C Lessons by Chris Sawtell

C Lesson by Chris Sawtell
This copy was taken in May 94

Introduction
History
Data Storage.
Arrays & Pointers
Operators
Pre-processor
Libraries
Debugging
Structure
This archive contains a complete course for you to learn the 'C' computer
language itself.
The language used is correct conversational English, I have written the
lessons using the same language constructions which I would use if I were
teaching you directly.
An outline of the course is available for you to read below
The course is intended to demonstrate the language
itself and a selection of the simpler standard library functions.
I have assumed that you have had sufficient exposure to computing
to be able to use a programmer's editor of your choice and are
confident in the use of the command line interpreter, whether it
be a unix shell, or a DOS ( shudder :-) prompt. Some knowledge,
of computers and the jargon is assumed, but complicated concepts are
fully explained. In other words the intent is to teach 'C' per se,
not 'the fundamentals of how to program a computer using 'C' as
a teaching medium.'
'C' is not a computer language for rank beginners. Start with
an interpretive language and proceed to a compiled language
which has an extensive error message vocabulary and run-time
checking facilities. In the interests of speed of execution 'C'
does very little to protect you from yourself!
Throughout the course the fact that a compiler is a translater
from a high level language to assembler code is kept to the fore,
you are frequently advised to examine the assembler code which is
output by the compiler. Some minimal knowledge of computer architecture
is therefore assumed.
Whilst I have taken considerable care to ensure that this material is
free of errors I am well aware that to err is a common human failing,
and in this I don't claim to be different from anybody else.
Therefore your gentle critique is welcome together with notification
of any factual errors.
It is planned to make the lessons available as a printed book,
complete with a programme diskette if there is sufficient interest.
Syllabus for the 'C' Language Course.
1 a) Historical introduction to the Language.

b) Demonstration of a very simple program.
c) Brief explanation of how the computer turns
your program text into an executing program.
d) The basic differences between 'C' and other languages.
The advantages and disadvantages.
We make the assumption that you are able to turn on your machine,
use the Operating System at the Control Line Interpreter prompt
"$ ", "c:>" or whatever, and to use an editor to enter program text.
2 a) How the 'C' language arranges for the storage of data.

An explanation of the keywords associated with data.
The storage classes:- static auto volatile const.
The variable types:- char int long float double
The meaning of:- signed unsigned
b) Introduction to the concept of pointers.
c) Explanation of reading from the keyboard and writing to the screen.
i.e. printf and scanf, the print formatted and scan formatted
functions.
d) The use of arguments to the main() function, argc argv env.
e) A simple program to format text.
3 Structures, arrays and pointers.

a) Explanation of more coplex data structures.
b) Programs which demonstrate uses of pointers.
4 The operators of the language, arithmetic, pointer, logical, bitwise.
a) Precedence.
b) The unique bit and shifting operators.
( for a high level language )
5 a) The Preprocesser.
b) Header files
What they are and what you put in them, both your own and
those provided by the 'C' compiler vendor.
A simple title which includes all sorts of things,
both very useful and a number of traps.
6 The library, why we have them and some of the more useful routines.
a) How to read the book.
b) The string functions as an example.
7 a) Mistakes and how avoid making them.
b) Debugging strategies.
c) The assert macro.
8 a) More on the representation of data vis. struct, typdef.
b) Tables of all sorts.
Arrays of structures.
Pre-initialisation of data structures.
( Including jump or dispatch tables )
The bit-field.
c) Use of header files in this.
9 a) The control structures of the language, what (not) to use and when.
10 a) File IO
This is an enormous subject and we we will
really only just scratch on the surface.
11 a) Lint, and more on errors / bugs and how to avoid them.
12 The stack and a quick dip into assembler

a) A study of the function calling mechanism used by most 'C'
compilers and the effect on compiler output code of using
the register storage class and the optimiser.
13 The heap.
a) The 'heap', it's management, malloc(), calloc() and free().
14 Portability Issues.
a) Defaults for storage sizes.
b) 'endianism'. Yes, there are big-endian and little-endian computers!
c) Functions which can be called with a variable number of arguments.
15 Sample programs.
Much is to be gained from examining public domain packages
examining the code and reviewing the author's style.
We will look at a number of functions and complete packages.
in particular we will examine a number of sorting functions,
a multi-threading technique, queues, lists, hashing, and trees.
/* ----------------------------------------- */
Copyright notice:-
(c) 1993 Christopher Sawtell.
I assert the right to be known as the author, and owner of the
intellectual property rights of all the files in this material,
except for the quoted examples which have their individual
copyright notices. Permission is granted for onward copying,
but not modification, of this course and its use for personal
study only, provided all the copyright notices are left in the
text and are printed in full on any subsequent paper reproduction.
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NAME Christopher Sawtell |
| SMAIL 215 Ollivier's Road, Linwood, Christchurch, 8001. New Zealand.|
| EMAIL chris@gerty.equinox.gen.nz |
| PHONE +64-3-389-3200 ( gmt +13 - your discretion is requested ) |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson One.
Some Historical Background.
The 'C' programming language was designed and developed by Brian Kernighan, and
Dennis Ritchie at The Bell Research Labs. 'C' is a Language specifically
created
in order to allow the programmer access to almost all of the machine's
internals
- registers, I/O slots and absolute addresses. However, at the same time,
'C' allows for as much data hiding and programme text modularisation as is
needed to allow very complex multi-programmer projects to be constructed in an
organised and timely fashion. During the early 1960s computer Operating Systems
started to become very much more complex with the introduction of
multi-terminal
and multi-process capabilities. Prior to this time Operating Systems had been
carefully and laboriously crafted using assembler codes, and many programming
teams realised that in order to have a working o/s in anything like a
reasonable time this was now longer economically feasible. This then was the
motivation to produce the 'C' Language, which was first implemented in
assembler on a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-7. Of course once a simple
assembler version was working it was possible to rewrite the compiler in 'C'
itself. This was done in short order and therefore as soon as the PDP-11 was
introduced by DEC it was only necessary to change the code generator section
of the compiler and the new machine had a compiler in just a few weeks. 'C' was
then used to implement the UNIX o/s. This means, that a complete UNIX can be
transported, or to use the simple jargon of today; 'ported to a new machine in
literally just a few months by a small team of competent programmers.
Enough of the past. Lets see the various actions, or compilation phases through
which the `C' compilation system has to go in order that your file of `C'
program text can be converted working program.
Assuming that you are able to work an editor and can enter a script and create
a file. Please enter the following tiny program.
#ident "@(#) Hello World - my first program"
#include <stdio.h>
char *format = "%s",
*hello = "Hello World...\n";
main()
{
printf ( format, hello );
}
Now save it in a file called hello.c. Lower case is allowed - encouraged, no
less - under the UNIX operating system.
Now type:
cc -o hello hello.c
The computer will apparently pause for a few moments and then the
Shell, or Command Line Interpreter prompt will re-appear.
Now type:
hello
Lo and behold the computer will print
Hello World...
Let's just look at what the computer did during the little pause.
The first action is to activate a preliminary process called the pre-processor.
In the case of hello.c all it does is to replace the line
#include <stdio.h>
with the file stdio.h from the include files library. The file stdio.h provides
us with a convenient way of telling the compiler that all the i/o functions
exist. There are a few other little things in stdio.h but they need not
concern us at this stage.
In order to see what the pre-processor actually outputs, you might like to
issue the command:
cc -P hello.c
The 'cc' command will activate the 'C' compilation system and the -P option
will stop the compilation process after the pre-processing stage, and another
file will have appeared in your directory. Have a look, find hello.i and use
the editor in view mode to have a look at it. So issue the command:
view hello.i
You will see that a number of lines of text have been added at the front of the
hello.c program. What's all this stuff? Well, have a look in the file called
/usr/include/stdio.h again using the view command.
view /usr/include/stdio.h
Look familiar?
Now the next stage of getting from your program text to an executing program is
the compilation of your text into an assembler code program. After all that is
what a compiler is for - to turn a high level language script into a program.
Lets see what happens by issuing the command
cc -S hello.c
Once again there is another file in your directory - this time with a .s
suffix.
Lets have a look at it in the same way as the .i file
view hello.s
You will doubtless notice a few recognizable symbols and what appears to be a
pile of gibberish. The gibberish is in fact the nmemonics for the machine
instructions which are going to make the computer do what you have programmed
it to do.
Now this assembler code has to be turned into machine instructions.
To do this issue the command.
cc -g -c hello.s
Now, yet again there is another file in your directory - this time the suffix
is ".o". This file is called the object file. It contains the machine
instructions corresponding exactly to the nmemonic codes in the .s file.
If you wish you can look at these machine codes using one of the commands
available to examine object files.
dis -L -t .data hello.o >hello.dis
The output from these commands won't be very meaningful to you at this stage,
the purpose of asking you to use them is merely to register in your mind the
fact that an object file is created as a result of the assembly process.
