int lines = 0; FILE*stream; if((stream = fopen(filename, "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open file %s, ", filename); perror(""); return 1; } while((ch = fgetc(stream)) != EOF) { putchar(ch); if(ch == '\n') { lines++; if(lines == STOP_LINE) { lines = 0; while(getchar() != '\n') ; } } } fclose(stream); return 0;

4. The file format of ELE.TXT is

Write a program ELEMS to read this text file and display it #include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #define STOP_LINE int void

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nm 45.234 100.95 340.98 20 show(char*); processFile(FILE* s);

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int {

main(int argc, char* argv[]) char*p; char name[100+1]; if(argc == 1) { printf("File to show "); scanf("%100s", name); getchar(); p = name; } else p = argv[1]; return show(p);

} int { show(char* filename) FILE*stream; if((stream = fopen(filename, "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open file %s, ", filename); perror(""); return 1; } processFile(stream); fclose(stream);

} void {

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processFile(FILE* s) char float float float int name[3]; rmm; melt; boil; count = 0;

return 0;

while(fscanf(s, "%2s %f %f %f", name, &rmm, &melt, &boil) == 4) { printf("Element %-2s rmm %6.2f melt %7.2f boil %7.2f\n", name, rmm, melt, boil); if(++count == STOP_LINE) { count = 0; while(getchar() != '\n') ; } }

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5. Write a program to read ELE.TXT and write it to a binary file ELE.BIN. Then write a BINSHOW program to read the binary file and display the results on the screen. The binary file generator is listed first: #include <stdio.h> int void convert(char*, char*); processFile(FILE*, FILE*);

int {

main(int argc, char* argv[]) char* char* char char in; out; in_name[100+1]; out_name[100+1];

switch(argc) { case 1: printf("File to read "); scanf("%100s", in_name); getchar(); printf("File to write "); scanf("%100s", out_name); getchar();

} int {

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in = in_name; out = out_name; break; case 2: printf("File to write "); scanf("%100s", out_name); getchar(); in = argv[1]; out = out_name; break; case 3: in = argv[1]; out = argv[2]; break; } return convert(in, out); convert(char* in, char* out) FILE* in_stream; FILE* out_stream; if((in_stream = fopen(in, "r")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open input file %s, ", in); perror(""); return 1;

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} if((out_stream = fopen(out, "wb")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open output file %s, ", out); perror(""); return 1; } processFile(in_stream, out_stream); fclose(in_stream); fclose(out_stream); return 0; } void { processFile(FILE* in, FILE* out) char float float float name[3]; rmm; melt; boil; name, &rmm, &melt, &boil) == 4) { 2, out); 1, out); 1, out); 1, out);

while(fscanf(in, "%2s %f %f %f", fwrite(name, sizeof(char), fwrite(&rmm, sizeof(rmm), fwrite(&melt, sizeof(melt), fwrite(&boil, sizeof(boil), } } Now the binary file listing program: #include <stdio.h> #define STOP_LINE

int show(char*); void processFile(FILE* s);

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) { char* p; char name[100+1];

if(argc == 1) { printf("File to show "); scanf("%100s", name); getchar(); p = name;

} else

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20 p = argv[1];

return show(p); }

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int show(char* filename) { FILE* stream; if((stream = fopen(filename, "rb")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open file %s, ", filename); perror(""); return 1; } processFile(stream); fclose(stream); return 0; } void processFile(FILE* in) { char name[3] = { 0 }; float rmm; float melt; float boil; int count = 0; while(fread(name, sizeof(char), 2, in) == 2 fread(&rmm, sizeof(rmm), 1, in) == 1 fread(&melt, sizeof(melt), 1, in) == fread(&boil, sizeof(boil), 1, in) == && && 1 && 1) {

} }

6. Write a program STRINGS.C which prints out sequences of 4 or more printable characters from an executable. The program buffers printable characters one through four. When a fifth is found the preceding four characters are printed followed by the fifth. The sixth and subsequent characters are printed directly. The first non printable character causes a newline to be output. The program uses its own name in error messages thus if and when the user moves the executable, errors reflect the new program name and a fixed one. Notice that only the last component of argv[0] is used (the filename itself) and then only those characters before the . (this loses .exe).

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printf("Element %-2s rmm %6.2f melt %7.2f boil %7.2f\n", name, rmm, melt, boil); if(++count == STOP_LINE) { count = 0; while(getchar() != '\n') ; }

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C for Programmers

As an alternative to prompting for a filename if none is provided, this program produces an error message. #include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> #define MAGIC_LENGTH int void 4

open_file(char*, char*); process_file(FILE*);

int {

main(int argc, char* argv[]) int int char* char* i; err = 0; dot; name;

if((name = strrchr(argv[0], '\\')) == NULL) name = argv[0]; else name++; if((dot = strchr(name, '.')) != NULL) *dot = '\0'; if(argc == 1) { fprintf(stderr, "usage: %s filename [filename]\n", name); return 9; } for(i = 1; i < argc; i++) { if(open_file(argv[i], name)) err = 1;

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} return err;

if(i < argc - 1) { printf("press return for next file %s\n", argv[i + 1]); while(getchar() != '\n') ; }

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int {

open_file(char* filename, char* progname) FILE* stream;

if((stream = fopen(filename, "rb")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "%s: Cannot open file %s, ", progname, filename); perror(""); return 1; } process_file(stream); fclose(stream); return 0; } void { process_file(FILE* in) int int int char i; ch; count = 0; buffer[MAGIC_LENGTH];

while((ch = fgetc(in)) != EOF) { if(ch < ' ' || ch >= 0x7f) { if(count > MAGIC_LENGTH) putchar('\n'); count = 0; } else { if(count < MAGIC_LENGTH) buffer[count] = ch; else if(count == MAGIC_LENGTH) { for(i = 0; i < MAGIC_LENGTH; i++) putchar(buffer[i]); putchar(ch); } else putchar(ch); ++count;

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} } if(count > MAGIC_LENGTH) putchar('\n');

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

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Miscellaneous Things

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

Miscellaneous Things
Unions Enumerated types The Preprocessor Working with multiple .c files

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Slide No. 1

Miscellaneous Things
This chapter covers most of the remaining important odds and ends in C.

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Unions
A union is a variable which, at different times, may hold objects of different types and sizes
s
struct S { short long double char } s; s.s s.l s.d s.c = = = = 10; 10L; 10.01; '1'; union U { short long double char } u; u.s u.l u.d u.c = = = = 10; 10L; 10.01; '1';

u
s; l; d; c;

s; l; d; c;

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Slide No. 2

Unions
Unions provide a mechanism for overlaying variables of different types and sizes in the same memory. In the example above, the struct S arranges its members to follow one after another. The union U arranges its members to overlap and thus occupy the same region of memory. The struct instance s would be 15 bytes in size (or maybe 16 when padded). The union instance u would be size 8 bytes in size, the size of its largest member d.

Size of struct vs. Size of union

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Assigning a value to s.s will not effect the value stored in s.l or any other member of s. Assigning a value to u.s will write into the first 2 of 8 bytes. u would store a short. Assigning a value to u.l would write into the first 4 of the 8 bytes. u would store a long. The value previously stored in u.s would be overwritten. Assigning a value to u.d would write over all 8 bytes of u. The long previously stored would be overwritten and u would store a double. Assigning a value to u.c would write into the first byte of u. This would be sufficient to corrupt the double, but since u is storing a character, we shouldnt look at the double anyway. Thus, a union may hold values of different types here, a short, long, double or char. Unlike the structure s, the union u may NOT hold two values at the same time.

