Brief introduction to the c programming language

WashingtonWASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST LOUIS
Brief Introduction to the C
Programming Language
Fred Kuhns
fredk@cse.wustl.edu
Applied Research Laboratory,
Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
Washington University in St. Louis

2Fred Kuhns (04/15/13) CSE332– Object Oriented Programming Lab
Introduction
• The C programming language was designed by Dennis
Ritchie at Bell Laboratories in the early 1970s
• Influenced by
– ALGOL 60 (1960),
– CPL (Cambridge, 1963),
– BCPL (Martin Richard, 1967),
– B (Ken Thompson, 1970)
• Traditionally used for systems programming, though
this may be changing in favor of C++
• Traditional C:
– The C Programming Language, by Brian Kernighan and Dennis
Ritchie, 2nd
Edition, Prentice Hall
– Referred to as K&R

Standard C
• Standardized in 1989 by ANSI (American National
Standards Institute) known as ANSI C
• International standard (ISO) in 1990 which was
adopted by ANSI and is known as C89
• As part of the normal evolution process the standard
was updated in 1995 (C95) and 1999 (C99)
• C++ and C
– C++ extends C to include support for Object Oriented
Programming and other features that facilitate large software
development projects
– C is not strictly a subset of C++, but it is possible to write
“Clean C” that conforms to both the C++ and C standards.

Elements of a C Program
• A C development environment includes
– System libraries and headers: a set of standard libraries and
their header files. For example see /usr/include and glibc.
– Application Source: application source and header files
– Compiler: converts source to object code for a specific platform
– Linker: resolves external references and produces the
executable module
• User program structure
– there must be one main function where execution begins when
the program is run. This function is called main
• int main (void) { ... },
• int main (int argc, char *argv[]) { ... }
• UNIX Systems have a 3rd
way to define main(), though it is not
POSIX.1 compliant
int main (int argc, char *argv[], char *envp[])
– additional local and external functions and variables

A Simple C Program
• Create example file: try.c
• Compile using gcc:
gcc –o try try.c
• The standard C library libc is included
automatically
• Execute program
./try
• Note, I always specify an absolute path
• Normal termination:
void exit(int status);
– calls functions registered with
atexit()
– flush output streams
– close all open streams
– return status value and control to host
environment
/* you generally want to
* include stdio.h and
* stdlib.h
* */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main (void)
{
printf(“Hello Worldn”);
exit(0);
}

Source and Header files
• Just as in C++, place related code within the same module
(i.e. file).
• Header files (*.h) export interface definitions
– function prototypes, data types, macros, inline functions and other
common declarations
• Do not place source code (i.e. definitions) in the header
file with a few exceptions.
– inline’d code
– class definitions
– const definitions
• C preprocessor (cpp) is used to insert common definitions
into source files
• There are other cool things you can do with the
preprocessor

Another Example C Program
example.c
/* this is a C-style comment
* You generally want to palce
* all file includes at start of file
* */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int
main (int argc, char **argv)
{
// this is a C++-style comment
// printf prototype in stdio.h
printf(“Hello, Prog name = %sn”,
argv[0]);
exit(0);
}
/* comments */
#ifndef _STDIO_H
#define _STDIO_H
... definitions and protoypes
#endif
/usr/include/stdio.h
/* prevents including file
* contents multiple
* times */
#ifndef _STDLIB_H
#define _STDLIB_H
... definitions and protoypes
#endif
/usr/include/stdlib.h
#include directs the preprocessor
to “include” the contents of the file
at this point in the source file.
#define directs preprocessor to
define macros.

Passing Command Line Arguments
• When you execute a program
you can include arguments on
the command line.
• The run time environment will
create an argument vector.
– argv is the argument vector
– argc is the number of
arguments
• Argument vector is an array of
pointers to strings.
• a string is an array of
characters terminated by a
binary 0 (NULL or ‘0’).
• argv[0] is always the program
name, so argc is at least 1.
./try –g 2 fred
argc = 4,
argv = <address0>
‘t’‘r’‘y’‘0’
argv:
[0] <addres1>
[1] <addres2>
[2] <addres3>
[3] <addres4>
[4] NULL
‘-’‘g’‘0’
‘2’‘0’
‘f’‘r’‘e’‘d’‘0’

C Standard Header Files you may want to use
• Standard Headers you should know about:
– stdio.h – file and console (also a file) IO: perror, printf,
open, close, read, write, scanf, etc.
– stdlib.h - common utility functions: malloc, calloc,
strtol, atoi, etc
– string.h - string and byte manipulation: strlen, strcpy,
strcat, memcpy, memset, etc.
– ctype.h – character types: isalnum, isprint,
isupport, tolower, etc.
– errno.h – defines errno used for reporting system errors
– math.h – math functions: ceil, exp, floor, sqrt, etc.
– signal.h – signal handling facility: raise, signal, etc
– stdint.h – standard integer: intN_t, uintN_t, etc
– time.h – time related facility: asctime, clock, time_t,
etc.