The next stage in the compilation process is called by a variety of names -
"loading", "linking", "link editing". What happens is that the machine
instructions in the object file ( .o ) are joined to many more instructions
selected from an enormous collection of functions in a library. This phase of
the compilation process is invoked by the command:-
cc -o hello hello.o
Now, at last, you have a program to execute! So make it do it's thing by
putting the name of the executable file as a response to the Shell or Command
Line Interpreter prompt.
hello
Presto, the output from your program appears on the screen.
Hello World...
You are now allowed to rejoice and have a nice warm fuzzy to hold!
You have successfully entered a `C' program, compiled it, linked it, and
finally, executed it!
Having gone through all the various stages of editing, pre-processing,
compiling, assembling, linking, and finally executing, by hand as it were, you
can now rest assured that all the stages are automated by the 'cc' command, and
you can forget how to invoke them! Just remember that the computer has to do
them in order for you to have a program to execute.
The single command you use to activate the C Compiler is:
cc -o hello hello.c
The word after the -o option is the name of the executable file, if you don't
provide a name here the compiler dreams up the name "a.out". The source file
MUST have the .c extension otherwise the compiler complains and stops working.
Notes:
The command names used in the above text are those of standard UNIX,
Your particular system may well use a different name for the 'C' compiler.
bcc - for Borland 'C'.
gcc - GNU 'C', which is standard on the Linux operating system.
lc - Lattice 'C', available on IBM and clone P.C.s as well as the Amiga.
Check in the Documentation which came with your compiler.
The same notions apply to the text editor.
Differences between 'C' and other languages.
In the years since 'C' was developed it has changed remarkable little.
This fact is a bouquet to the authors, who had the vision and understanding to
create a language which has endured so well. The strengths and weaknesses
should be pointed out here.
The big plus is that it is possible to do everything ( well at least 99.9% ) in
'C' while other languages compel you to write a procedure, subroutine or
function in assembler code.
'C' has very good facilities for creating tables of constant data within the
source file.
'C' doesn't do very much to protect you from yourself. This means that the
resulting code executes faster than most other high level languages, but a much
greater degree of both care and understanding is demanded from the programmer.
'C' is not a closely typed language, although the newer compilers are offering
type checking as part of the language itself as opposed to having to use a
separate program for mechanised debugging.
'C' is a small language with very few intrinsic operations.
All the heavy work is done by explicit library function calls.
'C' allows you to directly and conveniently access most of the internals of
the machine ( the memory, input output slots, and CPU registers ) from the
language without having to resort to assembler code.
'C' compilers have an optimisation phase which can be invoked if desired.
The output code can be optimised for either speed or memory usage. The code
will be just as good as that produced by an assembly code programmer of normal
skill - real guru programmers can do only slightly better.
Copyright notice:-
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson 2
Data Storage Concepts.
It has been stated that "data + algorithms = programs".
This Lesson deals with with the first part of the addition sum.
All information in a computer is stored as numbers represented using the
binary number system. The information may be either program instructions or
data elements. The latter are further subdivided into several different types,
and stored in the computer's memory in different places as directed by the
storage class used when the datum element is defined.
These types are:
a) The Character.
This is a group of 8 data bits and in 'C' represents either
a letter of the Roman alphabet, or a small integer in the range of 0
through to +255. So to arrange for the compiler to give you a named
memory area in which to place a single letter you would "say":
char letter;
at the beginning of a program block. You should be aware that
whether or not a char is signed or unsigned is dependant
on the design of the processor underlying your compiler.
In particular, note that both the PDP-11, and VAX-11 made by
Digital Equipment Corporation have automatic sign extention of
char.
This means that the range of char is from -128 through to +127
on these machines. Consult your hardware manual, there may be
other exceptions to the trend towards unsigned char as the
default.
This test program should clear things up for you.
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#ident "@(#) - Test char signed / unsigned.";
#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
char a;
unsigned char b;
a = b = 128;
a >>= 1;
b >>= 1;
printf ( "\nYour computer has %ssigned char.\n\n", a == b ? "un" : "" );
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
Here ( Surprise! Surprise! ) is its output on a machine which has
unsigned chars.
Your computer has unsigned char.
Cut this program out of the news file. Compile and execute it on
your computer in order to find out if you have signed or
unsigned char.
b) The Integers.
As you might imagine this is the storage type in which to store whole
numbers. There are two sizes of integer which are known as short and long.
The actual number of bits used in both of these types is Implementation
Dependent. This is the way the jargonauts say that it varies from computer
to computer. Almost all machines with a word size larger than sixteen bits
have the the long int fitting exactly into a machine word and
a short int
represented by the contents of half a word. It's done this way because
most machines have instructions which will perform arithmetic
efficiently
on both the complete machine word as well as the half-word.
For the
sixteen bit machines, the long integer is two machine words
long,
and the short integer is one.
short int smaller_number;
long int big_number;
Either of the words short or long may be omitted as a default is
provided by the compiler. Check your compiler's documentation
to see
which default you have been given. Also you should be aware
that some
compilers allow the you to arrange for the integers declared
with just
the word "int" to be either short or long. The range for a
short int on
a small computer is -32768 through to +32767, and for a long
int
-4294967296 through to +4294967295.
c) The Real Numbers.
Sometimes known as floating point numbers this number representation
allows us to store values such as 3.141593, or -56743.098. So, using
possible examples from a ship design program you declare floats and
doubles like this:
float length_of_water_line; /* in meters */
double displacement; /* in grammes */
In the same way that the integer type offers two sizes so does the
floating point representation. They are called float and double. Taking
the values from the file /usr/include/values.h the ranges which can be
represented by float and double are:
MAXFLOAT 3.40282346638528860e+38
MINFLOAT 1.40129846432481707e-45
MAXDOUBLE 1.79769313486231470e+308
MINDOUBLE 4.94065645841246544e-324
However you should note that for practical purposes the maximum
number of significant digits that can be represented by a
float
is approximately six and that by a double is twelve. Also you
should
be aware that the above numbers are as defined by the IEEE
floating
point standard and that some older machines and compilers do
not
conform. All small machines bought retail will conform. If you
are
in doubt I suggest that refer to your machine's documentation
for
the whole and exact story!
d) Signed and unsigned prefixes.

For both the character and integer types the declaration can be
preceded by the word "unsigned". This shifts the range so that
0
is the minimum, and the maximum is twice that of the signed
data
type in question. It's useful if you know that it is
impossible
for the number to go negative. Also if the word in memory is
going
to be used as a bit pattern or a mask and not a number the use
of
unsigned is strongly urged. If it is possible for the sign bit
in
the bit pattern to be set and the program calls for the bit
pattern
to be shifted to the right, then you should be aware that the
sign
bit will be extended if the variable is not declared unsigned.
The default for the "int" types is always "signed", and, as
discussed
above that of the "char" is machine dependent.
This completes the discussion on the allocation of data types, except to
say that we can, of course, allocate arrays of the simple types simply by
adding a pair of square brackets enclosing a number which is the size of
the array after the variable's name:
char client_surname[31];
This declaration reserves storage for a string of 30 characters plus the
NULL character of value zero which terminates the string.
Structures.
Data elements which are logically connected, for example - to use the
example alluded to above - the dimensions and other details about a
sea
going ship, can be collected together as a single data unit called a
struct. One possible way of laying out the struct in the source code
is:
struct ship /* The word "ship" is known as the structure's "tag". */
{
char name[30];
unsigned short int number_of_passengers;
unsigned short int number_of_crew;
};
Note very well that the above fragment of program text does NOT
allocate any storage, it merely provides a named template to
the
compiler so that it knows how much storage is needed for the
structure. The actual allocation of memory is done either like
this:
struct ship cunarder;
Or by putting the name of the struct variable between the "}"
and
the ";" on the last line of the definition. Personally I don't
use this method as I find that the letters of the name tend to
get
"lost" in the - shall we say - amorphous mass of characters
which
make up the definition itself.
The individual members of the struct can have values assigned to
them in this fashion:
cunarder.displacement = 97500000000.0;
cunarder.length_of_water_line = 750.0
cunarder.number_of_passengers = 3575;
cunarder.number_of_crew = 4592;
These are a couple of files called demo1.c & demo1a.c which contain
small 'C' programs for you to compile. So, please cut them out
of the
news posting file and do so.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
#ident demo1.c /* If your compiler complains about this line, chop it out */
#include <stdio.h>
struct ship
{
char name[31];
};
char *format = "\
Name of Vessel: %-30s\n\
Displacement: %13.3f\n\
Water Line: %5.1f\n\
Passengers: %4d\n\
Crew: %4d\n\n";
main()
{
cunarder.name = "Queen Mary"; /* This is the bad line. */
cunarder.length_of_water_line = 750.0
printf ( format,
cunarder.name,
cunarder.displacement,
cunarder.length_of_water_line,
cunarder.number_of_passengers,
cunarder.number_of_crew
);
}
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Why is the compiler complaining at line 21?