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Remembering
It is up to the programmer to remember what type a union currently holds Unions are most often used in structures where a member records the type currently stored
struct preprocessor_const { char* name; int stored; union { long lval; double dval; char* sval; } u; }; #define #define N_SIZE PI 10 3.1416

struct preprocessor_const s[10000]; s[0].name = "N_SIZE"; s[0].u.lval = 10L; s[0].stored = STORED_LONG; s[1].name = "PI"; s[1].u.dval = 3.1416; s[1].stored = STORED_DOUBLE;

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Slide No. 3

Remembering
The compiler gives no clues as to what value a union currently holds. Thus with the union u on the previous page we could write a value into the long (4 byte) part, but read a value from the short (2 byte) part. What is required is some mechanism for remembering what type is currently held in the union. All is possible, but we have to do the work ourselves. In this example a union is placed in a structure along with a member stored which records the type currently stored within the union. Whenever a value is written into one of the unions members, the corresponding value (probably #defined) is placed in the stored member. The example above is how a symbol table for a preprocessor might look. A simple preprocessor could deal with constants as either longs, doubles or strings. To this end, the define
#define N_SIZE 100

A Member to Record the Type

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#define PI 3.1416 #define DATA_FILE "c:\data\datafile1.dat"

would cause the name N_SIZE to be stored and the value 100 stored as a long. For the define

the name PI would be stored and the value 3.1416 stored as a double. For a define

the name DATA_FILE would be stored and the value c:\data\datafile1.dat stored as a char*. By overlaying the long, double and char* each preprocesor_const uses only the minimum amount of memory. Clearly a preprocessor constant cannot be a long, a double and a string at the same time. Using a struct instead of a union would have wasted storage (since only one out of the three members of the structure would

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have been used).

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Enumerated Types
Enumerated types provide an automated mechanism for generating named constants
#define #define #define #define #define #define #define sun mon tue wed thu fri sat 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

enum day { sun, mon, tue, wed, thu, fri, sat }; enum day today = sun; if(today == mon) ....

int today = sun; if(today == mon) ....

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Slide No. 4

Enumerated Types
The enumerated type provides an automated #define. In the example above, seven different constants are needed to represent the days of the week. Using #define we must specify these constants and ensure that each is different from the last. With seven constants this is trivial, however imagine a situation where two or three hundred constants must be maintained. The enum guarantees different values. The first value is zero, each subsequent value differs from the last by one. The two examples above are practically identical. enums are implemented by the compiler as integral types, whether ints or longs are used is dictated by the constants (a constant larger than 32767 on a machine with 2 byte integers will cause a switch to the use of long integers).

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Using Different Constants

The constants used may be specified
enum day { sun = 5, mon, tue, wed, thu, fri, sat }; enum direction { north = 0, east = 90, south = 180, west = 270 };

What you see is all you get! There are no successor or predecessor functions

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Slide No. 5

Using Different Constants

enum does not force the programmer to use values from 0 onwards, this is just the default. With the enum day above, the initial value of 5 causes sun to be 5, mon to be 6 and so on. With the enum direction, the value of each of the constants is specified. There is no mechanism for directly printing enum as text. The following is possible:
enum direction heading = west;

Printing enums

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or alternatively the user may prefer:
enum direction heading = west; printf("your direction is currently "); switch(heading) { case north: printf("north\n"); break; case east: printf("east\n"); break; case west: printf("west\n"); break; case south: printf("south\n"); break; }

printf("your direction is currently %i\n", heading);

It is also not possible to say the direction before east, or the direction after south without writing yet more code.

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The Preprocessor
Preprocessor commands start with # which may optionally be surrounded by spaces and tabs The preprocessor allows us to:
include files define, test and compare constants write macros debug

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Slide No. 6

The Preprocessor
We have used the preprocessor since the very first program of the course, but never looked in detail at what it can do. The preprocessor is little more than an editor placed in front of the compiler. Thus the compiler never sees the program you write, it only sees the preprocessor output:

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Preprocessor Compiler .c file Intermediate (sometimes .i) file
As we have seen, preprocessor commands start with # as in: #include <stdio.h> which may also be written as # include <stdio.h>

As well as including files and defining constants, the preprocessor performs a number of other useful tasks.

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Including Files
The #include directive causes the preprocessor to edit in the entire contents of another file
#define JAN #define FEB #define MAR #define PI double my_global; 1 2 3 3.1416

#define JAN #define FEB #define MAR #define PI double my_global;

1 2 3 3.1416

mydefs.h
#include "mydefs.h" double angle = 2 * PI; printf("%s", month[FEB]);

double angle = 2 * 3.1416; printf("%s", month[2]);

myprog.i

myprog.c
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Including Files
The #include directive causes the preprocessor to physically insert (and then interpret) the entire contents of a file into the intermediate file. By the time this has been done, the compiler cannot tell the difference between what youve typed and the contents of the header files.

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

Pathnames
Full pathnames may be used, although this is not recommended
#include "C:\cct\course\cprog\misc\slideprog\header.h"

The I directive to your local compiler allows code to be moved around much more easily
#include "header.h" cc -I c:\cct\course\cprog\misc\slideprog myprog.c

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Slide No. 8

Pathnames
Finding #include Files The preprocessor knows where to look for header files. When #include <stdio.h>

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If: #include "stdio.h"

is used, the compiler knows where the stdio.h file lives on the disk. In fact it examines the INCLUDE environment variable. If this contains a path, for example c:\bc5\include with the Borland 5.0 compiler, it opens the file c:\bc5\include\stdio.h.

had been used, the preprocessor would have looked in the current directory for the file first, then in whatever special directories it knows about after (INCLUDE may specify a number of directories, separated by ; under DOS like operating systems). If there is a specific file in a specific directory you wish to include it might be tempting to use a full path, as in the slide above. However this makes the program difficult to port to other machines. All of the .c files using this path would have to be edited. It is much easier to use double quotes surrounding the file name only and provide the compiler with an alternative directory to search. This can be done either by updating the INCLUDE variable, or with the I option (they both amount to the same thing) although with the fully integrated development environments in common use today it can be a battle to find out how precisely this is done.

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Preprocessor Constants
Constants may be created, tested and removed
#if !defined(SUN) #define SUN 0 #endif #if SUN == MON #undef SUN #endif
if SUN is not defined, then begin define SUN as zero end if SUN and MON are equal, then begin remove definition of SUN end

#if TUE #if WED > 0 || SUN < 3 #if SUN > SAT && SUN > MON

if TUE is defined with a non zero value if WED is greater than zero or SUN is less than 3 if SUN is greater than SAT and SUN is greater than MON
Slide No. 9

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Preprocessor Constants
Preprocessor constants are the search and replace of the editor. The constants themselves may be tested and even removed. The defined directive queries the preprocessor to see if a constant has been created. This is useful for setting default values. For instance: #define YEAR_BASE YEAR_BASE 1970 1970

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#define #define YEAR_BASE 1970 (in the header) (in the .c) #if defined(YEAR_BASE) #undef YEAR_BASE #endif #define YEAR_BASE 1970 #if #endif #define #undef rather like if(....) { like the } closing the if(....) { block set up a search and replace forget a search and replace

will produce an error because the symbol YEAR_BASE is defined twice (even though the value is the same). It would seem daft to do this, however the first line may be in a header file while the second in the .c file. This case may be catered for by:

This would keep the preprocessor happy, since at the point at which YEAR_BASE were #defined for the second time, no previous value would exist.

