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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
INTEGER ASSIGNMENT STATEMENTS
Load the file INTASIGN.C and display it for an example
of assignment statements. Three variables are defined for
use in the program and the rest of the program is merely a
series of illustrations of various assignments. The first
two lines of the assignment statements assign numerical
values to "a" and "b", and the next four lines illustrate
the five basic arithmetic functions and how to use them.
The fifth is the modulo operator and gives the remainder if
the two variables were divided. It can only be applied to
"int" or "char" type variables, and of course "int"
extensions such as "long", "short", etc. Following these,
there are two lines illustrating how to combine some of the
variables in some complex math expressions. All of the
above examples should require no comment except to say that
none of the equations are meant to be particularly useful
except as illustrations.
The next two expressions are perfectly acceptable as
given, but we will see later in this chapter that there is
another way to write these for more compact code.
This leaves us with the last two lines which may appear
to you as being very strange. The C compiler scans the
assignment statement from right to left, (which may seem a
bit odd since we do not read that way), resulting in a very
useful construct, namely the one given here. The compiler
finds the value 20, assigns it to "c", then continues to the
left finding that the latest result of a calculation should
be assigned to "b". Thinking that the latest calculation
resulted in a 20, it assigns it to "b" also, and continues
the leftward scan assigning the value 20 to "a" also. This
is a very useful construct when you are initializing a group
of variables. The last statement illustrates that it is
possible to actually do some calculations to arrive at the
value which will be assigned to all three variables.
The program has no output so compiling and executing
this program will be very uninteresting. Since you have
already learned how to display some integer results using
the "printf" function, it would be to your advantage to add
some output statements to this program to see if the various
statements do what you think they should do.
This would be a good time for a preliminary definition
of a rule to be followed in C. The data definitions are
always given before any executable statements in any program
block. This is why the variables are defined first in this
program and in any C program. If you try to define a new
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
variable after executing some statements, the compiler will
issue an error.
ADDITIONAL DATA TYPES
Loading and editing MORTYPES.C will illustrate how some
additional data types can be used. Once again we have
defined a few integer type variables which you should be
fairly familiar with by now, but we have added two new
types, the "char", and the "float".
The "char" type of data is nearly the same as the
integer except that it can only be assigned values between
zero and 255, since it is stored in only one byte of memory.
The "char" type of data is usually used for ASCII data, more
commonly known as text. The text you are reading was
originally written on a computer with a word processor that
stored the words in the computer one character per byte. In
contrast, the integer data type is stored in two bytes of
computer memory on most microcomputers.
DATA TYPE MIXING
It would be profitable at this time to discuss the way
C handles the two types "char" and "int". Most functions in
C that are designed to operate with integer type variables
will work equally well with character type variables because
they are a form of an integer variable. Those functions,
when called on to use a "char" type variable, will actually
promote the "char" data into integer data before using it.
For this reason, it is possible to mix "char" and "int" type
variables in nearly any way you desire. The compiler will
not get confused, but you might. It is good not to rely on
this too much, but to carefully use only the proper types of
data where they should be used.
The second new data type is the "float" type of data,
commonly called floating point data. This is a data type
which usually has a very large range, a large number of
significant digits, and a large number of computer words are
required to store it. The "float" data type has a decimal
point associated with it and, on most computers, has an
allowable range of from 10E-38 to 10E+38. Not all compilers
have the same available range, so check your reference
manual for the limits on your compiler.
HOW TO USE THE NEW DATA TYPES
The first three lines of the program assign values to
all nine of the defined variables so we can manipulate some
of the data between the different types.
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
Since, as mentioned above, a "char" data type is in
reality an "integer" data type, no special considerations
need be taken to promote a "char" to an "int", and a "char"
type data field can be assigned to an "int" variable. When
going the other way, there is no standard, so you may simply
get garbage if the value of the integer variable is outside
the range of the "char" type variable. It will translate
correctly if the value is within the range of zero to 255.
In the second line therefore, when attempting to set x (a
char) to -27, you may or may not get a well defined answer,
it depends on your particular implementation of C.
The third line illustrates the simplicity of
translating an integer into a "float", simply assign it the
new value and the system will do the proper conversion.
When going the other way however, there is an added
complication. Since there may be a fractional part of the
floating point number, the system must decide what to do
with it. By definitions , it will truncate it.
This program produces no output, and we haven't covered
a way to print out "char" and "float" type variables, so you
can't really get in to this program and play with the
results, but the next program will cover this for you.
LOTS OF VARIABLE TYPES
Load the file LOTTYPES.C and display it on your screen.