Well C is a small language and doesn't have the ability to allocate
strings to variables within the program text at run-time. This
program shows the the correct way to copy the string "Queen
Mary",
using a library routine, into the structure.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
#ident demo1a.c /* If your compiler complains about this line, chop it out */
#include <stdio.h>
/*
** This is the template which is used by the compiler so that
** it 'knows' how to put your data into a named area of memory.
*/
struct ship
{
char name[31];
};
/*
** This character string tells the printf() function how it is to output
** the data onto the screen. Note the use of the \ character at the end
** of each line. It is the 'continue the string on the next line' flag
** or escape character. It MUST be the last character on the line.
** This technique allows you to produce nicely formatted reports with all the
** ':' characters under each other, without having to count the characters
** in each character field.
*/
char *format = "\n\
Name of Vessel: %-30s\n\
Displacement: %13.1f grammes\n\
Water Line: %5.1f metres\n\
Passengers: %4d\n\
Crew: %4d\n\n";
main()
{
strcpy ( cunarder.name, "Queen Mary" ); /* The corrected line */
cunarder.length_of_water_line = 750.0;
printf ( format,
cunarder.name,
cunarder.displacement,
cunarder.length_of_water_line,
cunarder.number_of_passengers,
cunarder.number_of_crew
);
}
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'd like to suggest that you compile the program demo1a.c and execute it.
$ cc demo1a.c
$ a.out
Name of Vessel: Queen Mary
Displacement: 97500000000.0 grammes
Water Line: 750.0 metres
Passengers: 3575
Crew: 4592
Which is the output of our totally trivial program to demonstrate
the use of structures.
Tip:
To avoid muddles in your mind and gross confusion in other minds
remember that you should ALWAYS declare a variable using a name which is
long enough to make it ABSOLUTELY obvious what you are talking about.
Storage Classes.
The little dissertation above about the storage of variables was
concerned with the sizes of the various types of data. There is
just the little matter of the position in memory of the variables'
storage.
'C' has been designed to maximise the the use of memory by allowing you
to re-cycle it automatically when you have finished with it.
A variable defined in this way is known as an 'automatic' one. Although
this is the default behaviour you are allowed to put the word 'auto' in
front of the word which states the variable's type in the definition.
It is quite a good idea to use this so that you can remind yourself
that this variable is, in fact, an automatic one. There are three other
storage allocation methods, 'static' and 'register', and 'const'.
The 'static' method places the variable in main storage for the whole
of the time your program is executing. In other words it kills the
're-cycling' mechanism. This also means that the value stored there
is also available all the time. The 'register' method is very machine
and implementation dependent, and also perhaps somewhat archaic in
that the optimiser phase of the compilation process does it all for
you. For the sake of completeness I'll explain. Computers have a small
number of places to store numbers which can be accessed very quickly.
These places are called the registers of the Central Processing Unit.
The 'register' variables are placed in these machine registers instead
of
stack or main memory. For program segments which are tiny loops the
speed
at which your program executes can be enhanced quite remarkably.
The optimiser compilation phase places as many of your variables into
registers as it can. However no machine can decide which of the
variables
should be placed in a register, and which may be left in memory, so if
your program has many variables and two or three should be register
ones
then you should specify which ones the compiler.
All this is dealt with at much greater detail later in the course.
Pointers.
'C' has the very useful ability to set up pointers. These are memory
cells which contain the address of a data element. The variable name is
preceeded by a '*' character. So, to reserve an element of type char
and
a pointer to an element of type char, one would say.
char c;
char *ch_p;
I always put the suffix '_p' on the end of all pointer variables
simply so that I can easily remember that they are in fact pointers.
There is also the companion unary operator '&' which yields the
address of the variable. So to initialize our pointer ch_p to point
at the char c, we have to say.
ch_p = &c;
Note very well that the process of indirection can procede to any
desired depth, However it is difficult for the puny brain of a normal
human to conceptualize and remember more that three levels! So be
careful
to provide a very detailed and precise commentry in your program if
you put more than two or three stars.
Getting data in and out of your programs.

As mentioned before 'C' is a small language and there are no intrinsic
operators to either convert between binary numbers and ascii
characters or to transfer information to and fro between the
computer's memory and the peripheral equipment, such as terminals or
disk stores.
This is all done using the i/o functions declared in the file stdio.h
which you should have examined earlier. Right now we are going to look
at the functions "printf" and "scanf". These two functions together
with their derivatives, perform i/o to the stdin and stdout files,
i/o to nominated files, and internal format conversions. This means
the conversion of data from ascii character strings to binary numbers
and vice versa completely within the computer's memory. It's more
efficient to set up a line of print inside memory and then to send the
whole line to the printer, terminal, or whatever, instead of
"squirting" the letters out in dribs and drabs!
Study of them will give you understanding of a very convenient way to
talk to the "outside world".
So, remembering that one of the most important things you learn in
computing is "where to look it up", lets do just that.
If you are using a computer which has the unix operating system,
find your copy of the "Programmer Reference Manual" and turn to the
page printf(3S), alternatively, if your computer is using some other
operating system, then refer to the section of the documentation which
describes the functions in the program library.
You will see something like this:-
NAME
printf, fprintf, sprintf - print formatted
output.
SYNOPSIS
#include <stdio.h>
int printf ( format [ , arg ] ... )
char *format;
int fprintf ( stream, format [ , arg ] ... )
FILE *stream;
char *format;
int sprintf ( s, format [ , arg ] ... )
char *s, *format;
DESCRIPTION
etc... etc...
The NAME section above is obvious isn't it?
The SYNOPSIS starts with the line #include <stdio.h>. This tells
you that you MUST put this #include line in your 'C' source code
before you mention any of the routines. The rest of the paragraph
tells you how to call the routines. The " [ , arg ] ... " heiroglyph
in effect says that you may have as many arguments here as you wish,
but that you need not have any at all.
The DESCRIPTION explains how to use the functions.
Important Point to Note:
Far too many people ( including the author ) ignore the fact that
the printf family of functions return a useful number which can be
used to check that the conversion has been done correctly, and that
the i/o operation has been completed without error.
Refer to the format string in the demonstration program above for
an example of a fairly sophisticated formatting string.
In order to fix the concepts of printf in you mind, you
might care to write a program which prints some text in three ways:
a) Justified to the left of the page. ( Normal printing. )
b) Justified to the right of the page.
c) Centred exactly in the middle of the page.
Suggestions and Hint.
Set up a data area of text using the first verse of "Quangle" as data.
Here is the program fragment for the data:-
/* ----------------------------------------- */
char *verse[] =
{
"On top of the Crumpetty Tree",
"The Quangle Wangle sat,",
"But his face you could not see,",
"On account of his Beaver Hat.",
"For his Hat was a hundred and two feet wide.",
"With ribbons and bibbons on every side,",
"And bells, and buttons, and loops, and lace,",
"So that nobody ever could see the face",
"Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.",
NULL
};
/* ----------------------------------------- */
Cut it out of the news file and use it in a 'C' program file called
verse.c
Now write a main() function which uses printf alone for (a) & (b)
You can use both printf() and sprintf() in order to create
a solution for (c) which makes a good use of the capabilities
of the printf family. The big hint is that the string controlling
the format of the printing can change dynamically as program execution
proceeds. A possible solution is presented in the file verse.c which is
appended here. I'd like to suggest that you have a good try at making
a program of you own before looking at my solution.
( One of many I'm sure )
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#include <stdio.h>
char *verse[] =
{
"Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.",
NULL
};
main()
{
char **ch_pp;
/*
** This will print the data left justified.
*/
for ( ch_pp = verse; *ch_pp; ch_pp++ ) printf ( "%s\n", *ch_pp );
printf( "\n" );
/*
** This will print the data right justified.
**
** ( As this will print a character in column 80 of
** the terminal you should make sure any terminal setting
** which automatically inserts a new line is turned off. )
*/
for ( ch_pp = verse; *ch_pp; ch_pp++ ) printf ( "%79s\n", *ch_pp );
printf( "\n" );
/*
** This will centre the data.
*/
for ( ch_pp = verse; *ch_pp; ch_pp++ )
{
int length;
char format[10];
length = 40 + strlen ( *ch_pp ) / 2; /* Calculate the
field length */
sprintf ( format, "%%%ds\n", length ); /* Make a format
string. */
printf ( format, *ch_pp ); /* Print line of
verse, using */
} /* generated format
string */
printf( "\n" );
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
If you cheated and looked at my example before even attempting
to have a go, you must pay the penalty and explain fully why
there are THREE "%" signs in the line which starts with a call
to the sprintf function. It's a good idea to do this anyway!