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

Avoid Temptation!
The following attempt to write Pascal at the C compiler will ultimately lead to tears
#define #define #define #define #define integer begin end if then integer i; { ;} if( ) int int i;

if i > 0 then begin i = 17 end

if( i > 0 ) { i = 17 ;}

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Slide No. 10

Avoid Temptation!
The preprocessor can be used to make C look like other languages. By writing enough preprocessor constructs it is possible to make C look like your favourite language. However, ultimately this is not a good idea. No matter how hard you try it is almost inevitable that you cannot make the preprocessor understand every single construct youd like. For instance when writing Pascal, assignments are of the form: a := b;

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#define := = i: integer; if i = 0 then

It is not possible to set this up with the preprocessor, although you might think

would work, it causes the preprocessor no end of grief. Also, declarations in Pascal are the opposite to C:

There is no way to do this either. Thus what you end up with is an unpleasant mixture of Pascal and C. However, it gets worse. To test a variable in Pascal:

would be perfect. In C assignment results. Thus our Pascal would never be Pascal only a version or a variation of it. Thus the whole idea is best avoided.

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Preprocessor Macros
The preprocessor supports a macro facility which should be used with care
#define #define int k k k k = = = = MAX(A,B) MIN(X,Y) A > B ? A : B ((X) < (Y) ? (X) : (Y))

i = 10, j = 12, k; MAX(i, j); MAX(j, i) * 2; MIN(i, j) * 3; MIN(i--, j++); printf("k printf("k printf("k printf("i = = = = %i\n", %i\n", %i\n", %i\n", k); k); k); i); k k k i

= = = =

12 12 30 8

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Slide No. 11

Preprocessor Macros
The preprocessor has a form of advanced search and replace mode in which it will replace parameters passed into macros. Macros should be used with care. The first assignment to k expands to: k = i > j ? i : j;

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The second assignment expands to: k = j > i ? j : i * 2; k = (j > i ? j : i) * 2; k = ((i) < (j) ? (i) : (j)) * 3;

This uses the conditional expression operator discussed earlier in the course. Since i is 10 and j is 12 i>j is false and so the third expression j is evaluated and assigned to k. All works as planned. The maximum value 12 is assigned to k as expected.

Although i and j have been swapped, there should be little consequence. However, since j>i is true the second expression j is evaluated as opposed to i * 2. The result is thus j, 12, and not the expected 24. Clearly an extra set of parentheses would have fixed this:

The MIN macro with its excess of parentheses goes some way toward correcting this. The third assignment to k expands to:

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Now whichever value the conditional expression operator yields, i or j, will be multiplied by 3. Although the parentheses around i and j are unnecessary they make no difference to the calculation or the result. The do make a difference when the MIN macro is invoked as: k = MIN(i + 3, j - 5); The expansion: k = ((i--) < (j++) ? (i--) : (j++)) causes i to be decremented and j to be incremented in the condition. 10 is tested against 12 (prefix increment and decrement) thus the condition is true. Evaluation of i-- causes i to be decremented a second time. Thus i ends up at 8, not at the 9 the code might have encouraged us to expect.

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A Debugging Aid
Several extra features make the preprocessor an indespensible debugging tool
#define GOT_HERE printf("reached %i in %s\n", \ _ _LINE_ _, _ _FILE_ _) printf(#E " = " FMT "\n", E)

#define

SHOW(E, FMT)

printf("reached %i in %s\n", 17, "mysource.c"); GOT_HERE; SHOW(i, "%x"); SHOW(f/29.5, "%lf"); printf("i = %x\n", i); printf("f/29.5 = %lf\n", f/29.5);

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Slide No. 12

A Debugging Aid
The preprocessor provides many valuable debugging tools. The preprocessor constant _ _LINE_ _ stores the current line number in the .c or .h file as an integer. The constant _ _FILE_ _ stores the name of the current .c or .h file as a string.

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Adding the line:
#define WANT_DEBUG

The definition of GOT_HERE shows that preprocessor macros must be declared on one line, if more than one line is required, the lines must be glued together with \. Although none of macros look particularly useful, their definition could be as follows:
#if defined(WANT_DEBUG) #define GOT_HERE printf("reached %i in %s\n", _ _LINE_ _, _ _FILE_ _) #define SHOW(E, FMT) printf(#E " = " FMT "\n", E) #else #define GOT_HERE #define SHOW(E, FMT) #endif

above #if defined would enable all the invocations of GOT_HERE and SHOW, whereas removing this line would cause all invocations to be disabled. There are two features of the SHOW macro worth mentioning. The first is that #E causes the expression to be turned into a string (a double quote is placed before the expression and another after it). The strings are then concatenated, thus: SHOW(x, "%i") becomes: which then becomes: printf("x" " = " "%i" "\n", x); printf("x = %i\n", x);

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

Working With Large Projects

Large projects may potentially involve many hundreds of source files (modules) Global variables and functions in one module may be accessed in other modules Global variables and functions may be specifically hidden inside a module Maintaining consistency between files can be a problem

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Slide No. 13

Working With Large Projects

All the programs examined thus far have been in a single .c file. Clearly large projects will involve many thousands of lines of code. It is impractical for a number of reasons to place all this code in one file. Firstly it would take weeks to load into an editor, secondly it would take months to compile. Most importantly only one person could work on the source code at one time. If the source code could be divided between different files, each could be edited and compiled separately (and reasonably quickly). Different people could work on each source file. One problem with splitting up source code is how to put it back together. Functions and global variables may be shared between the different .c files in a project. If desired, the functions in one .c may be hidden inside that file. Also variables declared globally within a .c may be hidden within that file.

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Data Sharing Example

extern float step; void print_table(double, float); int main(void) { step = 0.15F; print_table(0.0, 5.5F); return 0; } #include <stdio.h> float step; void print_table(double start, float stop) { printf("Celsius\tFarenheit\n"); for(;start < stop; start += step) printf("%.1lf\t%.1lf\n", start, start * 1.8 + 32); }

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Slide No. 14

Data Sharing Example

These two modules share a variable step and a function print_table. Sharing the variable step is possible because the variable is declared globally within the second module. Sharing the function print_table is possible because the function is prototyped within the first module and declared globally within the second module. It is perhaps strange to think of functions as being global variables. Although functions are not variables (since they cannot be assigned to or otherwise altered) they are definitely global. It is possible to say: extern void print_table(double, float);

Functions are Global and Sharable

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although extern is implied by the prototype.

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

Data Sharing Example

extern float step; void print_table(double, float); int main(void) { step = 0.15F; print_table(0.0, 5.5F); return 0; } #include <stdio.h> float step; void print_table(double start, float stop) { printf("Celsius\tFarenheit\n"); for(;start < stop; start += step) printf("%.1lf\t%.1lf\n", start, start * 1.8 + 32); }

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Slide No. 14

Data Hiding Example

static Before Globals Placing the static keyword before a global variable or function locks that variable or function inside the .c file which declares it. The variables entries and current are hidden inside the module, the function print is also locked away. Although there is no error when compiling the second module containing the statements: void extern print(void); int entries[];

Errors at Link Time

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and entries[3] = 77; print(); There are two errors when the program is linked. The errors are: undefined symbol: entries undefined symbol: print

The linker cannot find the symbols entries and print because they are hidden within the first module.

