Study Material: Structure of a C Program
1. Documentation Section
Includes comments to explain what the program does.
Starts with /* ... */ or //
Example:
/* Program to find the largest of two numbers */
2. Preprocessor Section
Contains header files that provide built-in functions.
Written using #include.
Example:
#include <stdio.h> // standard input-output functions
3. Global Declaration Section (optional)
Variables or functions declared outside main().
Accessible throughout the program.
Example:
int max; // global variable
4. main() Function Section
Every C program must have main() → program starts execution here.
Contains declarations and executable statements.
Example:
int main() {
int a, b; // local variable declaration
// statements
}
5. Variable Declaration Section
Inside main(), we declare variables before using them.
Example:
int a, b, max;
6. Executable Statements Section
Actual logic of the program → calculations, decisions, loops, output, etc.
Example:
scanf("%d %d", &a, &b);
if(a > b)
max = a;
else
max = b;
printf("Largest = %d", max);
7. Subprogram Section (optional)
User-defined functions, written outside main().
Example:
int add(int x, int y) {
return x + y;
}
Complete Example Program
/* Program to find the largest of two numbers */
#include <stdio.h> // Preprocessor section
// Global Declaration (optional)
// int max;
int main() { // main() function starts
int a, b, max; // variable declaration
// input
printf("Enter two numbers: ");
scanf("%d %d", &a, &b);
// logic
if(a > b)
max = a;
else
max = b;
// output
printf("Largest number = %d", max);
return 0; // end of main()
}
// end of program
Summary Table
Section Purpose
Documentation Comments (explain program)
Preprocessor Include header files
Global Declaration Declare global variables/functions
main() Program starts here
Variable Declaration Define variables inside main
Executable Statements Write program logic
Subprograms Extra user-defined functions