So much for printf(). Lets examine it's functional opposite - scanf(),
Scanf is the family of functions used to input from the outside world
and to perform internal format conversions from character strings to
binary numbers. Refer to the entry scanf(3S) in the Programmer
Reference Manual. ( Just a few pages further on from printf. )
The "Important Point to Note" for the scanf family is that the
arguments to the function are all POINTERS. The format string has to
be passed in to the function using a pointer, simply because this
is the way 'C' passes strings, and as the function itself has to store
its results into your program it ( the scanf function ) has to "know"
where you want it to put them.
Copyright notice:-
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson 3
Arrays and Pointers.
You can allocate space for an array of elements at compile time with fixed
dimension sizes of any data type, even functions and structs.
So these are legal array definitions:
char name[30]; /* An array of 30 signed characters. */
char *strings[50]; /* 50 pointers to strings. */
unsigned long int *(*func)()[20];/* An array of pointers to functions which
*/
/* return pointers to unsigned long ints. */
You can declare a pointer to point at any type of data element, and as in
the array situation above functions and structs are included.
struct ship
{
char name[30];
};
So using the ship concept from Lesson 2 you can declare a pointer to point
at one of the ship structs in an array.
struct ship *vessel_p;
Note the use of the suffix "_p".
This is my way of reminding myself that the variable is a pointer.
struct ship fleet[5]; /* This allocates enough storage for 5 ships' info.
*/
Now lets set the pointer to point at the first vessel in the fleet.
vessel_p = fleet;
This pointer can be made to point at other ships in the fleet by
incrementing it or doing additive arithmetic on it:
vessel_p++; /* point a the next ship in the fleet array. */
vessel_p = fleet + 3;
Also we can find out the index of the ship in the fleet at which we are
pointing:
i = vessel_p - fleet;
It is also legal to find out the separation of two pointers pointing at
elements in an array:
d = vessel_p - another_vessel_p; /* This gives the separation in elements. */
So summarising, pointers may be, incremented, decremented, and subtracted
one from another or have a constant subtracted from them. Any other
mathematical operation is meaningless and not allowed.
Assembler programmers should note that while the pointer variables contain a
byte machine address, when the arithmetic is done using pointers the
compiler
also issues either a multiply or a divide as well as the add or subtract
instruction so that the result is ALWAYS expressed in elements rather than
bytes. Have a go and write yourself a trivial little program, and have a
look at the compiler ouput code. Lesson 1 told you how!
When using a pointer to reference a structure we have to use a "pointer
offset" operator in order to access the member of the struct we require:
vessel_p = fleet;
vessel_p->name = "Queen Mary";
vessel_p->displacement = 97500000000.0;
vessel_p->length_of_water_line = 750.0
vessel_p->number_of_passengers = 3575;
vessel_p->number_of_crew = 4592;
Remember:
It's a "." when accessing a struct which is in storage declared in
the program.
It's a "->" when accessing a struct at which a pointer is pointing.
Initialisation of arrays.
'C' has the facility to initialise variables in a program script.
Some examples:
char *qbf = "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs back";
int tic_tac_toe[3][3] =
{
{ 1, 2, 3 },
{ 4, 5, 6 },
{ 7, 8, 9 }
};
struct ship fleet[2] =
{
{ "Queen Elizabeth", 97500000000.0, 750.0, 3575, 4592 },
{ "Queen Mary", 115000000000.0, 875.0, 4500, 5500 }
};
Take a careful note of where the commas and semi-colons go ( and don't go )!
Initialised Tables of Indeterminate Length.
One nice feature 'C' offers is that it is able to calculate
the amount of storage required for a table by 'looking' at the number
of initialisers.
char *verse[] =
{
"Of the Quangle Wangle Quee."
NULL
};
Note the * character in the definition line. This means that we are going
to make an array of pointers to variables of type char. As there is no
number between the [ ] characters the compiler calculates it for us.
With this kind of set-up it is nice and easy to add extra information
to the table as program development proceeds. The compiler will calculate
the new dimension for you. The point to remember is that the program has to
know - from the contents of the table - that it has come to the end of the
table! So you have to make a special entry which CANNOT under any
circumstances be a real data element. We usually use NULL for this.
The other way is to calculate the size of the table by using the sizeof
operator - Note that although use of sizeof looks like a function call
it is in fact an intrinsic operator of the language. The result is
available at compile time. So one can say:-
#define SIZE_OF_VERSE sizeof verse
There is one final initialised data type, the enum. It is a fairly recent
addition to the language.
enum spectrum { red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet } colour;
In this construct the first symbol is given the value of 0 and for each
following symbol the value is incremented. It is however possible to assign
specific values to the symbols like this:
enum tub
{ anorexic = 65,
slim = 70,
normal = 80,
fat = 95,
obese = 135
};
Some compilers are bright enough to detect that it is an error if an
attempt is made to assign a value to an enum variable which is not in
the list of symbols, on the other hand many are not. Take care! In
practice there is little difference between the enum language construct
and a number of define statements except perhaps aesthetics. Here is
another trivial program which demonstrates the use of enum and a
pre-initialised array.
#include <stdio.h>
enum spectrum { red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet } colour;
char *rainbow[] = { "red", "orange", "yellow", "green",
"blue", "indigo", "violet" };
main()
{
for ( colour = red; colour <= violet; colour++ )
{
printf ( "%s ", rainbow[colour]);
}
printf ( "\n" );
}
The output of which is ( not surprisingly ):
red orange yellow green blue indigo violet
One quite advanced use of initialised arrays and pointers is the jump or
dispatch table. This is a efficient use of pointers and provides a very much
better ( In my opinion ) method of controlling program flow than a maze
of case or ( heaven forbid ) if ( ... ) goto statements.
Please cut out this program, read and compile it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
char *ident = "@(#) tellme.c - An example of using a pointer to a function.";
#include <stdio.h>
#include <math.h>
#include <sys/errno.h>
/*
These declarations are not in fact needed as they are all declared extern in
math.h. However if you were to use routines which are not in a library and
therefore not declared in a '.h' file you should declare them. Remember you
MUST declare external routines which return a type other than the int type.
extern double sin ();
extern double cos ();
extern double tan ();
extern double atof ();
*/
struct table_entry
{
char *name; /* The address of the character string. */
double (*function)(); /* The address of the entry point of the function. */
};
typedef struct table_entry TABLE;
double help ( tp )
TABLE *tp;
{ printf ( "Choose one of these functions:- " );
fflush ( stdout );
for ( ; tp -> name; tp++ ) printf ( "%s ", tp -> name );
printf ( "\nRemember the input is expressed in Radians\n" );
exit ( 0 );
return ( 0.0 ); /* Needed to keep some nit-picking dumb compilers happy! */
}
/*
* This is the array of pointers to the strings and function entry points.
* Is is initialised at linking time. You may add as many functions as you
* like in here PROVIDED you declare them to be extern, either in some .h
* file or explicitly.
*/
TABLE interpretation_table [ ] =
{
{ "sin", sin },
{ "tan", tan },
{ "cos", cos },
{ "help", help },
{ NULL, NULL } /* To flag the end of the table. */
};
char *output_format = { "\n %s %s = %g\n" };
extern int errno;
extern void perror();
main( argc, argv )
int argc;
char **argv;
{
TABLE *tp;
double x, answer;
if ( argc > 3 )
{
errno = E2BIG;
perror ( "tellme" );
exit ( -1 );
}
for (;;) /* This is the way to set up a continuous loop. */
{
for ( tp = interpretation_table;
( tp -> name && strcmp ( tp -> name, argv[1] ));
tp++
) ; /* Note use of empty for loop to position tp. */
if ( tp -> function == help ) (*tp -> function )( interpretation_table );
if ( tp -> name == NULL )
{
printf ( "Function %s not implemented yet\n", argv[1] );
exit ( 1 );
}
break; /* Leave the loop. */
}
x = atof ( argv[2] ); /* Convert the character string to a double. */
answer = ( *tp -> function )( x );/* Execute the desired function. */
printf ( output_format, /* Pointer to printf()'s format string. */
argv[1], /* Pointer to the name of the function. */
argv[2], /* Pointer to the input number ascii string. */
answer /* Value ( in double floating point binary ) */
);
}
Copyright notice:-
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson 4.
The
operators of the language.
I have mentioned that 'C' is a small language with most of the heavy
work
being done by explicit calls to library functions. There is however a rich
mix of intrinsic operators which allow you to perform bit level operations,
use pointers, and perform immediate operations on varables. In other words,
most of a machine's instruction set is able to be used in the object program.
At the time when 'C' was designed and first written these were unique for
a high level language.
Lets start with a discussion about precedence.
This really means that the compiler puts invisable parentheses into
your expression. Casting your mind back to Arithmetic in the primary school
I expect you remember the nmemonic "My Dear Aunt Sally". The 'C' language
does as well! So the following expression is correct
15 + 4 * 11 = 59
The compiler has rendered the expression as:
15 + ( 4 * 11 ) = 59
Now the 'C' language has a much larger collection of operators than
just
Multiply Divide Add Subtract, in fact much too big to try to remember the
precedence of all of them. So my recomendation is to ALWAYS put in the
parentheses, except for simple arithmetic. However, for the sake of
completeness as much as anything else, here is the list.
