UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO C
(10-mark type descriptive answers with diagrams and coding examples)
Introduction to C
C is a general-purpose, structured programming language developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972
at Bell Labs.
It is widely used for system software, operating systems, and embedded systems.
Features of C
• Simple and efficient
• Portable (machine-independent)
• Structured programming
• Rich library functions
• Low-level (bitwise & pointer) manipulation
• Fast execution
Structure of a C Program
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello, World!");
return 0;
Diagram: Structure of a C Program
+---------------------------------+
| Preprocessor directives |
| (e.g., #include <stdio.h>) |
+---------------------------------+
| Global declarations |
+---------------------------------+
| main() function |
|{ |
| local declarations; |
| statements; |
|} |
+---------------------------------+
Character Set, Tokens & Identifiers
Character Set – Letters, digits, special symbols, and white spaces used in a program.
Example: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, _, +, -, ;, etc.
Tokens in C
A token is the smallest unit in a C program.
Types of tokens:
1. Keywords (e.g., int, while)
2. Identifiers (user-defined names)
3. Constants (fixed values)
4. Strings ("Hello")
5. Operators (+, -, *, /)
6. Special symbols (;, {}, [], ())
Example
int total = a + b;
Tokens → int, total, =, a, +, b, ;
Constants and Variables
Constants are fixed values that do not change during program execution.
Variables are named memory locations used to store data.
Example:
#define PI 3.14159 // symbolic constant
int radius = 5;
float area = PI * radius * radius;
Diagram: Memory Representation
+------------+---------+
| Variable | Value |
+------------+---------+
| radius | 5 |
| area | 78.54 |
+------------+---------+
Data Types
C provides several basic data types.
Type Size (bytes) Example
int 2 or 4 10
float 4 12.45
double 8 125.678
char 1 'A'
Operators and Expressions
Operators are symbols that perform operations on operands.
Type Examples
Arithmetic +, -, *, /, %
Relational <, >, <=, >=, ==, !=
Logical &&,
Assignment =, +=, -=, *=, /=
Increment/Decrement ++, --
Bitwise &,
Example:
int a = 5, b = 3, c;
c = a + b * 2; // Expression
Operator Precedence Diagram
Highest → () → ++, -- → *, /, % → +, - → <, >, == → &&, || → =
Input and Output Functions
C uses stdio.h library functions for input and output.
Example:
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int a, b, sum;
printf("Enter two numbers: ");
scanf("%d%d", &a, &b);
sum = a + b;
printf("Sum = %d", sum);
return 0;
}
Output:
Enter two numbers: 10 20
Sum = 30
Type Conversion
Implicit Conversion (Type Promotion):
C automatically converts data types in expressions.
Example:
int a = 5; float b = 2.5; float c = a + b;
Explicit Conversion (Type Casting):
User specifies conversion manually.
float result = (float)5 / 2; // result = 2.5
Mathematical Functions
C provides math functions in <math.h>.
Function Description Example
sqrt(x) Square root sqrt(16) → 4
pow(x,y) x raised to y pow(2,3) → 8
abs(x) Absolute value abs(-5) → 5
sin(x), cos(x), tan(x) Trigonometric sin(0) → 0
Example:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
int main() {
double n = 9.0;
printf("Square root = %.2f", sqrt(n));
return 0;