The Preprocessor
• The C preprocessor permits you to define simple
macros that are evaluated and expanded prior to
compilation.
• Commands begin with a ‘#’. Abbreviated list:
– #define : defines a macro
– #undef : removes a macro definition
– #include : insert text from file
– #if : conditional based on value of expression
– #ifdef : conditional based on whether macro defined
– #ifndef : conditional based on whether macro is not defined
– #else : alternative
– #elif : conditional alternative
– defined() : preprocessor function: 1 if name defined, else 0
#if defined(__NetBSD__)

Preprocessor: Macros
• Using macros as functions, exercise caution:
– flawed example: #define mymult(a,b) a*b
• Source: k = mymult(i-1, j+5);
• Post preprocessing: k = i – 1 * j + 5;
– better: #define mymult(a,b) (a)*(b)
• Source: k = mymult(i-1, j+5);
• Post preprocessing: k = (i – 1)*(j + 5);
• Be careful of side effects, for example what if we did
the following
– Macro: #define mysq(a) (a)*(a)
– flawed usage:
• Source: k = mysq(i++)
• Post preprocessing: k = (i++)*(i++)
• Alternative is to use inline’ed functions
– inline int mysq(int a) {return a*a};
– mysq(i++) works as expected in this case.

Preprocessor: Conditional Compilation
• Its generally better to use inline’ed functions
• Typically you will use the preprocessor to define
constants, perform conditional code inclusion, include
header files or to create shortcuts
• #define DEFAULT_SAMPLES 100
• #ifdef __linux
static inline int64_t
gettime(void) {...}
• #elif defined(sun)
gettime(void) {return (int64_t)gethrtime()}
• #else
gettime(void) {... gettimeofday()...}
• #endif

Another Simple C Program
int main (int argc, char **argv) {
int i;
printf(“There are %d argumentsn”, argc);
for (i = 0; i < argc; i++)
printf(“Arg %d = %sn”, i, argv[i]);
return 0;
}
• Notice that the syntax is similar to Java
•What’s new in the above simple program?
– of course you will have to learn the new interfaces and utility
functions defined by the C standard and UNIX
– Pointers will give you the most trouble

• A variable declared as an array represents a contiguous
region of memory in which the array elements are stored.
int x[5]; // an array of 5 4-byte ints.
• All arrays begin with an index of 0
• An array identifier is equivalent to a pointer that
references the first element of the array
– int x[5], *ptr;
ptr = &x[0] is equivalent to ptr = x;
• Pointer arithmetic and arrays:
– int x[5];
x[2] is the same as *(x + 2), the compiler will assume you
mean 2 objects beyond element x.
Arrays and Pointers
0
1
2
3
4
10 2 3
little endian byte ordering
memory layout for array x

Pointers
• For any type T, you may form a pointer type to T.
– Pointers may reference a function or an object.
– The value of a pointer is the address of the corresponding object or
function
– Examples: int *i; char *x; int (*myfunc)();
• Pointer operators: * dereferences a pointer, & creates a pointer
(reference to)
– int i = 3; int *j = &i;
*j = 4; printf(“i = %dn”, i); // prints i = 4
– int myfunc (int arg);
int (*fptr)(int) = myfunc;
i = fptr(4); // same as calling myfunc(4);
• Generic pointers:
– Traditional C used (char *)
– Standard C uses (void *) – these can not be dereferenced or used in
pointer arithmetic. So they help to reduce programming errors
• Null pointers: use NULL or 0. It is a good idea to always initialize
pointers to NULL.