First up come what are called the primary-expression operators:
() Function.
[] Array.
. struct member ( variable ).
-> struct member ( pointer ).
The unary operators:
* Indirection via a Pointer.
& Address of Variable.
- Arithmetic Negative.
! Logical Negation or Not.
~ Bit-wise One's Complement.
++ Increment.
-- Decrement.
sizeof Which is self explanitary.
Now the binary operators:
Arithmetic Operators.
* Multiply. My
/ Divide. Dear
% Modulo, or Remainder of Integer Division.
+ Addition. Aunt
- Subtraction. Sally
The Shifting Operators.
>> Bit-wise Shift to the Right.
<< Bit-wise Shift to the Left.
Logical Relation Operators.
< Less Than.
> Greater Than.
<= Less Than or Equal.
>= Greater Than or Equal.
== Equal.
!= Not Equal.
Bit-wise Boolean Operators.
& Bit-wise And.
^ Bit-wise Exclusive-or.
| Bit-wise Or.
The Logical Operators.
&& Logical And.
|| Logical Or.
The Assignment Operators. ( They all have the same priority. )
= The normal assignment operator.
The Self-referencing Assignment Operators.
+=
-=
*=
/=
%=
>>=
<<=
&=
^=
|=
Some explanation is in order here. The machine instructions in your
computer include a suit of what are called "immediate operand" instructions.
These instructions have one of the operands in a register and the other
is either part of the instruction word itself ( if it is numerically small
enough to fit ) or is the next word in the address space "immediately" after
the instruction code word. 'C' makes efficient use of this machine feature
by providing the above set of operations each of which translates directly
to its corresponding machine instruction. When the variable in question is a
'register' one, or the optimiser is in use, the compiler output is just
the one "immediate" machine instruction. Efficiency Personified!!!
These two lines will make things clearer.
a = 8;
a += 2; /* The result is 10 */
The exclusive-or operation is very useful you can toggle any
combination
of bits in the variable using it.
a = 7;
a ^= 2; /* Now a is 5 */
a ^= 2; /* and back to 7. */
Naturally, you can use the other operations in exactly the same way,
I'd like to suggest that you make a utterly simplistic little program
and have a look at the assembler code output of the compiler. Don't be
afraid of the assembler codes - they don't bite - and you will see
what I was on about in the paragraph above.
Historical Note and a couple of Cautions.
In the Oldend Days when 'C' was first written all the self-referencing
operations had the equals symbol and the operand around the other way.
Until quite recently ( unix system V release 3.0 ) the 'C' compiler had a
compatability mode and could cope with the old style syntax.
A sample or test program is probably in order here.
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#include <stdio.h>
char *mes[] =
{
"Your compiler",
" understands",
" does not understand",
" the old-fashioned self-referencing style."
};
main()
{
int a;
a = 5;
a=-2;
printf ( "%s %s %s\n", mes [ 0 ], mes [ ( a == -2 ) ? 2 : 1 ], mes [ 3
] );
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
The 'C' compiler issued with unix System V release 3.2 seems to have
( thankfully ) dropped the compatability mode. However a collegue, who
was using an old compiler, and I spent hours trying to find this strange bug!
The cure for the problem is either to put spaces on either side of the '=' sign
or to bracket the unary minus to the operand.
a=(-2);
a = -2;
Either is acceptable, and might save you a lot of spleen if sombody tries
to install your work of art program on an ancient machine.
The other caution is the use of the shifting instructions with signed
and unsigned integers.
If you shift a signed integer to the right when the sign bit is set
then in all probability the sign will be extended. Once again a little
demo program. Please cut it out of the news file with your editor
and play with it.
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#ident "#(@) shifts.c - Signed / Unsigned integer shifting demo."
#include <stdio.h>
#define WORD_SIZE ( sizeof ( INTEGER int ) * 8 )
#define NIBBLE_SIZE 4
#define NIBBLES_IN_WORD (( WORD_SIZE ) / NIBBLE_SIZE )
#define SIGN_BIT ( 1 << ( WORD_SIZE - 1 ))
char *title[] =
{ " Signed Unsigned",
" Signed Unsigned"
};
main ()
{
INTEGER int a;
unsigned INTEGER int b, mask;
int ab, i, j, bit_counter, line_counter;
a = b = SIGN_BIT;
printf ( "%s\n\n", title [ ( WORD_SIZE == 16 ) ? 0 : 1 ] );
for ( line_counter = 0; line_counter < WORD_SIZE; line_counter++ )
{
for ( ab = 0; ab < 2; ab++ )
{
mask = SIGN_BIT;
for ( i = 0; i < NIBBLES_IN_WORD; i++ )
{
for ( j = 0; j < NIBBLE_SIZE; j++ )
{
printf ( "%c", ((( ab ) ? b : a ) &
mask ) ? '1' : '0' );
mask >>= 1;
}
printf ( " " );
}
printf ( "%s", ( ab ) ? "\n" : " " );
if ( ab )
{
b >>= 1;
}
else
{
a >>= 1;
#if defined(FIX_COMPILER_BUG)
# if (INTEGER == long)
a |= SIGN_BIT; /* This is a work-around for
the 3b2 compiler bug. */
# endif
#endif
}
}
}
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
This little program might well produce some interesting surprises on
your machine in the same way it did on mine. I have an AT&T 3b2/400 and
use the K & R style compiler. Interestingly, the above program did what
I expected it to do when the integers were short, the sign bit is extended,
but when the integers are long the sign bit is NOT extended. In this case
the different behaviour is caused by the compiler always issuing a Logical
Shift instruction, when it should issue a Arithmetic Shift instruction for
signed integers and a Logical Shift instructon for unsigned ones. In the
case of the short int the varable is loaded from memory into the register
with a sign extend load instruction, this makes the Logical Shift instruction
right work correctly for short ints, but not for longs. I had to examine
the assember codes output by the compiler in order to discover this.
Here are the compiler invocation lines.
cc -olong.shifts -DFIX_COMPILER_BUG -DINTEGER=long shifts.c
and
cc -oshort.shifts -DINTEGER=short shifts.c
Experiment with the "-DFIX_COMPILER_BUG" and see what your compiler
does.
Copyright notice:-
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson 5.
The Pre-processor and Header Files.
The pre-processor is activated by a '#' character in column one of the source
code. There are several statements vis:
#include
#define
#undef
#if
#else
#endif
#ifdef
#ifndef
#pragma
#include.
In the programming examples presented in the previous lessons you will
probably have noticed that there is this statement:
#include <stdio.h>
right at the start of the program text. This statement tells the pre-processor
to include the named file in the your program text. As far as the compiler is
concerned this text appears just as if you had typed it yourself!
This is one of the more useful facilities provided by the 'C' language.
The #include statement is frequently combined with the #if construct.
In this program fragment the file "true.h" is included in your program
if the pre-processor symbol FLAG is true, and "false.h" included if FLAG
is false.
#if ( FLAG )
# include "true.h"
#else
# include "false.h"
#endif
This mechanism has many uses, one of which is to provide
portability between all the 57,000 slightly different versions of unix and also
other operating systems. Another use is to be able to alter the way in which
your program behaves according to the preference of the user.
Of course, you will be asking the question "Where is the file stored?".
Well, if the filename is delimited by the "<" and ">" characters as in the
example above the file comes from the /usr/include directory, but if the name
of the file is delimited by quotes then the file is to be found in your current
working directory. (This is not quite the whole truth as 'C' compilers allow
you to extend the search path for the include files using command line option
switches. - See your compiler manual for the whole story. )
So, I would like to suggest that you to have a look around the /usr/include
directory and its /sys sub-directory. You should use either your editor
in 'view' mode or the pg utility. This will ensure that you can't have an
accident and alter one of the files by mistake if you are slightly silly
and just happen to be logged on as the super-user.
A typical file to examine is usr/include/time.h.
It's quite small so here it is.
/* Copyright (c) 1984 AT&T */
/* All Rights Reserved */
/* THIS IS UNPUBLISHED PROPRIETARY SOURCE CODE OF AT&T */
/* The copyright notice above does not evidence any */
/* actual or intended publication of such source code. */
#ident "@(#)/usr/include/time.h.sl 1.5 4.2 04/20/87 18195 AT&T-SF"
/* 3.0 SID # 1.2 */
struct tm { /* see ctime(3) */
int tm_sec;
int tm_min;
int tm_hour;
int tm_mday;
int tm_mon;
int tm_year;
int tm_wday;
int tm_yday;
int tm_isdst;
};
extern struct tm *gmtime(), *localtime();
extern char *ctime(), *asctime();
int cftime(), ascftime();
extern void tzset();
extern long timezone, altzone;
extern int daylight;
extern char *tzname[];
As you can see ( forgetting about the comments and #ident ) there are three
different uses for the file.
a) The definition of data structures and types.
b) The declaration of functions which use the data structures.
c) The declaration of of external data objects.
