Basic Data Types

Introduction to Programming
 Fundamental Data Types
• A data type defines a set of values and a
set of operations that can be performed on
those values.

DATA TYPE SUGGESTED USAGE

char Text characters such as 'a','b','@' and so on
int Integral numbers such as 1, 2, 3, and so on
float Low/medium precision real numbers
double Medium/high precision real numbers

Introduction to Programming
 Fundamental Data Types
• Their respective sizes are not strictly
defined by the standard.
• The compiler vendor selects the most
appropriate size that suits the
architecture of the host computer.
• Hence, compiler- and machine-
dependent

Introduction to Programming
 Fundamental Data Types
• Both char and int data types store integral
values.
• Get actual size in bytes of any data type by
using the unary operator (not a function)
sizeof .
parenthesized
Unsigned int
...
char ch;
printf( “%u, %u”, sizeof ch, sizeof(float) );
...
Introduction to Programming
 Fundamental Data Types

DATA TYPE VALUE TYPICAL SIZE

char Character 8 bits
int Integer 16 bits
float Real number 32 bits
double Real number 64 bits

Introduction to Programming
 The Integer Data Type
• Keyword: int
• Represents whole numbers in C
• Its values typically range from –32768
to 32767 (16 bits)
• Here are some example of integers:
13, -214, +2001, 2002
• An int cannot contain commas. For
example, 2,001 is not a valid integer
value
Introduction to Programming
 Type Modifiers
• Modifiers such as signed, unsigned,
long and short are used to alter the
meaning of data types to fit the needs
of various situations more precisely

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 The Integer Data Type
• signed (default) 16-bit int
• 0000 0000 0000 0000 = 0
• 1000 0000 0000 0000 = -32 768
Sign bit (1 for negative) 15 bits

-32 768 to +32 767

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 The Integer Data Type
• unsigned 16-bit int

Whole 16 bits

0 to +65 535

Introduction to Programming
 The Integer Data Type
• Care must be taken with signed
quantities to ensure that any
arithmetic operations such as addition
or subtraction do not generate an
over- or underflow
• Incrementing 32 767 will result to a
change of sign when using signed 16-
bit int
Introduction to Programming
 Type Modifiers for Integral
Quantities
• short int <= int <= long int
• The following are the '%' format
indicators recognized by printf()
'%' formatter Data type(s) Output displayed in following
format
%d char, short, int Decimal
%x char, short, int Hexadecimal
%o char, short, int Octal
%u char, short, int Unsigned decimal
%ld, %lx, %lo, %lu long int Decimal, Hexadecimal, octal or
unsigned decimal, respectively
Introduction to Programming
 Type Modifiers for Integral
Quantities
• The following are the '%' format
indicators recognized by scanf()
'%' formatter Appropriate Input recognized in following
data type(s) format
%d, %i, %u, %x, %o int Decimal, decimal, unsigned
decimal, hexadecimal, octal,
respectively
%ld, %li, %lu, %lx, %lo long int -same as above-
%hd, %hi, %hu, %hx, %ho short int -same as above-

Introduction to Programming
 Real Number Data Type
• Both float and double data types
represent a real number in C
• A float consists of an optional sign (+ or
-), followed by one or more digits, a
decimal point and one or more further
numbers.
• A double is a special float, which can
store more significant digits.

Introduction to Programming
 Real Number Data Type
• Represented as floating-point numbers.
• We often use scientific notation to
represent real numbers.
• In Math, 1.23 x 105 = 123000.0
• In C, 1.23e5 = 123000.0

Introduction to Programming
 Real Number Data Type
• Here are some invalid examples of real
number in C.