This file contains every standard simple data type available
in the programming language C. There are other types, but
they are the compound types that we will cover in due time.
Observe the file. First we define a simple "int",
followed by a "long int" and a "short int". Consult your
reference manual for an exact definition of these for your
compiler, because they are not consistent from
implementation to implementation. The "unsigned" is next
and is defined as the same size as the "int" but with no
sign. The "unsigned" then will cover a range of 0 to 65535
on most microcomputers. It should be pointed out that when
the "long", "short", or "unsigned" is desired, the "int" is
optional and is left out by most experienced programmers.
We have already covered the "char" and the "float", which
leaves only the "double". The "double" usually covers a
greater range than the "float" and has more significant
digits for more precise calculations. It also requires more
memory to store a value than the simple "float". Consult
your reference manual for the range and accuracy of the
"double".
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
Another diversion is in order at this point. Most
compilers have no provisions for floating point math, but
only double floating point math. They will promote a
"float" to a "double" before doing calculations and
therefore only one math library will be needed. Of course,
this is totally transparent to you, so you don't need to
worry about it. You may think that it would be best to
simply define every floating point variable as double, since
they are promoted before use in any calculations, but that
may not be a good idea. A "float" variable requires 4 bytes
of storage and a "double" requires 8 bytes of storage, so if
you have a large volume of floating point data to store, the
"double" will obviously require much more memory. Your
compiler may require a different number of bytes than 4 or
8. Consult your reference manual for the correct number of
bytes used by your compiler.
After defining the data types, a numerical value is
assigned to each of the defined variables in order to
demonstrate the means of outputting each to the monitor.
THE CONVERSION CHARACTERS
Following is a list of the conversion characters and
the way they are usedin the "printf" statement.
d decimal notation
o octal notation
x hexadecimal notation
u unsigned notation
c character notation
s string notation
f floating point notation
Each of these is used following a percent sign to
indicate the type of output conversion, and between those
two characters, the following fields may be added.
- left justification in its field
(n) a number specifying minimum field width
. to separate n from m
(m) significant fractional digits for a float
l to indicate a "long"
These are all used in the examples which are included
in the program presently displayed on your monitor, with the
exception of the string notation which will be covered later
in this tutorial. Compile and run this program to see what
effect the various fields have on the output.
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
You now have the ability to display any of the data
fields in the previous programs and it would be to your
advantage to go back and see if you can display any of the
fields anyway you desire.
LOGICAL COMPARES
Load and view the file named COMPARES.C for many
examples of compare statements in C. We begin by defining
and initializing nine variables to use in the following
compare statements. This initialization is new to you and
can be used to initialize variables while they are defined.
The first group of compare statements represents the
simplest kinds of compares since they simply compare two
variables. Either variable could be replaced with a
constant and still be a valid compare, but two variables is
the general case. The first compare checks to see if "x" is
equal to "y" and it uses the double equal sign for the
comparison. A single equal sign could be used here but it
would have a different meaning as we will see shortly. The
second comparison checks to see if "x" is greater than "z".
The third introduces the "NOT" operator, the
exclamation, which can be used to invert the result of any
logical compare. The fourth checks for "b" less than or
equal to "c", and the last checks for "r" not equal to "s".
As we learned in the last chapter, if the result of the
compare is true, the statement following the "if" clause
will be executed and the results are given in the comments.
Note that "less than" and "greater than or equal to" are
also available, but are not illustrated here.
It would be well to mention the different format used
for the "if" statement in this example program. A carriage
return is not required as a statement separator and by
putting the conditional clause on the same line as the "if",
it adds to the readability of the overall program.
MORE COMPARES
The compares in the second group are a bit more
involved. Starting with the first compare, we find a rather
strange looking set of conditions in the parentheses. To
understand this we must understand just what a "true" or
"false" is in the C language. A "false" is defined as a
value of zero, and "true" is defined as a non-zero value.
Any integer or char type of variable can be used for the
result of a true/false test, or the result can be an implied
integer or char.
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
Look at the first compare of the second group of
compare statements. The expression "r != s" will evaluate
as a "true" since "r" was set to 0.0 above, so the result
will be a non-zero value, probably 1. Even though the two
variables that are compared are "float" variables, the
result will be of type "integer". There is no explicit
variable to which it will be assigned so the result of the
compare is an implied integer. Finally the resulting
number, 1 in this case, is assigned to the integer variable
"x". If double equal signs were used, the phantom value,
namely 1, would be compared to the value of "x", but since
the single equal sign is used, the value 1 is simply
assigned to "x", as though the statement were not in
parentheses. Finally, since the result of the assignment in
the parentheses was non-zero, the entire expression is
evaluated as "true", and "z" is assigned the value of 1000.