These lines of code are all you need in your program in order to be able to
use, in this case, the library routine to access the clock in the computer,
but of course the paradigm applies to all programs which are created by one
programmer and used by another member of the programming team. Note that, by
proxy, or whatever, the author of the library routines has in effect become
a member of your programming team.
You might care to write a program or two which use this header file,
and for those who are motivated it might be an idea to re-implement localtime
so that it understands Summer Time in the Southern Hemisphere. (!)
Using another totally trivial example in order to get the idea across please
examine the hello world program printed immediately below.
/* ------------------------------------------------------------ */
#ident "@(#) hw_uc.h UPPER CASE version."
#define HELLO_MESSAGE "HELLO WORLD...\n";
/* ------------------------------------------------------------ */
#ident "@(#) Hello World"
#include <stdio.h>
#include HW_H
#if !defined( HELLO_MESSAGE )
# error "You have forgotten to define the header file name."
#endif
char *format = "%s",
*hello = HELLO_MESSAGE;
main()
{
printf ( format, hello );
}
/* ------------------------------------------------------------ */
You will no doubt notice that the symbol HW_H is used instead of a header file
name. This gives us the ability to force the inclusion of any file we wish by
defining the symbol HW_H to be the desired file name. It can be done like this:
cc -DHW_H="\"hw_uc.h\"" hello.c
The compiler output is placed, by default, in the file a.out, so to execute it
issue the command:
a.out
Which, fairly obviously, produces the output:
HELLO WORLD...
As we are going to generate another version of the program we had better move
the executable image file to another file name:
mv a.out hello_uc
Now to produce the other version issue the command line:
cc -DHW_H="\"hw_lc.h\"" hello.c; mv a.out hello_lc; hello_lc
Which compiles the other version of the hello.c program, using this version of
the include file:
/* ------------------------------------------------------------ */
#ident "@(#) hw_lc.h Lower Case version."
#define HELLO_MESSAGE "Hello World...\n";
/* ------------------------------------------------------------ */
and then moves the executable image to a different file and executes it.
Note that more than one command per line can be issued to the shell by
separating the commands with the ';' delimiting character.
Here - Surprise, Surprise - is the output of the second version.
Hello World...
I'd like to suggest that you use your editor to cut these example programs
and the shell file below out of the mail file and have a play with them.
/* ----------------------------------------- */
# @(#) Shell file to do the compilations.
cc -o hello_uc -DHW_H="\"hw_uc.h\"" hello.c
cc -o hello_lc -DHW_H="\"hw_lc.h\"" hello.c
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#define
This statement allows you to set up macro definitions. The word immediately
after the #define, together with its arguments, is expanded in the program
text to the whole of the rest of the line.
#define min(a, b) ((a<b) ? a : b )
Some things to note:
1) There isn't a space between the last character of the symbol being defined
and the opening parenthesis enclosing the arguments, and there MUST NOT BE
one.
2) The code into which the macro is expanded MUST always be enclosed in
parentheses and for safety always use parentheses to get the arithmetic
right.
3) Never EVER define a macro, and use it with a side effect. e.g.
c = min ( a++, b); /* DON'T _EVER_ DO THIS!!! */
Do you think that the value of 'a' will get advanced after the
macro is used? Well it WON'T. It gets incremented after the less
than test and before the values get assigned! I have written a tiny
program which uses the min macro above. Have a look at the output
from the pre-processor. Lesson One told you how to do this.
Now execute it and get an educative surprise!
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#include <stdio.h>
#define min(a, b) ((a<b) ? a : b )
main()
{ int a,b,c;
a = 1;
b = 2;
c = min ( a++, b); /* DON'T _EVER_ DO THIS!!! */
printf ( "a: %d, b: %d, c: %d\n", a, b, c );
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
4) You can continue a macro on the next line by putting a \ ( back-slash )
as THE VERY LAST character on the line. NOTHING, not even a space may
follow, as your compiler just can't handle it. I spent far too long trying
to find one of those really difficult bugs, and it turned out that this
was the problem - spaces are transparent aren't they?
5) Using macros is fast and convenient, but they do take up a lot of memory
because the code is expanded and inserted into the output stream for
every occurrence of the macro in your code. There is a trade-off between
using a macro and a function.
The symbol does not have to be the handle for a macro expansion, but can just
be equated to a single constant. This is done many times over in the header
files provided by the operating system vendor. Have a look in
/usr/include/sys/file.h for an example of this.
#undef
Not surprisingly this preprocessor command removes a symbol WHICH IS BEING
USED BY THE PRE-PROCESSOR - don't confuse it with compiler proper symbols.
Note that the symbol can be a macro name, in which case the space
used for the code expansion is made available for re-use.
#if ( FLAG )
/* Code in here is sent on to the compiler if FLAG is true. */
#else
/* Code in here is sent on to the compiler if FLAG is false. */
#endif
When the pre-processor encounters one of these, the lines of code between the
#if and the corresponding #else or #endif are either skipped over or allowed to
proceed to the compilation phase depending on the truth or falsity of the
logical expression ( FLAG ). All the logical and boolean expressions available
as part of the 'C' language are available here. You are also allowed to say:
#if defined( FLAG ) or,
#if !defined( FLAG )
The symbol FLAG may be an expression which reduces to a boolean value.

A convention which is adhered to quite well is that all pre-processor
symbols are in UPPER_CASE so as to make them obvious.
#ifdef FLAG or,
#ifndef FLAG
These two statements are the old fashioned way of testing whether a symbol is
defined or not. They are absolutely the same as the previous example.
There are two more pre-processor statements, namely the #pragma and
the "stringizing" operator. The #pragma is used to alter the way in which
the compiler works on a block of code, but it is completely implementation
dependant and you must refer to your compiler manual. I can't help as
they are all different. The "stringizing" operator is quite an advanced
technique and will be dealt with later on.
Copyright notice:-
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson 6
Libraries, why we have them, and how to make and use them.
In order to simplify the creation of programs for its customers,
software vendors make available one or more libraries of functions
which have general application.
When you write a program in 'C' much, if not most, of the "hard work"
is done by explicitly called functions, which you call by simply writing
their names in your program script. Unfortunately there is a little bit
more to it than that. If the function returns a value which is other
than of type int, you have to tell the compiler the type of the returned
value. An example will, I hope make things clear.
Lets's suppose that you have been given the task of, making things
stupidly simplistic for a book example, sorting a list of names into
alphabetical order. ( Yes, I do know this can, and should be done in just
one line of shell script! However that's another story for another day. )
You look diligently through the Programmer Reference Manual, discover
that the prose is almost opaque, and find a couple of interesting looking
routines called strcmp, and qsort. You decide to use these library
functions. Now for just a moment lets consider the ins and outs of what,
in effect, you have just done. You have just asked a member of the team
of programmers who created the library to join you, by proxy as it were, in
creating your masterpiece. A useful concept, which has been in use
almost since the start of electronic computing.
To re-focus the mind on the task at hand; let's look in the Reference
Manual
at the page for qsort(3C) - The 3C in parenthesis is the cryptic code which
is the unix apology for a reference to section 3C in the Manual! So find
section 3C and look up qsort. Now have a look at the SYNOPSIS, and notice
that there is no mention of a header file to #include, and also notice that
qsort returns a void, not an int. This means that there is no header file
/usr/include/qsort.h ( for my version of unix - system V Release 3.2.2 -
anyway ) and you have to declare qsort yourself as an external function.
Also turn to the page string(3C) in the fine manual. Notice that the
SYNOPSIS here includes the line #include <string.h> so you have to put
it in your program text. Once more an example to make it all clear.
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#ident "@(#) qsort-demo.c"
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <assert.h>
extern void qsort ();
extern int strcmp(); /* Some compilers need this defined, most don't. */
char names[22][25] = /* Here are some names to sort. */
{
"John Nagle", "Colin Douthwaite", "Ian Lance Taylor", "Brian J. Murrell",
"Pete", "Geoff Mccaughan", "David Liebert", "Operator", "Bill Baucum",
"Victor Volkman", "Chay R Harley", "Dan Romanchik", "Larry Kollar",
"Gaston Ormazabal", "Arijit Chandra", "Kenneth Mark Hopkinson",
"Kerr Hatrick", "Tim Love", "Robert M. Juranitch", "Jeffrey Micke",
"Duong Quoc", "Jagadesh Vasudevamurthy"
};
#define NUMBER_OF_NAMES sizeof ( names ) / sizeof ( names[0] )
main()
{
int i;
/*
** Print the unsorted names.
*/
printf ( "The Unsorted Names.\n" );
for ( i = 0; i < NUMBER_OF_NAMES; i++ ) printf ( "%s\n", names[i] );
/*
** Print a prompt, and wait.
*/
printf ( "Press RETURN to continue: " );
fflush ( stdout );
getchar();
/*
** Now apply qsort to the arrary of character strings.
*/
qsort (( char * ) names, NUMBER_OF_NAMES, sizeof ( *names ), strcmp );
assert ( names[0][0] < names[1][0] ); /* Quick check to see it's done
it. */
/*
** Print the sorted names.
*/
printf ( "The Sorted Names.\n" );
for ( i = 0; i < NUMBER_OF_NAMES; i++ ) printf ( "%s\n", names[i] );
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
Note very well:-
I wanted 22 short character strings for the data items
for the demo to sort. So grep, uniq, cut, tail, and finally a tiny bit of
vi fished eminently suitable strings out of "mail.received". If your name
is not on the list, well I'm sorry, but the world is not a fair place!