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Disaster!
extern float step; void print_table(double, float); int main(void) { step = 0.15F; print_table(0.0, 5.5F); return 0; } #include <stdio.h> double step; void print_table(double start, double stop) { printf("Celsius\tFarenheit\n"); for(;start < stop; start += step) printf("%.1lf\t%.1lf\n", start, start * 1.8 + 32); }

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Slide No. 16

Disaster!
Inconsistencies Between Modules A few minor changes and the program no longer works. This will easily happen if two people are working on the same source code. The second module now declares the variable step as double and the second parameter stop as double.

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The first module expects step to be float, i.e. a 4 byte IEEE format variable. Since step is actually declared as double it occupies 8 bytes. The first module will place 0.15 into 4 bytes of the 8 byte variable (the remaining 4 bytes having been initialized to 0 because step is global). The resulting value in step will not be 0.15. A similar thing happens to the 5.5 assigned to stop. It is written onto the stack as a 4 byte IEEE float, picked up as an 8 byte double. Neither the compiler nor linker can detect these errors. The only information available to the linker are the symbol names step and print_table. Neither of these names hold any type information.

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

Use Header Files

Maintain consistency between modules by using header files NEVER place an extern declaration in a module NEVER place a prototype of a non static (i.e. sharable) function in a module

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Slide No. 17

Use Header Files

Although the problem of maintaining consistency may seem overwhelming, the solution is actually very simple. The preprocessor can help cross-check the contents of different modules. An extern declaration should not be placed in a module, it should always be placed in a header file. Similarly function prototypes should not be placed in modules (unless static in which case they cannot be used anywhere but in the current module).

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Getting it Right
project.h extern double step; void print_table(double, double);

#include "project.h" int main(void) { step = 0.15F; print_table(0.0, 5.5F); return 0; }

#include <stdio.h> #include "project.h" double step; void print_table(double start, double stop) { }

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Slide No. 18

Getting it Right
Place Externs in the Header By placing the extern declaration and the print_table function prototype in the header file project.h the compiler can cross check the correctness of the two modules. In the first module the compiler sees: extern double step; void print_table(double, double);

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The assignment: step = 0.15F; When the print_table function is called: print_table(0.0, 5.5F); extern double step; double step; is followed by:

the compiler knows the type of step is double. The 4 byte float specified with 0.15F is automatically promoted to double.

the second parameter 5.5F is automatically promoted from float to double. It may appear as though the second module would no longer compile, because:

and these would appear to contradict. However, the compiler accepts these two statements providing the type double agrees. If either type is changed (as was the case) the compiler will produce an error message. The compiler completes its usual cross-checking of prototype vs function header. If there is an inconsistency the compiler would report it.

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Miscellaneous Things
C for Programmers

Be as Lazy as Possible
Get the preprocessor to declare the variables too!
#if defined(MAIN) #define EXTERN #else #define EXTERN #endif EXTERN double EXTERN long EXTERN short

extern

step; current; res;

#define MAIN #include "globals.h" main.c

#include "globals.h" first.c

#include "globals.h" second.c

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Slide No. 19

Be as Lazy as Possible
Within the module main.c the #define of MAIN causes EXTERN to be defined as nothing. Here the preprocessor performs a search and delete (as opposed to search and replace). The effect of deleting EXTERN means that: double long short step; current; res;

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extern extern extern double long short step; current; res; EXTERN EXTERN EXTERN double long short step = 0.15; current = 13; res = -1; because within first.c and second.c this produces the erroneous: extern extern extern double long short step = 0.15; current = 13; res = -1; An extern statement may not initialize the variable it declares.

results. This causes compiler to declare, and thus allocate storage for, the three variables. With the module first.c because MAIN is not defined the symbol EXTERN is defined as extern. With the preprocessor in search and replace mode the lines from globals.h become:

The only problem with this strategy is that all the globals are initialized with the same value, zero. It is not possible within globals.h to write:

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Summary
A union may store values of different types at different times enum provides an automated way of setting up constants The preprocessor allows constants and macros to be created Data and functions may be shared between modules static stops sharing of data and functions Use the preprocessor in large, multi module projects
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 20

Summary

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Miscellaneous Things - Exercises

C for Programmers

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Miscellaneous Things Practical Exercises

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326
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Miscellaneous Things - Exercises

C for Programmers

Directory:

MISC

1. The chapter briefly outlined a possible implementation of the stack functions push and pop when discussing data and function hiding with the static keyword. Open TEST.C which contains a test harness for the functions: void int push(int i); pop(void);

This menu driven program allows integers to be pushed and popped from a stack. Thus if 10, 20 and 30 were pushed, the first number popped would be 30, the second popped would be 20 and the last popped would be 10. Implement these functions in the file STACK.C. The prototypes for these functions are held in the header STACK.H You should include code to check if too many values have been pushed (important since the values are stored in an array) and to see if the user attempts to pop more values than have been pushed.

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Miscellaneous Things - Solutions

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Miscellaneous Things Solutions

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Miscellaneous Things - Solutions

C for Programmers

1. Open TEST.C which contains a test harness for the functions: void int push(int i); pop(void);

Implement these functions in the file STACK.C. The variable current and the array the_stack must be shared by both push and pop. The only way to do this is to make it global, however in order for these variables not to be seen outside the module the static keyword is used. #include <stdio.h> #include "stack.h" #define MAX_STACK static static void { int int 50

the_stack[MAX_STACK]; current;

push(int v) if(current >= MAX_STACK) { printf("cannot push: stack is full\n"); return; } the_stack[current++] = v;

} int { pop(void)

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if(current == 0) { printf("cannot pop: stack is empty\n"); return -1; } return the_stack[--current];

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C and the Heap

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330
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C and the Heap

C for Programmers

C and the Heap

What is the Heap? Dynamic arrays The calloc/malloc/realloc and free routines Dynamic arrays of arrays Dynamic data structures

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Slide No. 1

C and the Heap

This chapter shows how to store data in the heap, retrieve it, enlarge it, reduce it and release it.

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What is the Heap?

An executing program is divided into four parts: Stack: provides storage for local variables, alters size as the program executes Data segment: global variables and strings stored here. Fixed size. Code segment: functions main, printf, scanf etc. stored here. Read only. Fixed size Heap: otherwise known as dynamic memory the heap is available for us to use and may alter size as the program executes

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Slide No. 2

What is the Heap?

The Parts of an Executing Program A program executing in memory may be represented by the following diagram:

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main, printf, scanf gobal variables strings automatic variables dynamic storage Code segment (fixed size, read only) Data segment (fixed size, parts may be read only) Stack (varies in size) Heap (varies in size)

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C and the Heap

C for Programmers

What is the Heap? (Continued)

Stack The code and data segments are fixed size throughout the program lifetime. The stack: 1. increases in size as functions are called, parameters are pushed, local variables are created, 2. decreases in size as functions return, local variables are destroyed, parameters are popped The heap is placed in opposition to the stack, so that as stack usage increases (through deeply nested function calls, through the creation of large local arrays, etc.) the amount of available heap space is reduced. Similarly as heap usage increases, so available stack space is reduced. The line between heap and stack is rather like the line between the shore and the sea. When the tide is in, there is a lot of sea and not much shore. When the tide is out there is a lot of shore and not much sea.

Heap and Stack in Opposition

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How Much Memory?