Pointers in C (and C++)
Address
0x3dc
0x3d8
Program Memory
0x3cc
0x3c8
0x3c4
0x3c0
Note: The compiler converts z[1] or *(z+1) to
Value at address (Address of z + sizeof(int));
In C you would write the byte address as:
(char *)z + sizeof(int);
or letting the compiler do the work for you
(int *)z + 1;
Step 1:
int main (int argc, argv) {
int x = 4;
int *y = &x;
int *z[4] = {NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL};
int a[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};
...
0x3bc
0x3b8
0x3b4
0x3b0
0x3d4
0x3d0
z[3]
z[2]
z[1]
z[0]
a[3]
a[2]
a[1]
a[0]
4
0x3dc
0
0
0
0
4
3
2
1
NA
NA
x
y

Pointers Continued
4
0x3dc
Address
0x3dc
0x3d8
Program Memory
0x3bc
0x3b8
0x3b4
0x3b0
0x3cc
0x3c8
0x3c4
0x3c0
Step 1:
int x = 4;
int *y = &x;
int *z[4] = {NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL};
int a[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};
Step 2: Assign addresses to array Z
z[0] = a; // same as &a[0];
z[1] = a + 1; // same as &a[1];
z[2] = a + 2; // same as &a[2];
z[3] = a + 3; // same as &a[3];
0x3bc
0x3b8
0x3b4
0x3b0
4
3
2
1
NA 0x3d4
0x3d0
z[3]
z[2]
z[1]
z[0]
a[3]
a[2]
a[1]
a[0]
NA
x
y

Pointers Continued
4
0x3dc
Address
0x3dc
0x3d8
Program Memory
0x3bc
0x3b8
0x3b4
0x3b0
0x3cc
0x3c8
0x3c4
0x3c0
Step 1:
int x = 4;
int *y = &x;
int *z[4] = {NULL, NULL, NULL,
NULL};
int a[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};
Step 2:
z[0] = a;
z[1] = a + 1;
z[2] = a + 2;
z[3] = a + 3;
Step 3: No change in z’s values
z[0] = (int *)((char *)a);
z[1] = (int *)((char *)a
+ sizeof(int));
z[2] = (int *)((char *)a
+ 2 * sizeof(int));
z[3] = (int *)((char *)a
+ 3 * sizeof(int));
0x3bc
0x3b8
0x3b4
0x3b0
4
3
2
1
NA 0x3d4
0x3d0
z[3]
z[2]
z[1]
z[0]
a[3]
a[2]
a[1]
a[0]
NA
x
y

Getting Fancy with Macros
#define QNODE(type)
struct {
struct type *next;
struct type **prev;
}
#define QNODE_INIT(node, field)
do {
(node)->field.next = (node);
(node)->field.prev =
&(node)->field.next;
} while ( /* */ 0 );
#define QFIRST(head, field)
((head)->field.next)
#define QNEXT(node, field)
((node)->field.next)
#define QEMPTY(head, field)
((head)->field.next == (head))
#define QFOREACH(head, var, field)
for ((var) = (head)->field.next;
(var) != (head);
(var) = (var)->field.next)
#define QINSERT_BEFORE(loc, node, field)
do {
*(loc)->field.prev = (node);
(node)->field.prev =
(loc)->field.prev;
(loc)->field.prev =
&((node)->field.next);
(node)->field.next = (loc);
} while (/* */0)
#define QINSERT_AFTER(loc, node, field)
do {
((loc)->field.next)->field.prev =
&(node)->field.next;
(node)->field.next = (loc)->field.next;
(loc)->field.next = (node);
(node)->field.prev = &(loc)->field.next;
} while ( /* */ 0)
#define QREMOVE(node, field)
do {
*((node)->field.prev) = (node)->field.next;
((node)->field.next)->field.prev =
(node)->field.prev;
(node)->field.prev = &((node)->field.next);
} while ( /* */ 0)

typedef struct wth_t
{
int state;
QNODE(wth_t) alist;
} wth_t;
#define QNODE(type)
struct {
struct type *next;
struct type **prev;
}
After Preprocessing and Compiling
typedef struct wth_t {
int state;
struct {
struct wth_t *next;
struct wth_t **prev;
} alist;
} wth_t;
<integer> state
<address> next
<address> prev
3 words in memory
0
0x00100
0x00104
0x100
head: instance of wth_t
0x104
0x108
memory layout after GCC
CPP
QNODE_INIT(head, alist)
#define QNODE_INIT(node, field)
do {
(node)->field.prev = &(node)->field.next;
} while ( /* */ 0 );