So that's how you use library routines. I chose qsort because it is
simple to use, and shows off a feature of 'C' well, that's the ability
to use a name of a function as a pointer and then execute that function
from within the called function. It's strcmp in this case. A quick look
at the compiler output is instructive.
As is the nature of the animal, a tin-pot little program, which should
have taken all of ten minutes to get going in fact took more like two
hours. I put it down to the fact that the Fine Manual did not make it
adequately obvious that the data array acted on by qsort was the data itself.
From reading the Fine Manual I got the impression that the array acted on
was an array of pointers. You live and learn. It would be a much faster
qsort if, in fact, the sorting function sorted pointers to data instead of
the data itself. You might like to make a function qsort_p which worked in
in this way. The qsort algorithm is well documented elsewhere.
There is just one more point to notice about using function libraries.
The 'C' compilation system will load functions from the library /lib/libc.a
as a default. All others have to be indicated to the linking loader by a
switch on the shell interactive command line.
$ cc -o prog prog.c -L /usr/local/lib -lgdbm -lmalloc
You might use this command line to compile and link a program which
uses both the GNU gdbm data-base manager library, which is installed in
the directory /usr/local/lib, and the enhanced malloc library. Now, there
hangs a tale! I remember having to compile a program suit off Usenet and
it just would not work properly. No error messages, no warnings, no
missing linking-loader symbols. It just "died" when I tried to run it.
After many, many hours of total frustration, I thought that I would try
linking in the enhanced malloc library. Presto! It worked.
Note very well.
A common misconception is the notion that having a #include <whatever.h>
line in the source text will automagically tell the linking loader to
get the functions from the appropriate library. Remove this erroroneous
notion from your mind. It won't. The -lwhatever flag on the shell command
line which initiates execution of "cc" or "ld" is the only way to tell the
loader where to look for the required library.
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson 7.
De-bugging Strategies.
>>>>>>>> Proper Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance. <<<<<<<<
This lesson is really a essay about how to go about writing programs.
I know that by far the best way to greatly reduce the amount of effort
required to get a program going properly is to avoid making mistakes in the
first palace! Now this might seem to be stating the absolute obvious, and it
is but after looking at many programs it would seem that there is a very
definite need to say it.
So how does one go about reducing the probability of making mistakes?
There are many strategies, and over the years I have evolved my own set.
I have found that some of the most important are:
1) Document what you are going to do before yes BEFORE you write any code.
Set up the source files for the section of the program you are going to
write and put some lines of explanation as to what you intend to do in
this file. Be as precise as you can, but don't go into the detail of
explaining in English, or your First Language, exactly what every
statement does.
2) Make sure that you keep each file as small as is sensible. Some program
authors say that one should put only one function in a file. It's my
personal opinion that this is going a little bit over the top, but
certainly you should not have more than one logical activity in a source
file. It's easier to find a needle in a tiny haystack than in a big one!
3) Always use names for the objects in your program which are fully
descriptive, or at the very least are meaningful nmemonics. Put yourself
in the position of some poor soul who - a couple of years later, after you
have long finished with the project, and left the country - has been given
the task of adding a small feature to your exquisite program. Now in the
rush to get your masterpiece finished you decided to use variable names
like "a4" and "isb51" simply so that you can get the line typed a
fraction of a second faster than if you used something like
"customer_address[POST_CODE]" and "input_status_block[LOW_FUEL_TANK_#3].
The difference in ease of understanding is obvious, isn't it? However
judging by some programs which I have seen published in both magazines and
in the public domain program sources, the point has still to be made.
4) ALWAYS take great care with the layout of your code.
It's my opinion that the opening brace of ALL program structures should
be on a new line. Also if you put them in the leftmost column for structs,
enums, and initialised tables, as well as functions, then the
'find function' keystrokes ( "[[" and "]]" ) in vi will find them as well
as the functions themselves. Make sure you have the "showmatch" facility
in vi turned on. ( And watch the cursor jump when you enter the
right hand brace, bracket, or parenthesis. )
5) Try as hard as you can to have as few global variables as possible.
Some people say never have any globals. This is perhaps a bit too
severe but global variables are a clearly documented source of
programming errors. If it's impossible to perform a logical activity
in an efficient way without having a global or two, then confine
the scope of the globals to just the one file by marking the defining
declaration "static". This stops the compiler producing a symbol which
the linking loader will make available to all the files in your source.
6) Never EVER put 'magic numbers' in you source code. Always define constants
in a header file with #define lines or enum statements.
Here is an example:-
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#include <stdio.h>
enum status_input_names
{
radiator_temperature,
oil_temperature,
fuel_pressure,
energy_output,
revolutions_per_minute
};
char *stats[] =
{
"radiator_temperature",
"oil_temperature",
"fuel_pressure",
"energy_output",
"revolutions_per_minute"
};
#define NUMBER_OF_INPUTS ( sizeof ( stats ) / sizeof ( stats[0]))
main()
{
enum status_input_names name;
printf ( "Number of Inputs is: %d\n", NUMBER_OF_INPUTS );
for ( name = radiator_temperature; name < NUMBER_OF_INPUTS; name++)
{
printf ( "\n%s", stats[ name ] );
}
printf ( "\n\n" );
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
Note that as a side effect we have available the meaningful symbols
radiator_temperature etc. as indices into the array of status input names
and the symbol NUMBER_OF_INPUTS available for use as a terminator in the
'for' loop. This is quite legal because sizeof is a pseudo-function and the
value is evaluated at the time of compilation and not when the program is
executed. This means that the result of the division in the macro is
calculated at the time of compilation and this result is used as a literal
in the 'for' loop. No division takes place each time the loop is executed.
To illustrate the point I would like to tell you a little story which is
fictitious, but which has a ring of truth about it.
Your employer has just landed what seems to be a lucrative contract with
an inventor of a completely new type of engine. We are assured that after
initial proving trials one of the larger Japanese motor manufactures is
going to come across with umpteen millions to complete the development of
the design. You are told to write a program which has to be a simple and
straightforward exercise in order to do the job as cheaply as possible.
Now, the customer - a some-what impulsive type - realises that his
engine is not being monitored closely enough when it starts to rapidly
dis-assemble itself under high speed and heavy load. You have to add a
few extra parameters to the monitoring program by yesterday morning!
You just add the extra parameters into the enumand the array of pointers
to the character strings. So:
{ radiator_temperature,
radiator_pressure,
fuel_temperature,
fuel_pressure,
oil_temperature,
oil_pressure,
exhaust_manifold_temperature
};
Let's continue the story about the Japanese purchase. Mr. Honda ( jun ) has
come across with the money and the result is that you are now a team leader
in the software section of Honda Software ( YourCountry ) Ltd. The project of
which you are now leader is to completely rewrite your monitoring program and
add a whole lot of extra channels as well as to make the printouts much more
readable so that your cheap, cheerful, and aesthetic-free program can be sold
as the "Ultimate Engine Monitoring Package" from the now world famous Honda
Real-time Software Systems. You set to work, Honda et. al. imagine that there
is going to be a complete redesign of the software at a cost of many million
Yen. You being an ingenious type have written the code so that it is easy to
enhance.
The new features required are that the printouts have to be printed with the
units of measure appended to the values which have to scaled and processed so
that the number printed is a real physical value instead of the previous
arrangement where the raw transducer output was just dumped onto a screen.
What do you have to do?
Thinking along the line of "Get the Data arranged correctly first".
You take you old code and expand it so that all the items of information
required for each channel are collected into a struct.
{
radiator_temperature,
radiator_pressure,
fuel_temperature,
fuel_pressure,
oil_temperature,
oil_pressure,
exhaust_manifold_temperature,
power_output,
torque
};
typedef struct channel
{
char *name; /* Channel Name to be displayed on screen. */
int nx; /* position of name on screen x co-ordinate.