With simple operating systems like MS-DOS there may only be around 64k available (depending on memory model and extended memory device drivers) With complex operating systems using virtual memory like Unix, NT, OS/2, etc. it can be much larger, e.g. 2GB In the future (or now with NT on the DEC Alpha) this will be a very large amount (17 thousand million GB)

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Slide No. 3

How Much Memory?

Simple Operating Systems The heap provides dynamic memory, but how much? With simple operating systems like MS-DOS the header in the executable file contains a number indicating the total amount of memory the program requires. This is as much memory as the program will ever get. The code and data segments are loaded in, what remains is left to be divided between heap and stack. When the stack runs into the heap the program is killed. No second chance. With more advanced operating systems, a program is loaded into a hole in memory and left to execute. If it turns out the hole wasnt large enough (because the stack and heap collide), the operating system finds a larger hole in memory. It copies the code and data segments into the new area. The stack and heap are moved as far apart as possible within this new hole. The program is left to execute. If the stack and heap collide again the program is copied into an even larger hole and so on. There is a limit to how many times this can happen, dependent upon the amount of physical memory in the machine. If virtual memory is in use it will be the amount of virtual memory the machine may access. With 32 bit operating systems like Unix, NT, Windows 95 etc. The limit 32 is usually somewhere around 2 bytes, or 2GB. You probably wont get exactly this amount of memory, since some of the operating system must remain resident in memory, along with a few dozen megabytes of important data structures. With 64 bit operating systems, like NT running on the DEC Alpha processor, the 64 limit is around 2 bytes. This is a rather large number of GB and should really be quoted in TB (terra bytes). Although most people have a feeling for how large one Gigabyte is, few people yet have experience of how large a Terabyte is. The ultimate limit of a programs size will be the amount of disk space. The virtual memory used by an operating system must be saved somewhere. Chances are the machine does not contain the odd billion bytes of memory, so the next best storage medium is the hard disk. The smaller the disk, the smaller the amount of the program which may be saved.

Advanced Operating Systems

Future Operating Systems

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C for Programmers

Dynamic Arrays
Arrays in C have a fundamental problem - their size must be fixed when the program is written There is no way to increase (or decrease) the size of an array once the program is compiled Dynamic arrays are different, their size is fixed at run time and may be changed as often as required Only a pointer is required

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Slide No. 4

Dynamic Arrays
Arrays in C are rather primitive data structures. No mechanism exists in the language to change the size of an array once it has been declared (like the redim command from BASIC). All is not lost, however. The storage for an array may be allocated on the heap. This storage must be physically contiguous (the only requirement for an array), but the routines that manage the heap guarantee this. All the program requires is a pointer which will contain the address at which the block of memory starts. An example. An array of 100 long integers is declared like this:
long a[100];

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long a[200]; long *p; p = malloc(100 * sizeof(long)); long *q; q = realloc(p, 200 * sizeof(long));

and is fixed in size forever (at 400 bytes). An attempt to make it larger, like:

will cause an error because the compiler will see the variable a being declared twice. If we do the following:

we end up with same amount of memory, 400 bytes, but stored on the heap instead of the stack or data segment. An element of the array a may be accessed with a[58], an element of the array pointed to by p may be accessed with p[58]. The array may be made larger with:

which increases the block of storage to hold 200 long ints, i.e. 800 bytes.

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Using Dynamic Arrays

The following steps create a dynamic array: Declare a pointer corresponding to the desired type of the array elements Initialise the pointer via calloc or malloc using the total storage required for all the elements of the array Check the pointer against NULL Increase or decrease the number of elements by calling the realloc function Release the storage by calling free

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Slide No. 5

Using Dynamic Arrays

One Pointer per Dynamic Array One pointer is required for each dynamic array which is to be stored on the heap. The type of this pointer is dictated by the type of the array elements. Thus if an array of doubles, an array of short integers and an array of Book structures are required, three pointers would be needed: double *double_array; short *short_array; struct Book *book_array;

Calculating the Storage Requirement

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The second step is to calculate how much memory will be required for each array. If 100 doubles, 480 short ints and 238 books are required: double_array = malloc(100 * sizeof(double)); short_array = calloc(480, sizeof(short)); book_array = calloc(238, sizeof(struct Book));

There is little to choose between malloc and calloc, however the 100 doubles pointed to by double_array are entirely random, whereas the 480 short ints and the 238 books pointed to by short_array and book_array respectively are all zero (i.e. each element of the name, author and ISBN number of each book contain the null terminator, the price of each book is zero).

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C and the Heap

C for Programmers

Using Dynamic Arrays (continued)

Insufficient Storage Just calling malloc or calloc does not guarantee the memory to store the elements. The call may fail if we have already allocated a large amount of memory and there is none left (which will happen sooner rather than later under MS-DOS). The routines indicate the limit has been reached by returning the NULL pointer. Thus each of the pointers double_array, short_array and book_array must be checked against NULL. The amount of memory on the end of any one of these pointers may be changed by calling realloc. Imagine that 10 of the doubles are not required and an extra 38 books are needed: da = realloc(double_array, 90 * sizeof(double)); ba = realloc(book_array, 276 * sizeof(struct Book)); Where da is of type pointer to double and ba is of type pointer to Book structure. Note that it is inadvisable to say: book_array = realloc(book_array, 276 * sizeof(struct Book)); Since it is possible that the allocation may fail, i.e. it is not possible to find a contiguous area of dynamic memory of the required size. If this does happen, i.e. there is no more memory, realloc returns NULL. The NULL would be assigned to book_array and the address of the 238 books is lost. Assigning to ba instead guarantees that book_array is unchanged. When realloc Succeeds

Changing the Array Size

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If the allocation does not fail, ba is set to a pointer other than NULL. There are two scenarios here: 1. realloc was able to enlarge the current block of memory in which case the address in ba is exactly the same as the address in book_array. Our 238 books are intact and the 38 new ones follow on after and are random, or 2. realloc was unable to enlarge the current block of memory and had to find an entirely new block. The address in ba and the address in book_array are completely different. Our original 238 books have been copied to the new block of memory. The 38 new ones follow on after the copied books and are random. We do not need to be concerned which of these two scenarios took place. As far as we are concerned the pointer ba points to a block of memory able to contain 276 books and specifically points to the value of the first book we written before the realloc.

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Using Dynamic Arrays (continued)

Maintain as Few Pointers as Possible One consequence of the second scenario is that all other pointers into the array of books are now invalid. For example, if we had a special pointer: struct Book which was initialized with: war_and_peace = book_array + 115; this pointer would now be invalid because the whole array would have been moved to a new location in memory. We must NOT use the pointer book_array, or the pointer war_and_peace. Both must be recalculated as follows: book_array = ba; war_and_peace = ba + 115; In fact it would probably be more convenient to remember war_and_peace as an offset from the start of the array (i.e. 115). In this way it wouldnt have to be recalculated every time realloc was called, just added to the single pointer book_array. Requests Potentially Ignored As an aside, it is possible that the request: da = realloc(double_array, 90 * sizeof(double)); might be completely ignored. Finding a new block in memory only slightly smaller than the existing block might be so time consuming that it would be easier just to return a pointer to the existing block and change nothing. The entire block would be guaranteed to be reclaimed when free was called. *war_and_peace;

Releasing the Storage

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free(double_array); free(book_array); free(short_array);

Finally when all books, short ints and doubles have been manipulated, the storage must be released.