Thus we accomplished two things in this statement, we
assigned "x" a new value, probably 1, and we assigned "z"
the value of 1000. We covered a lot in this statement so
you may wish to review it before going on. The important
things to remember are the values that define "true" and
"false", and the fact that several things can be assigned in
a conditional statement. The value assigned to "x" was
probably a 1 but different compilers may assign a different
value as long as it is non-zero.
The next example should help clear up some of the above
in your mind. In this example, "x" is assigned the value of
"y", and since the result is 11, the condition is non-zero,
which is true, and the variable "z" is therefore assigned
222.
The third example, in the second group, compares "x" to
zero. If the result is true, meaning that if "x" is not
zero, then "z" is assigned the value of 333, which it will
be. The last example in this group illustrates the same
concept, since the result will be true if "x" is non-zero.
The compare to zero is not actually needed and the result of
the compare is true. The third and fourth examples of this
group are therefore identical.
ADDITIONAL COMPARE CONCEPTS
The third group of compares will introduce some
additional concepts, namely the logical "AND" and the
logical "OR". We assign the value of 77 to the three
integer variables simply to get started again with some
defined values. The first compare of the third group
contains the new control "&&", which is the logical "AND".
The entire statement reads, if "x" equals "y" AND if "x"
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
equals 77 then the result is "true". Since this is true,
the variable z is set equal to 33.
The next compare in this group introduces the "||"
operator which is the "OR". The statement reads, if "x" is
greater than "y" OR if "z" is greater than 12 then the
result is true. Since "z" is greater than 12, it doesn't
matter if "x" is greater than "y" or not, because only one
of the two conditions must be true for the result to be
true. The result is true, so therefore "z" will be assigned
the value of 22.
LOGICAL EVALUATION
When a compound expression is evaluated, the evaluation
proceeds from left to right and as soon as the result of the
outcome is assured, evaluation stops. Namely, in the case
of an "AND" evaluation, when one of the terms evaluates to
"false", evaluation is discontinued because additional true
terms cannot make the result ever become "true". In the
case of an "OR" evaluation, if any of the terms is found to
be "true", evaluation stops because it will be impossible
for additional terms to cause the result to be "false". In
the case of additionally nested terms, the above rules will
be applied to each of the nested levels.
PRECEDENCE OF OPERATORS
The question will come up concerning the precedence of
operators. Which operators are evaluated first and which
last? There are many rules about this topic, which your
compiler will define completely, but I would suggest that
you don't worry about it at this point. Instead, use lots
of parentheses to group variables, constants, and operators
in a way meaningful to you. Parentheses always have the
highest priority and will remove any question of which
operations will be done first in any particular statements.
Going on to the next example in group three, we find
three simple variables used in the conditional part of the
compare. Since all three are non-zero, all three are
"true", and therefore the "AND" of the three variables are
true, leading to the result being "true", and "z" being
assigned the value of 11. Note that since the variables,
"r", "s", and "t" are "float" type variables, they could not
be used this way, but they could each be compared to zero
and the same type of expression could be used.
Continuing on to the fourth example of the third group
we find three assignment statements in the compare part of
the "if" statement. If you understood the above discussion,
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
you should have no difficulty understanding that the three
variables are assigned their respective new values, and the
result of all three are non-zero, leading to a resulting
value of "TRUE".
THIS IS A TRICK, BE CAREFUL
The last example of the third group contains a bit of a
trick, but since we have covered it above, it is nothing new
to you. Notice that the first part of the compare evaluates
to "FALSE". The remaining parts of the compare are not
evaluated, because it is an "AND" and it will definitely be
resolved as a "FALSE" because the first term is false. If
the program was dependent on the value of "y" being set to 3
in the next part of the compare, it will fail because
evaluation will cease following the "FALSE" found in the
first term. Likewise, "z" will not be set to 4, and the
variable "r" will not be changed.
POTENTIAL PROBLEM AREAS
The last group of compares illustrate three
possibilities for getting into a bit of trouble. All three
have the common result that "z" will not get set to the
desired value, but for different reasons. In the case of
the first one, the compare evaluates as "true", but the
semicolon following the second parentheses terminates the
"if" clause, and the assignment statement involving "z" is
always executed as the next statement. The "if" therefore
has no effect because of the misplaced semicolon. The
second statement is much more straightforward because "x"
will always be equal to itself, therefore the inequality
will never be true, and the entire statement will never do a
thing, but is wasted effort. The last statement will always
assign 0 to "x" and the compare will therefore always be
"false", never executing the conditional part of the "if"
statement.