• 0.1234e /* missing exponent */

• 15e-0.3 /* invalid exponent */
• 34,500.99 /* comma not allowed */
• 150 /* no decimal point */
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 Real Number Data Type
• Typical representation of a 32-bit float

Sign bit

Exponent Mantissa

Bit number 31 22 0

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 Real Number Data Type
• Typical representation of a 64-bit
double
Sign bit

Exponent Mantissa

Bit number 63 51 0

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Type Modifier for Real Number Data Types

• float <= double <= long double

• Typical size and range of real data types for 32-bit
CPUs:

Data type Size Typical range of values

float 32 bits ±3.4e+38 to ±1.1e-38
OR 1.17549e-38 to 3.40282e+38
double 64 bits ±1.7e+308 to ±2.2e-308
OR 2.22507e-308 to 1.79769e+308
long double 80 bits ±1.1e+4932 to ±3.3e-4932
OR 3.3621e-4932 to 1.18973e+4932

Introduction to Programming
 Format Indicators
• For the printf() function

'%' formatter Appropriate Output format

data type(s)
%f Float or double Floating point format
%e Float or double Scientific format
%g Float or double Shortest of '%f' and '%e'
%Lf, %Le, %Lg Long double Floating point, scientific, and
shortest of '%f' and '%e',
respectively

Introduction to Programming
 Format Indicators
• For the scanf() function

Format indicator Input format

%f, %lf, %Lf Floating point or scientific format for
a float, double or long double,
respectively
%e, %le, %Le -same as above-
%g, %lg, %Lg -same as above-

Introduction to Programming
 The Character Data Type
• Keyword: char
• A char is a letter, digit or symbol
enclosed in single quotes.
• Here are some examples of characters:
‘c’ ‘S’ ‘2’ ‘$’ ‘ ‘
• Note that the space (‘ ‘) is a character
just like any letter or digit

Introduction to Programming
 The Character Data Type
• Some non-printing and hard-to-print
characters require an escape sequence
• They consist of a backslash ( \ )
followed by a character.
• For example, a horizontal tab is
represented as ‘\t’ when used in a C
program.

Introduction to Programming
The Character Data Type
Some Non-printing characters
Name of Character Escape
Sequence
Alert \a
Backslash \\
Backspace \b
Carriage return \r
Double quote \”
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 Data Types
• More on Data Types next time :)

Introduction to Programming
 Variables
• Variables are the basic data objects
manipulated in a program
• All variables must be declared before
they are used

Introduction to Programming
 Variable Declaration and
Definition
• Declaration is used to name an object
like a variable
• Definition is used to create objects
and reserved memory space.
• Syntax: <data type> <variable list>

Introduction to Programming
 Variable Declaration
• C allows multiple variables of the same
type to be defined in one statement
• Example: int height, width;
char choice, index;
• Variables can be distributed among
declarations in any fashion.
• Example:char choice;
char index;
int width;
int height;
Introduction to Programming
 Variable Initialization
• A variable may be initialized in its
declaration
• Example: int height = 10, weight = 20;
char choice = ‘Y’, index = ‘a’;
• the expression on the right serves as an
initializer

Introduction to Programming
 Constants
• Constants are data values that cannot be
changed during the execution of a
program
• A literal is an unnamed constant used to
specify data
• Example: ‘c’ /* a character literal */
• 5 /* an integer literal */
• 3.1416 /* a float literal */
• “Hello” /* a string literal */
Introduction to Programming
 Explicit Constants
• An explicit constant is introduced in much
the same way as a variable, but with its
definition prefixed by the word (or type
qualifier) const.
• They should be initialized during definition.
...
const float pi = 3.14159;
...
Introduction to Programming
 Preprocessor Constants
• Another way to designate a constant is
to use the preprocessor command
define
• Syntax: #define <identifier> <value>
• A #define statement allows you to
give names to constants
• A #define statement allows you to
give names to constants
Introduction to Programming
 Named Constants
No semicolon
• Example:
#define PI 3.1416
#define EXCHANGE_RATE 52.50
• The action of #define is just like the
search and replace command found in
your text editor

Introduction to Programming
 Input/Output Functions
• printf() function - general purpose
output routine
• Format: printf(<format string>, item1,
item2…);
• In its simplest form, it can display a string of
characters enclosed in double-quote marks on
the screen, as in:

printf("You made an error - try again!\n");

Introduction to Programming
 Input/Output Functions
• Controlling the Format
• %d - decimal integer.
• %f - float.
• %lf - double
• %e - float in 'exponent' form,
– eg 1.23E+02 ( E+02 means ten to power +2.)
• %c - single character.
• %s - character string.