Strictly speaking this doesnt need to happen since the heap is part of the process. When the process terminates all memory associated with it will be reclaimed by the operating system. However, it is good practice to release memory in case program is altered so that a one off routine is called repeatedly. Repeatedly calling a routine which fails to deallocate memory would guarantee that the program would eventually fail, even if the amount of memory concerned was small. Such errors are known as memory leaks.

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C for Programmers

calloc/malloc Example
#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> int main(void) { unsigned i, s; double *p; printf("How many doubles? "); scanf("%u", &s); if((p = calloc(s, sizeof(double))) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot allocate %u bytes " "for %u doubles\n", s * sizeof(double), s); return 1; } for(i = 0; i < s; i++) here we access the s p[i] = i; doubles from 0..s-1 free(p); return 0; } if((p = malloc(s * sizeof(double))) == NULL) {
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 6

all of the allocated memory is freed

calloc/malloc Example
The previous page of notes mentioned rather fixed numbers, 238 books, 276 books, 90 doubles. If these numbers could be reliably predicted at compile time, ordinary fixed sized C arrays could be used.

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p[i] = i;

The program above shows how, with simple modification, the program can start to manipulate numbers of doubles which cannot be predicted at compile time. There is no way of predicting at compile time what value the user will type when prompted. Note the use of unsigned integers in an attempt to prevent the user from entering a negative number. In fact scanf is not too bright here and changes any negative number entered into a large positive one. Notice the straightforward way C allows us to access the elements of the array:

is all it takes. The pointer p points to the start of the array, i serves as an offset to access a particular element. The *(p+i) notation, although practically identical, would not be as readable.

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realloc Example
double double *p; *p2; if((p = calloc(s, sizeof(double))) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot allocate %u bytes " "for %u doubles\n", s * sizeof(double), s); return 1; } printf("%u doubles currently, how many now? ", s); scanf("%u", &s); calculate new array p2 = realloc(p, s * sizeof(double)); size and allocate storage if(p2 == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Could not increase/decrease array " "to contain %u doubles\n", s); free(p); pointer p is still return 1; valid at this point } p = p2; free(p);
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pointer p is invalid at this point, so a new value is assigned to it

sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 7

realloc Example
The program shows the use of realloc. As previously discussed the assignment: p2 = realloc(p, s * sizeof(double));

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is more helpful than: p = realloc(p, s * sizeof(double));

because if the re-allocation fails, assigning back to p will cause the existing array of doubles to be lost. At least if the block cannot be enlarged the program could continue processing the data it had.

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C for Programmers

realloc can do it all

The routines malloc and free are almost redundant since realloc can do it all There is some merit in calloc since the memory it allocates is cleared to zero
p = malloc(s * sizeof(double)); p = realloc(NULL, s * sizeof(double));

free(p); realloc(p, 0);

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Slide No. 8

realloc can do it all

With the right parameters, realloc can take the place of malloc and free. It cant quite take the place of calloc, since although it can allocate memory it does not clear it to zeros.

realloc can Replace malloc

realloc can Replace free

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A NULL pointer passed in as a first parameter causes realloc to behave just like malloc. Here it realizes it is not enlarging an existing piece of memory (because there is no existing piece of memory) and just allocates a new piece. A size of zero passed in as the second parameter causes realloc to deallocate an existing piece of memory. This is consistent with setting its allocated size to zero. There is a case to be made for clarity. When seeing malloc, it is obvious a memory allocation is being made. When seeing free, it is obvious a deallocation is being made. Use of the realloc function tends to imply an alteration in size of a block of memory.

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Allocating Arrays of Arrays

Care must be taken over the type of the pointer used when dealing with arrays of arrays
float *p;

p = calloc(s, sizeof(float));

float

**rain;

rain = calloc(s, 365 * sizeof(float));

float

(*rainfall)[365];

rainfall = calloc(s, 365 * sizeof(float)); rainfall[s-1][18] = 4.3F;

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Slide No. 9

Allocating Arrays of Arrays

Thus far we have seen how to allocate an array. This is simply done by allocating the address of a block of memory to a pointer. It might seem logical that if an array is handled this way, an array of arrays may be handled by assigning to a pointer to a pointer. This is not the case. In the example above an array is allocated with: float *p;

Pointers Access Fine with Dynamic Arrays

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p = calloc(s, sizeof(float)); float rainfall[12][365]; was used.

The elements of the array are accessed with, for example, p[3], which would access the fourth element of the array (providing s were greater than or equal to 4). At the end of the Arrays In C chapter there was a rainfall example where an arrays of arrays were used. The rainfall for 12 locations around the country was to be recorded for each of the 365 days per year. The declaration:

Say now that one of the rainfall arrays must be allocated dynamically with the number of countrywide locations being chosen at run time. Clearly for each location, 365 floats will be needed. For 10 locations an array able to contain 3650 floats would be needed.

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C for Programmers

Allocating Arrays of Arrays (continued)

Pointers to Pointers are not Good with Arrays of Arrays The way to do this would SEEM to be: float **rain;

rain = calloc(s, 365 * sizeof(float)); (where s presumably contains the 10). However, there is not enough information in the pointer rain to move correctly. Consider, for example, accessing element rain[2][100]. The 2 is required to jump into the third block of 356 floats, i.e. over 2 entire blocks of 356 float (2*365*4 = 2920 bytes) and then on by another 100*4 = 400 bytes. Thats a total move of 3320 bytes. However the compiler cannot determine this from the pointer. rain could be drawn as:

rain

intermediate pointer

float

However, the memory has been allocated as:

Use Pointers to Arrays

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rain float next float The solution is to declare the pointer as: float (*rainfall)[365];

Where the float pointed to is followed by several thousand others. Any attempt to use the pointer rain will cause the compiler to interpret the first float as the intermediate pointer drawn above. Clearly it is incorrect to interpret an IEEE value as an address.

(rainfall is a pointer to an array of 365 float). The compiler knows that with access of rainfall[2][100] the 2 must be multiplied by the size of 365 floats (because if rainfall is a pointer to an array of 365 float, 2 must step over two of these arrays). It also knows the 100 must be scaled by the size of a float. The compiler may thus calculate the correct movement.

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Dynamic Data Structures

It is possible to allocate structures in dynamic memory too
struct Node { int struct Node }; data; *next_in_line;

struct Node* new_node(int value) { struct Node* p; if((p = malloc(sizeof(struct Node))) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "ran out of dynamic memory\n"); exit(9); } p->data = value; p->next_in_line = NULL; return p; }
Cheltenham Computer Training 1994/1997 sales@ccttrain.demon.co.uk Slide No. 10

Dynamic Data Structures

It is not only arrays that may be allocated in dynamic memory, structures can be allocated too. This is ideal with linked data structures like linked lists, trees, directed graphs etc. where the number of nodes required cannot be predicted at compile time. The example above shows a routine which, when called, will allocate storage for a single node and return a pointer to it. Because of the next_in_line member, such nodes may be chained together.

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Notice that the integer value to be placed in the node is passed in as a parameter. Also the routine carefully initializes the next_in_line member as NULL, this is important since by using malloc, the pointer p points to memory containing random values. The value in the data member will be random, as will the address in the next_in_line member. If such a node were chained into the list without these values being changed, disaster could result. This way, if this node is used, the presence of the NULL in the next_in_line member will not cause us to wander into random memory when walking down the list.