#define QINSERT_BEFORE(head, node, alist)
do {
*(head)->alist.prev = (node);
(node)->alist.prev = (head)->alist.prev;
(head)->alist.prev = &(node)->alist.next;
(node)->alist.next = (head);
} while (/* */0)
QNODE Manipulations
0x100 0
0x100
0x104
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
QINSERT_BEFORE(head, node0, alist);
?
before

do {
} while (/* */0)
0x100 0
0x100
0x104
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x104
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
QNODE Manipulations
before

do {
} while (/* */0)
0x100 0
0x100
0x104
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x104
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
QNODE Manipulations
before

do {
} while (/* */0)
0x100 0
0x100
0x104
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
QNODE Manipulations
before

do {
} while (/* */0)
0x100 0
0x100
0x104
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x100
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
QNODE Manipulations
before

Adding a Third Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x100
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x200
0x204
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
} while (/* */0)
0x200 0
0x200
0x204
node1
0x204
0x208
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x100
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8

Adding a Third Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x100
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x200
0x204
node1
0x204
0x208
#define QINSERT_BEFORE(head, node1, alist)
do {
*(head)->alist.prev = (node1);
(node1)->alist.prev = (head)->alist.prev;
(head)->alist.prev = &(node1)->alist.next;
(node1)->alist.next = (head);
} while (/* */0)
0x200 0
0x200
0x204
node1
0x204
0x208
(1)
(1)

Adding a Third Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x100
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x200
0x204
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
} while (/* */0)
0x200 0
0x200
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
(1)
(2)
(2)

Adding a Third Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x100
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x200
0x204
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
} while (/* */0)
0x200 0
0x200
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
(1)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(3)

Adding a Third Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x100
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x200
0x204
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
} while (/* */0)
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
(1)
(1)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(3)
(4)
(4)

Removing a Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
QREMOVE(node0, alist);
0x100 0
??
??
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
??
??
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
??
??
node1
0x204
0x208
#define QREMOVE(node, alist)
do {
(1) *((node)->alist.prev) = (node)->alist.next;
(2) ((node)->alist.next)->alist.prev = (node)->alist.prev;
(3) (node)->alist.next = (node);
(4) (node)->alist.prev = &((node)->alist.next);
} while ( /* */ 0)

Removing a Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
*((node)->alist.prev) = (node)->alist.next;
((node)->alist.next)->alist.prev = (node)->alist.prev;
(node)->alist.next = (node);
(node)->alist.prev = &((node)->alist.next);
} while ( /* */ 0)
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208

0x100 0
0x200
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
Removing a Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
#define QREMOVE(node0, alist)
do {
(1) *((node0)->alist.prev) = (node0)->alist.next;
((node0)->alist.next)->alist.prev = (node0)->alist.prev;
(node0)->alist.next = (node0);
(node0)->alist.prev = &((node0)->alist.next);
} while ( /* */ 0)
(1)

0x100 0
0x200
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x104
node1
0x204
0x208
Removing a Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
*((node0)->alist.prev) = (node0)->alist.next;
(2) ((node0)->alist.next)->alist.prev = (node0)->alist.prev;
} while ( /* */ 0)
(2)

0x100 0
0x200
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x104
node1
0x204
0x208
Removing a Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
(3) (node0)->alist.next = (node0);
} while ( /* */ 0)
(3)

0x100 0
0x200
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x104
node1
0x204
0x208
Removing a Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
(4) (node0)->alist.prev = &((node0)->alist.next);
} while ( /* */ 0)
(4)

Solution to Removing a Node
0x100 0
0x1a0
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x200
0x104
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x1a4
node1
0x204
0x208
0x100 0
0x200
0x204
head
0x104
0x108
0x1a0 0
0x1a0
0x1a4
node0
0x1a4
0x1a8
0x200 0
0x100
0x104
node1
0x204
0x208
do {
(1) *((node)->alist.prev) = (node)->alist.next;
(2) ((node)->alist.next)->alist.prev = (node)->alist.prev;
(3) (node)->alist.next = (node);
(4) (node)->alist.prev = &((node)->alist.next);
} while ( /* */ 0)