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 Input/Output Functions
• scanf() – general-purpose output
routine
• Format:
scanf(<format string>, addr1, addr2…);

Introduction to Programming
 Arithmetic Operators
• C supports the arithmetic operators:
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
% Modulo

Introduction to Programming
 Arithmetic Operators
• Examples:
A = 2 + 3;
B = 2 – 3;
C = 2* 3;
D = 4 / 2;
E = 5 % 2;

Introduction to Programming
 Arithmetic Operators
• The modulo (%) operator computes
the remainder of an integer division
• For example, 5 % 2 is 1 because 5
divided by 2 is 2 remainder 1.
• Moreover, 11 % 2 is 1 because 11
divided by 2 is 5 remainder 1.

Introduction to Programming
 Arithmetic Operators
Floating Point Arithmetic
• C requires that in a quotient A/B, the
denominator, B, must be nonzero
• Division by zero will cause a program
crash that is why it should be avoided

Introduction to Programming
 Arithmetic Operators
Integer Arithmetic
• The quotient of 2 integers is not
necessarily an integer.
• For example, the quotient 3/4 equals a
floating point number 0.75, which is not
an integer.

Introduction to Programming
 Arithmetic Operators
Integer Arithmetic
• If you divide an int by an int, the value
you get will be truncated or rounded
down to the largest whole number less
than the result
• For example,
• 10/3 = 3 and 3/4 = 0
Introduction to Programming
 Unary Plus and Unary
Minus
• The unary plus (+) operator causes no
change to the quantity that follows
• where the unary minus (-) operator
causes the sign of the following
quantity to be changed.
• Examples: +5 -5

Introduction to Programming
 Assignment Operator
• A statement that assigns a value to a
variable is called an assignment
statement and has the format:
variable = expression
• Example: y = 21;
Ch = ‘A’;
x = (2 + 5) * (10 – 6);
net = gross – expenses;
Introduction to Programming
Assignment Operator
Expression Equivalent
k = k + 2; k += 2;
k = k - 2; k -= 2;
k = k * 2; k *= 2;
k = k / 2; k /= 2;

Introduction to Programming
 Assignment Operator
• The semantics is specified by
variable op= expression
is equivalent to
variable = variable op expression
• The left side of the equal sign should be
a variable, not an expression
• Thus, the statement
x + 2 = 0;
• is not a valid statement
Introduction to Programming
Precedence and Associativity
• Precedence is used to determine the
order in which different operators in a
complex expression are evaluated
• Associativity is used to determine the
order in which operators with the same
precedence are evaluated in a complex
expression

Introduction to Programming
Precedence and Associativity
Operators Associativity

-- ++ - (unary) Left to right

* / % Left to right

+ - Left to right

= += -= *= /= Right to left

Introduction to Programming
Precedence and Associativity
• Example: The expression 1 + 2 *3 is
equivalent to 1 + (2 * 3)
• Expressions inside parentheses are
evaluated first
• Example: The expression 1 + 2 –3 + 4
–5 is equal to –1 based on the ”left-to-
right” rule of associativity This
expression is equal to
(((1 + 2) – 3) + 4) – 5
Introduction to Programming
 Precedence and Associativity
• The unary operators have higher
precedence than the binary plus. And
minus
• In the expression –a * b – c, the first
minus is unary and the second is binary.
• Using the rules of precedence, we see
that the expression is equivalent to
((-a) * b) – c.
Introduction to Programming
 Type Conversion
• Implicit type conversion happens
when C automatically converts a type
from one format to another.
• For example, the expression in the
statement x = 2 + 3.5 will evaluate to
in integer value if x is an integer
variable.

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 Type Conversion
• We can actually “force” the conversion
process to take place
• This is called explicit type
conversion and is done with a unary
operator called a type cast.

• Format: (data type) expression

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 Type Conversion
• The type cast causes the value of the
expression to be converted to the data
type. For example,
(float) (10 + 2)
evaluates to a floating point number,
12.0

Introduction to Programming