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C for Programmers

Linking the List

struct Node *first_node, *second_node, *third_node, *current;

first_node = new_node(-100); second_node = new_node(0); first_node->next_in_line = second_node; third_node = new_node(10); second_node->next_in_line = third_node; current = first_node; while(current != NULL) { printf("%i\n", current->data); current = current->next_in_line; }

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Slide No. 11

Linking the List

Above is a simple example of how a linked list could be built. In reality, rather than wiring each node to point to the next, a function would be written to find the insertion point and wire up the relevant next_in_line members. The chain resulting from the above would be:

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first_node second_node third_node -100 0 10
NULL

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Summary
The heap and stack grow towards one another Potentially a large amount of heap storage is available given the right operating system The routines malloc, calloc, realloc and free manipulate heap storage Only realloc is really necessary Allocating dynamic arrays Allocating dynamic arrays of arrays Allocating dynamic structures

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Slide No. 12

Summary

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C and the Heap - Exercises

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C and the Heap Practical Exercises

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348
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C and the Heap - Exercises

C for Programmers

Directory:

HEAP

1. Write a program MAX which allocates all available heap memory. The way to do this is to write a loop which allocates a block of memory, say 10 bytes, continually until malloc returns NULL. When this happens, print out the total number of bytes allocated. 2. Alter your MAX program such that the block size (which above was 10 bytes) is read from the command line (the function atoi will convert a string to an integer and return zero if the string is not in the correct format). Use your program to find out if the total amount of memory that can be allocated differs for 10 byte, 100 byte, 1000 byte and 5000 byte blocks. What issues would influence your results? 3. The program BINGEN.C is a reworking of an earlier FILES exercise. It reads a text file and writes structures to a binary file (the structure is defined in ELE.H). Compile and run the program, taking ELE.TXT as input and creating the binary file ELE.BIN. Write a program ELSHOW which opens the binary file ELE.BIN. By moving to the end of the file with fseek and finding how many bytes there are in the file with ftell, it is possible to find out how many records are in the file by dividing by the total bytes by the size of an Element structure. Allocate memory sufficient to hold all the structures. Reset the reading position back to the start of the file and read the structures using fread. Write a loop to read an integer which will be used to index into the array and print out the particular element chosen. Exit the loop when the user enters a negative number.

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C and the Heap - Solutions

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C and the Heap Solutions

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C for Programmers

1. Write a program MAX which allocates all available heap memory. 2. Alter your MAX program such that the block size is read from the command line The printf within the malloc loop is advisable because otherwise the program appears to hang. Outputting \r ensures that pages of output are not produced. Each number neatly overwrites the previous one. #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #define int { DEFAULT_BLOCK_SIZE 10

main(int argc, char* argv[]) unsigned long unsigned total = 0; block = DEFAULT_BLOCK_SIZE;

if(argc > 1) { block = atoi(argv[1]); if(block == 0) block = DEFAULT_BLOCK_SIZE; } while(malloc(block) != NULL) { printf("\r%lu", total); total += block; } printf("\rblock size %u gives total %lu bytes allocated\n", block, total);

The issues regarding block sizes vs total memory allocated are that each allocation carries an overhead. If a large block size is used, the ratio of this overhead to the block is small and so many allocations may be done. If a small block size is used (perhaps 2 bytes) the ratio of overhead to block is very large. Available memory is filled with control information rather than data. Making the block size too large means that the last allocation fails because it cannot be completely satisfied. 3. Compile and run BINGEN.C taking ELE.TXT as input and creating the binary file ELE.BIN. Write a program ELSHOW which opens the binary file ELE.BIN. Allocate memory sufficient to hold all the structures and read the structures using fread. Write a loop to read an integer which will be used to index into the array and print out the particular element chosen. Exit the loop when the user enters a negative number. Displaying an element structure must be done carefully. This is because the two character array name is not necessarily null terminated (two characters plus a null wont fit into a two character array). Always printing two characters would be incorrect when an element with a single character name (like Nitrogen, N for instance) were met.

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return 0;

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C and the Heap - Solutions

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#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include "ele.h" int get_int(void); int show(char*); void display(struct Element * p); struct Element* processFile(FILE* in, unsigned * ptotal);

int {

main(int argc, char* argv[]) char*in; char in_name[100+1]; if(argc == 1) { printf("File to show "); scanf("%100s", in_name); getchar(); in = in_name; } else in = argv[1]; return show(in);

} int { show(char* in) int which; unsigned total; FILE* in_stream; struct Element* elems;

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if((in_stream = fopen(in, "rb")) == NULL) { fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open input file %s, ", in); perror(""); return 1; } if((elems = processFile(in_stream, &total)) == NULL) return 1; fclose(in_stream); while((which = get_int()) >= 0) if(which >= total || which == 0) printf("%i is out of range (min 1, max %i)\n", which, total); else display(&elems[which - 1]); return 0; }

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C and the Heap - Solutions

C for Programmers

struct Element* processFile(FILE* in, unsigned * ptotal) { unsigned long total_size; unsigned int elements; unsigned int el_read; struct Element* p; fseek(in, 0L, SEEK_END); total_size = ftell(in); fseek(in, 0L, SEEK_SET); elements = total_size / sizeof(struct Element); p = calloc(elements, sizeof(struct Element)); el_read = fread(p, sizeof(struct Element), elements, in); if(el_read != elements) { fprintf(stderr, "Failed to read %u elements (only read %u)\n", elements, el_read); free(p); return NULL; } *ptotal = elements; return p; } int { get_int(void)

} void {

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int int status; result; do { printf("enter an integer (negative will exit) "); status = scanf("%i", &result); while(getchar() != '\n') ; } while(status != 1); return result; display(struct Element * p) printf("element %c", p->name[0]); if(p->name[1]) printf("%c ", p->name[1]); else printf(" "); printf("rmm %6.2f melt %7.2f boil %7.2f\n", p->rmm, p->melt, p->boil);

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Appendices
C for Programmers

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Appendices

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Appendices
C for Programmers

Precedence and Associativity of C Operators:

primary unary multiplicative additive shift relational equality bitwise and bitwise or bitwise xor logical and logical or conditional expression assignment sequence () [] -> . ! ~ ++ -- - + (cast) * & sizeof * / % + << >> < <= >= > == != & | ^ && || ?: = += -= *= /= %= <<= >>= &= |= ^= , left to right right to left left to right left to right left to right left to right 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

Notes: 1. The () operator in primary is the function call operator, i.e. f(24, 37) 2. The * operator in unary is the pointer to operator, i.e. *pointer 3. The & operator in unary is the address of operator, i.e. pointer = &variable 4. The + and - in unary are the unary counterparts of plus and minus, i.e. x = +4 and y = -x 5. The , operator is that normally found in the for loop and guarantees sequential processing of statements, i.e. for(i = 0, j = i; i < 10; i++, j++) guarantees i = 0 is executed before j = i. It also guarantees i++ is executed before j++.