Functions
• Always use function prototypes
int myfunc (char *, int, struct MyStruct *);
int myfunc_noargs (void);
void myfunc_noreturn (int i);
• C and C++ are call by value, copy of parameter passed to function
– C++ permits you to specify pass by reference
– if you want to alter the parameter then pass a pointer to it (or use
references in C++)
• If performance is an issue then use inline functions, generally
better and safer than using a macro. Common convention
– define prototype and function in header or name.i file
– static inline int myinfunc (int i, int j);
– static inline int myinfunc (int i, int j) { ... }

Basic Types and Operators
• Basic data types
– Types: char, int, float and double
– Qualifiers: short, long, unsigned, signed, const
• Constant: 0x1234, 12, “Some string”
• Enumeration:
– Names in different enumerations must be distinct
– enum WeekDay_t {Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri};
enum WeekendDay_t {Sat = 0, Sun = 4};
• Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, %
– prefix ++i or --i ; increment/decrement before value is used
– postfix i++, i--; increment/decrement after value is used
• Relational and logical: <, >, <=, >=, ==, !=, &&, ||
• Bitwise: &, |, ^ (xor), <<, >>, ~(ones complement)

Operator Precedence (from “C a Reference Manual”, 5th
Edition)
Tokens
Operator
Class
Precedence
Associates
names,
literals simple tokens primary
16
n/a
a[k] subscripting postfix left-to-right
f(...) function call postfix left-to-right
. direct selection postfix left-to-right
-> indirect selection postfix left to right
++ -- increment, decrement postfix left-to-right
(type){init} compound literal postfix left-to-right
++ -- increment, decrement prefix
15
right-to-left
sizeof size unary right-to-left
~ bitwise not unary right-to-left
! logical not unary right-to-left
- + negation, plus unary right-to-left
& address of unary right-to-left
*
indirection
(dereference)
unary right-to-left
Tokens
Operator
Class
Precedence
Associates
(type) casts unary 14 right-to-left
* / % multiplicative binary 13 left-to-right
+ - additive binary 12 left-to-right
<< >> left, right shift binary 11 left-to-right
< <= > >= relational binary 10 left-to-right
== != equality/ineq. binary 9 left-to-right
& bitwise and binary 8 left-to-right
^ bitwise xor binary 7 left-to-right
| bitwise or binary 6 left-to-right
&& logical and binary 5 left-to-right
|| logical or binary 4 left-to-right
?: conditional ternary 3 right-to-left
= += -=
*= /= %=
&= ^= |=
<<= >>=
assignment binary 2 right-to-left
, sequential eval. binary 1 left-to-right

Structs and Unions
• structures
– struct MyPoint {int x, int y};
– typedef struct MyPoint MyPoint_t;
– MyPoint_t point, *ptr;
– point.x = 0;point.y = 10;
– ptr = &point; ptr->x = 12; ptr->y = 40;
• unions
– union MyUnion {int x; MyPoint_t pt; struct {int
3; char c[4]} S;};
– union MyUnion x;
– Can only use one of the elements. Memory will be allocated for
the largest element

Conditional Statements (if/else)
if (a < 10)
printf(“a is less than 10n”);
else if (a == 10)
printf(“a is 10n”);
else
printf(“a is greater than 10n”);
• If you have compound statements then use brackets (blocks)
– if (a < 4 && b > 10) {
c = a * b; b = 0;
printf(“a = %d, a’s address = 0x%08xn”, a, (uint32_t)&a);
} else {
c = a + b; b = a;
}
• These two statements are equivalent:
– if (a) x = 3; else if (b) x = 2; else x = 0;
– if (a) x = 3; else {if (b) x = 2; else x = 0;}
• Is this correct?
– if (a) x = 3; else if (b) x = 2;
else (z) x = 0; else x = -2;

Conditional Statements (switch)
int c = 10;
switch (c) {
case 0:
printf(“c is 0n”);
break;
...
default:
printf(“Unknown value of cn”);
break;
}
• What if we leave the break statement out?
• Do we need the final break statement on the default case?

Loops
• flow control
– break – exit innermost loop
– continue – perform next iteration of loop
• Note, all these forms permit one statement to be executed. By
enclosing in brackets we create a block of statements.
for (i = 0; i < MAXVALUE; i++) {
dowork();
}
while (c != 12) {
dowork();
}
do {
dowork();
} while (c < 12);

Building your program
• For all labs and programming assignments:
– you must supply a make file
– you must supply a README file that describes the assignment
and results. This must be a text file, no MS word.
– of course the source code and any other libraries or utility
code you used
– you may submit plots, they must be postscript or pdf

make and Makefiles, Overview
• Why use make?
– convenience of only entering compile directives once
– make is smart enough (with your help) to only compile and link modules
that have changed or which depend on files that have changed
– allows you to hide platform dependencies
– promotes uniformity
– simplifies my (and hopefully your) life when testing and verifying your
code
• A makefile contains a set of rules for building a program
target ... : prerequisites ...
command
...
• Static pattern rules.
– each target is matched against target-pattern to derive stem which is
used to determine prereqs (see example)
targets ... : target-pattern : prereq-patterns ...
command
...