The conditional statement is extremely important and
must be thoroughly understood to write efficient C programs.
If any part of this discussion is unclear in your mind,
restudy it until you are confident that you understand it
thoroughly before proceeding onward.
THE CRYPTIC PART OF C
There are three constructs used in C that make no sense
at all when first encountered because they are not
intuitive, but they greatly increase the efficiency of the
compiled code and are used extensively by experienced C
programmers. You should therefore be exposed to them and
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
learn to use them because they will appear in most, if not
all, of the programs you see in the publications. Load and
examine the file named CRYPTIC.C for examples of the three
new constructs.
In this program, some variables are defined and
initialized in the same statements for use below. The first
executable statement simply adds 1 to the value of "x", and
should come as no surprise to you. The next two statements
also add one to the value of "x", but it is not intuitive
that this is what happens. It is simply by definition that
this is true. Therefore, by definition of the C language, a
double plus sign either before or after a variable
increments that variable by 1. Additionally, if the plus
signs are before the variable, the variable is incremented
before it is used, and if the plus signs are after the
variable, the variable is used, then incremented. In the
next statement, the value of "y" is assigned to the variable
"z", then "y" is incremented because the plus signs are
after the variable "y". In the last statement of the
incrementing group of example statements, the value of "y"
is incremented then its value is assigned to the variable
"z".
The next group of statements illustrate decrementing a
variable by one. The definition works exactly the same way
for decrementing as it does for incrementing. If the minus
signs are before the variable, the variable is decremented,
then used, and if the minus signs are after the variable,
the variable is used, then decremented.
THE CRYPTIC ARITHMETIC OPERATOR
Another useful but cryptic operator is the arithmetic
operator. This operator is used to modify any variable by
some constant value. The first statement of the "arithmetic
operator" group of statements simply adds 12 to the value of
the variable "a". The second statement does the same, but
once again, it is not intuitive that they are the same. Any
of the four basic functions of arithmetic, "+", "-", "*", or
"/", can be handled in this way, by putting the function
desired in front of the equal sign and eliminating the
second reference to the variable name. It should be noted
that the expression on the right side of the arithmetic
operator can be any valid expression, the examples are kept
simple for your introduction to this new operator.
Just like the incrementing and decrementing operators,
the arithmetic operator is used extensively by experienced C
programmers and it would pay you well to understand it.
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
THE CONDITIONAL EXPRESSION
The conditional expression is just as cryptic as the
last two, but once again it can be very useful so it would
pay you to understand it. It consists of three expressions
within parentheses separated by a question mark and a colon.
The expression prior to the question mark is evaluated to
determine if it is "true" or "false". If it is true, the
expression between the question mark and the colon is
evaluated, and if it is not true, the expression following
the colon is evaluated. The result of the evaluation is
used for the assignment. The final result is identical to
that of an "if" statement with an "else" clause. This is
illustrated by the second example in this group. The
conditional expression has the added advantage of more
compact code that will compile to fewer machine instructions
in the final program.
The final two lines of this example program are given
to illustrate a very compact way to assign the greater of
two variables "a" or "b" to "c", and to assign the lessor of
the same two variables to "c". Notice how efficient the
code is in these two examples.
TO BE CRYPTIC OR NOT TO BE CRYPTIC
Several students of C have stated that they didn't like
these three cryptic constructs and that they would simply
never use them. This would be fine if they never have to
read anybody else's program, or use any other programs
within their own. I have found many functions that I wished
to use within a program but needed a small modification to
use it, requiring me to understand another person's code.
It would therefore be to your advantage to learn these new
constructs, and use them. They will be used in the remainder
of this tutorial, so you will be constantly exposed to them.
This has been a long chapter but it contained important
material to get you started in using C. In the next
chapter, we will go on to the building blocks of C, the
functions. At that point, you will have enough of the basic
materials to allow you to begin writing meaningful programs.
PROGRAMMING EXERCISES
1. Write a program that will count from 1 to 12 and print
the count, and its square, for each count.
1 1
2 4
3 9 etc.
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Chapter 4 - Assignment & Logical compares
2. Write a program that counts from 1 to 12 and prints the
count and its inversion to 5 decimal places for
each count. This will require a floating point number.
1 1.00000
2 .50000
3 .33333
4 .25000
etc.
3. Write a program that will count from 1 to 100 and print
only those values between 32 and 39, one to a line.
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