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Summary of C Data Types

char signed char one byte character value, may be signed or unsigned one byte signed character, ASCII characters will test positive, extended ASCII characters will test negative one byte unsigned character, all values test positive

unsigned char

int short [int]

integer value, i.e. whole number, no fraction integer value with potentially reduced range (may have only half the storage available as for an int) integer value with potentially increased range (may have twice the storage available as for an int) as for int an integer value which may contain positive values only. Largest value of an unsigned integer will be twice that of the largest positive value of an integer as for short a positive integer value with potentially reduced range as for long a positive integer value with potentially increased range

long [int]

signed [int] unsigned [int]

signed short unsigned short signed long unsigned long

float double

long double

void

C guarantees that:

and

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a floating point value (a number with a fraction) a floating point value with potentially increased range and accuracy a floating point value with potentially very great range and accuracy specifies the absence of a type sizeof(char) < sizeof(short) <= sizeof(int) <= sizeof(long) sizeof(float) <= sizeof(double) <= sizeof(long double)

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C for Programmers

Maxima and Minima for C Types

type char signed char unsigned char usual size 1 byte 1 byte 1 byte minimum value CHAR_MIN SCHAR_MIN maximum value CHAR_MAX SCHAR_MAX UCHAR_MAX defined in limits.h limits.h limits.h

short unsigned short

2 bytes 2 bytes

SHRT_MIN -

SHRT_MAX USHRT_MAX

limits.h limits.h

int unsigned int

? ?

INT_MIN -

INT_MAX UINT_MAX

limits.h limits.h

long unsigned long

4 bytes 4 bytes

LONG_MIN -

LONG_MAX ULONG_MAX

limits.h limits.h

float double

4 bytes 8 bytes

FLT_MIN DBL_MIN

FLT_MAX DBL_MAX

float.h float.h float.h

long double

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10 bytes LDBL_MIN LDBL_MAX

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Printf Format Specifiers

type char signed char unsigned char short unsigned short int unsigned int long unsigned long format specifier %c %c %c %hi %hu %i %u %li %lu decimal %d %d %u %hd %d %ld octal %o %o %o %ho %ho %o %o %lo %lo hexadecimal %x %x %x %hx %hx %x %x %lx %lx

type float double long double

format specifier %f %lf %Lf

alternate %g %lg %Lg

alternate %e %le %Le

type pointer

format specifier %p

When characters are passed to printf, they are promoted to type int. Thus any format specifier used with int may also be used with char. The only difference is in the output format. Thus a char variable containing 97 will print 97 when %d or %i is used, but a when %c is used. When using floating point types, %f prints 6 decimal places in standard notation, %e prints six decimal places in exponential notation. %g chooses the most concise of %f and %e and uses that output format. A pointer may be printed with %p, regardless of its type. The output format is machine specific, but usually hexadecimal. There is no clean way to output a pointer in decimal notation.

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C for Programmers

Table of Escape Sequences

\a \b What alert character backspace ASCII 7 8 Causes: the speaker to sound cursor to move one space backwards. Useful with printers with print heads for emboldening characters by printing them, backspacing and printing the character again cursor to move forward to next tab stop cursor to move to start of next line interesting effects with a small class of terminals and printers a page feed when sent to a printer cursor to move to first column of screen n is interpreted as octal and the corresponding ASCII character is generated n is interpreted as hexadecimal and the corresponding ASCII character is generated

\t \n \v \f \r \0n \xn

tab character newline character vertical tab formfeed character carriage return character

9 10 11 12 13 n n

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Ascii Table
00000000 00000001 00000010 00000011 00000100 00000101 00000110 00000111 00001000 00001001 00001010 00001011 00001100 00001101 00001110 00001111 00010000 00010001 00010010 00010011 00010100 00010101 00010110 00010111 00011000 00011001 00011010 00011011 00011100 00011101 00011110 00011111 00100000 00100001 00100010 00100011 00100100 00100101 00100110 00100111 00101000 00101001 00101010 00101011 00101100 00101101 00101110 00101111 00110000 00110001 00110010 00110011 00110100 00110101 00110110 00110111 00111000 00111001 00111010 00111011 00111100 00111101 00111110 00111111 000 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 0x0 0x1 0x2 0x3 0x4 0x5 0x6 0x7 0x8 0x9 0xA 0xB 0xC 0xD 0xE 0xF 0x10 0x11 0x12 0x13 0x14 0x15 0x16 0x17 0x18 0x19 0x1A 0x1B 0x1C 0x1D 0x1E 0x1F 0x20 0x21 0x22 0x23 0x24 0x25 0x26 0x27 0x28 0x29 0x2A 0x2B 0x2C 0x2D 0x2E 0x2F 0x30 0x31 0x32 0x33 0x34 0x35 0x36 0x37 0x38 0x39 0x3A 0x3B 0x3C 0x3D 0x3E 0x3F nul ^A ^B ^C ^D ^E ^F alert \a backspace \b tab \t newline \n vt. tab \v formfeed \f return \r ^N ^O ^P ^Q ^R ^S ^T ^U ^V ^W ^X ^Y ^Z esc ^\ ^] ^^ ^_ space ! # $ % & close quote ( ) * + comma . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 : ; < = > ? \0 01000000 01000001 01000010 01000011 01000100 01000101 01000110 01000111 01001000 01001001 01001010 01001011 01001100 01001101 01001110 01001111 01010000 01010001 01010010 01010011 01010100 01010101 01010110 01010111 01011000 01011001 01011010 01011011 01011100 01011101 01011110 01011111 01100000 01100001 01100010 01100011 01100100 01100101 01100110 01100111 01101000 01101001 01101010 01101011 01101100 01101101 01101110 01101111 01110000 01110001 01110010 01110011 01110100 01110101 01110110 01110111 01111000 01111001 01111010 01111011 01111100 01111101 01111110 01111111 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 0x40 0x41 0x42 0x43 0x44 0x45 0x46 0x47 0x48 0x49 0x4A 0x4B 0x4C 0x4D 0x4E 0x4F 0x50 0x51 0x52 0x53 0x54 0x55 0x56 0x57 0x58 0x59 0x5A 0x5B 0x5C 0x5D 0x5E 0x5F 0x60 0x61 0x62 0x63 0x64 0x65 0x66 0x67 0x68 0x69 0x6A 0x6B 0x6C 0x6D 0x6E 0x6F 0x70 0x71 0x72 0x73 0x74 0x75 0x76 0x77 0x78 0x79 0x7A 0x7B 0x7C 0x7D 0x7E 0x7F @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ _ open quote a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z { | } ~ del

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Bibliography
The C Puzzle Book Alan R Feuer Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-115502-4 around 32 This is a book of what will the following program print questions. The reader is expected to work through successive programs. There are answers and comprehensive explanations in case you havent got the answer right. An excellent book for learning C, although not how to write programs in it (puzzling programs are necessarily written in a puzzling style). Something for the new and experienced C programmer.

The C Programming Language 2nd edition B. W. Kernighan and D. M. Ritchie Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-110362-8 around 32 Although this book is written by the two creators of C it is not a tutorial introduction to the language. It is directed more toward very experienced programmers who require the essential elements of C in the most concise manner possible. An ideal book if you are planning to write a C compiler. Be sure to buy the 2nd edition which describes Standard C as opposed to the 1st edition which describes K&R C.

The C Standard Library P. J. Plauger Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-131509-9 around 30

The definitive guide to the why and how of Cs Standard Library. Not only is source code provided for each and every function (the source code in disk form may be purchased separately), but there are explanations of why the committees decided on the behavior of each function. The sort of book that describes why fgetpos was invented when fseek was already available. C Traps and Pitfalls Andrew Koenig Addison Wesley ISBN 0-20-117928-8 around 18

Even C Experts come across problems that require days of debugging to fix. This book helps to prevent such problems by showing how C programmers get themselves into trouble. Each of the books many examples have trapped a professional programmer. Initially a rather depressing book. Horrible errors are catalogued, leaving the reader asking how can I possibly ever write a C program that works. The second part of the book addresses the problems and contains many useful tips for improving code.

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