Makefiles
• Defining variables
MyOPS := -DWTH
MyDIR ?= /home/fred
MyVar = $(SHELL)
• Using variables
MyFLAGS := $(MyOPS)
• Built-in Variables
– $@ = filename of target
– $< = name of the first prerequisites
• Patterns
– use % character to determine stem
– foo.o matches the pattern %.o with foo as the stem.
– foo.o moo.o : %.o : %.c # says that foo.o depends on foo.c and
moo.o depends on moo.c

Example Makefile for wulib
# Project specific
include ../Makefile.inc
INCLUDES = ${WUINCLUDES} –I.
LIBS = ${WILIBS} ${OSLIBS}
CFLAGS = ${WUCLFAGS} –DWUDEBUG
CC = ${WUCC}
HDRS := util.h
CSRCS := testapp1.c testapp2.c
SRCS := util.c callout.c
COBJS = $(addprefix ${OBJDIR}/,
$(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(CSRCS)))
OBJS = $(addprefix ${OBJDIR}/,
$(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(SRCS)))
CMDS = $(addprefix ${OBJDIR}/, $(basename $(CSRCS)))
all : $(OBJDIR) $(CMDS)
install : all
$(OBJDIR) :
mkdir $(OBJDIR)
$(OBJS) $(COBJS) : ${OBJDIR}/%.o : %.c $(HDRS)
${CC} ${CFLAGS} ${INCLUDES} –o $@ -c $<
$(CMDS) : ${OBJDIR}/% : ${OBJDIR}/%.o $(OBJS)
${CC} ${CFLAGS} -o $@ $@.o ${LIBS}
chmod 0755 $@
clean :
/bin/rm -f $(CMDS) $(OBJS)
# Makefile.inc
# Contains common definitions
MyOS := $(shell uname -s)
MyID := $(shell whoami)
MyHost := $(shell hostname)
WARNSTRICT := -W
-Wstrict-
prototypes
-Wmissing-prototypes
WARNLIGHT := -Wall
WARN := ${WARNLIGHT}
ALLFLGS := -D_GNU_SOURCE
-D_REENTRANT
-D_THREAD_SAFE
APPCFLGS = $(ALLFLGS)
$(WARN)
WUCC := gcc
WUCFLAGS := -DMyOS=$(MyOS)
$(OSFLAGS)
$(ALLFLGS) $(WARN)
WUINCLUDES :=
WULIBS := -lm
ifeq (${MyOS), SunOS)
OSLIBS+= -lrt
endif
Makefile.inc Makefile

Project Documentation
• README file structure
– Section A: Introduction
describe the project, paraphrase the requirements and state your
understanding of the assignments value.
– Section B: Design and Implementation
List all files turned in with a brief description for each. Explain your
design and provide simple psuedo-code for your project. Provide a simple
flow chart of you code and note any constraints, invariants, assumptions
or sources for reused code or ideas.
– Section C: Results
For each project you will be given a list of questions to answer, this is
where you do it. If you are not satisfied with your results explain why
here.
– Section D: Conclusions
What did you learn, or not learn during this assignment. What would you
do differently or what did you do well.

Attacking a Project
• Requirements and scope: Identify specific requirements and or goals.
Also note any design and/or implementation environment
requirements.
– knowing when you are done, or not done
– estimating effort or areas which require more research
– programming language, platform and other development environment
issues
• Approach: How do you plan to solve the problem identified in the first
step. Develop a prototype design and document. Next figure out how
you will verify that you did satisfy the requirements/goals. Designing
the tests will help you to better understand the problem domain and
your proposed solution
• Iterative development: It is good practice to build your project in
small pieces. Testing and learning as you go.
• Final Touches: Put it all together and run the tests identified in the
approach phase. Verify you met requirements. Polish you code and
documentation.
• Turn it in:

Brief introduction to the c programming language

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