*/
int ny; /* ditto for y */
int unit_of_measure; /* index into units of measure array */
char value; /* raw datum value from 8 bit ADC */
char lower_limit; /* For alarms. */
char upper_limit;
float processed_value; /* The number to go on screen. */
float offset;
float scale_factor;
int vx; /* Position of value on screen. */
int vy;
}CHANNEL;
enum units_of_measure { kPa, degC, kW, rpm, Volts, Amps, Newtons };
char *units { "kPa", "degC", "kW", "rpm", "Volts", "Amps", "Newtons" };
CHANNEL data [] =
{
{ "radiator temperature",
{ "radiator pressure",
{ "fuel temperature",
{ "fuel pressure",
{ "oil temperature",
{ "oil pressure",
{ "exhaust manifold temperature",
{ "power output",
{ "torque",
};
#define NUMBER_OF_INPUTS sizeof (data ) / sizeof ( data[0] )
Now the lesson preparation is to find the single little bug in the above
program fragment, to finish the initialisation of the data array of type
CHANNEL and to have a bit of a crack at creating a screen layout
program to display its contents. Hint: Use printf();
( Leave all the values which originate from the real world as zero. )
Here are some more tips for young players.

1) Don't get confused between the logical equality operator,
==
and the assignment to a variable operator.
=
This is probably the most frequent mistake made by 'C' beginners, and
has the great disadvantage that, under most circumstances, the compiler
will quite happily accept your mistake.
2) Make sure that you are aware of the difference between the logical
and bit operators.
&& This is the logical AND function.
|| This is the logical OR function.
The result is ALWAYS either a 0 or a 1.
& This is the bitwise AND function used for masks etc.
The result is expressed in all the bits of the word.
3) Similarly to 2 be aware of the difference between the logical
complementation and the bitwise one's complement operators.
! This is the logical NOT operator.
~ This is the bitwise ones complement op.
Some further explanation is required. In deference to machine efficiency a
LOGICAL variable is said to be true when it is non-zero. So let's set a
variable to be TRUE.
00000000000000000000000000000001 A word representing TRUE.
Now let's do a logical NOT !.
00000000000000000000000000000000 There is a all zero word, a FALSE.
00000000000000000000000000000001 That word again. TRUE.
Now for a bitwise complement ~.
11111111111111111111111111111110 Now look we've got a word which is
non-zero, still TRUE.
Is this what you intended?
4) It is very easy to fall into the hole of getting the
'{' & '}'; '[' & ']'; '(' & ')'; symbol pairs all messed up and the
computer thinks that the block structure is quite different from that
which you intend. Make sure that you use an editor which tells you the
matching symbol. The UNIX editor vi does this provided that you turn
on the option. Also take great care with your layout so that the block
structure is absolutely obvious, and whatever style you choose do take
care to stick by it throughout the whole of the project.
A personal layout paradigm is like this:
Example 1.
function_type function_name ( a, b )
type a;
type b;
{
type variable_one, variable_two;
if ( logical_expression )
{
variable_one = A_DEFINED_CONSTANT;
if ( !return_value = some_function_or_other ( a,
variable_one,
&variable_two
)
)
{
error ( "function_name" );
exit ( FAILURE );
}
else
{
return ( return_value + variable_two );
}
} /* End of "if ( logical_expression )" block */
} /* End of function */
This layout is easy to do using vi with this initialisation script
in either the environment variable EXINIT or the file ${HOME}/.exrc:-
set showmode autoindent autowrite tabstop=2 shiftwidth=2 showmatch wm=1
Example 2.
void printUandG()
{
char *format =
"\n\
User is: %s\n\
Group is: %s\n\n\
Effective User is: %s\n\
Effective Group is: %s\n\n";
( void ) fprintf ( tty,
format,
passwd_p->pw_name,
group_p->gr_name,
epasswd_p->pw_name,
egroup_p->gr_name
);
}
Notice how it is possible to split up format statements with a '\' as
the last character on the line, and that it is convenient to arrange
for a nice output format without having to count the
field widths. Note however that when using this technique that the '\'
character MUST be the VERY LAST one on the line. Not even a space may
follow it!
In summary I *ALWAYS* put the opening brace on a new line, set the tabs
so that the indentation is just two spaces, ( use more and you very quickly
run out of "line", especially on an eighty column screen ). If a statement
is too long to fit on a line I break the line up with the arguments set out
one to a line and I then the indentation rule to the parentheses "()"
as well. Sample immediately above. Probably as a hang-over from a particular
pretty printing program which reset the indentation position after the
printing of the closing brace "}", I am in the habit of doing it as well.
Long "if" and "for" statements get broken up in the same way. This is
an example of it all. The fragment of code is taken from a curses oriented
data input function.
/*
** Put all the cursor positions to zero.
*/
for ( i = 0;
s[i].element_name != ( char *) NULL &&
s[i].element_value != ( char *) NULL;
i = ( s[i].dependent_function == NULL )
? s[i].next : s[i].dependent_next
)
{ /* Note that it is the brace and NOT the */
/* "for" which moves the indentation level. */
s[i].cursor_position = 0;
}
/*
** Go to start of list and hop over any constants.
*/
for ( i = edit_mode = current_element = 0;
s[i].element_value == ( char *) NULL ;
current_element = i = s[i].next
) continue; /* Note EMPTY statement. */
/*
** Loop through the elements, stopping at end of table marker,
** which is an element with neither a pointer to an element_name nor
** one to a element_value.
*/
while ( s[i].element_name != ( char *) NULL &&
s[i].element_value != ( char *) NULL
)
{
int c; /* Varable which holds the character from the keyboard. */
/*
** Et Cetera for many lines.
*/
}
Note the commenting style. The lefthand comments provide a general
overview of what is happening and the righthand ones a more detailed view.
The double stars make a good marker so it is easy to separate the code and
the comments at a glance.
The null statement.
You should be aware that the ";" on its own is translated by the compiler
as a no-operation statement. The usefullness of this is that you can do
little things, such as counting up a list of objects, or positioning a pointer
entirely within a "for" or "while" statement. ( See example above ).
There is, as always, a flip side. It is HORRIBLY EASY to put a ";" at the
end of the line after the closing right parenthesis - after all you do just
that for function calls! The suggestion is to both mark deliberate null
statements with a comment and to use the statement "continue;". Using
the assert macro will pick up these errors at run time.
The assert macro.
Refer to the Programmers Reference Manual section 3X and find the
documentation on this most useful tool.
As usual an example is by far the best wasy to explain it.
/* ----------------------------------------- */
#ident "@(#) assert-demo.c"
#include <stdio.h>
#include <assert.h>
#define TOP_ROW 10
#define TOP_COL 10
main()
{
int row, col;
for ( row = 1; row <= TOP_ROW; row++);
{
assert ( row <= TOP_ROW );
for ( col = 1; col <= TOP_COL; col++ )
{
assert ( col <= TOP_COL );
printf ( "%4d", row * col );
}
printf ( "\n" );
}
}
/* ----------------------------------------- */
Which produces the output:-
Assertion failed: row <= TOP_ROW , file assert-demo.c, line 15
ABORT instruction (core dumped)
It does this because the varable "row" is incremented
to one greater than The value of TOP_ROW.
Note two things:
1) The sense of the logical condition. The assert is asserted
as soon as the result of the logical condition is FALSE.
Have a look at the file /usr/include/assert.
Where is the ";" being used as an empty program statement?
2) The unix operating system has dumped out an image of the executing
program for examination using a symbolic debugger. Have a play with
"sdb" in preparation for the lesson which deals with it in more
detail.
Lets remove the errant semi-colon, re-compile and re-run the program.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60
7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70
8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80
9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Here's the ten times multiplication table, for you to give to to
the nearest primary-school child!
I would agree that it is not possible to compare the value of a program
layout with a real work of fine art such as a John Constable painting or
a Michaelangelo statue, I do think a well laid out and literate example of
programming is not only much easier to read and understand, but also it
does have a certain aesthetic appeal.
Copyright notice:-
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Lesson 8.
This lesson and the following one will examine how to use the program
structure - as opposed to data structure - reserved words.
Lets start with the looping structures:
do repeated_statement while ( logical_expression );
repeated_statement, which may be a block of code, will be executed
repetitively until the logical_expression, becomes false. If you have been
exposed to ( corrupted by? ) another language remember that there is no
ùntil' test at the end of a loop. Note that the repeated_statement is always
executed once irrespective of the state of the logical_expression.
while ( logical_expression ) repeated_statement;
repeated_statement is executed repetitively while the logical_expression
is true. Once again statement may be a block of code. Note that if the
logical_expression evaluates to FALSE then the repeated_statement is NEVER
executed.
Associated with the looping structures are the control words:
break;
continue;
break; allows you to leave a loop in the middle of a block, and
continue; allows you to re-start it from the top.
Finally we must not forget the most common and useful looping construct:
for ( initialising statement; logical_expression; incremental_statement )
repeated_statement;
Some further explanation is needed. The initialising statement is
executed once, but to allow for the need to initialise several separate
variables the assignment statements may be separated by commas. The
logical_expression must be true for the loop to run, and the
incremental_statement is executed once each time the loop is run.
The for statement is completely general and may, for example, be used to
manipulate a set of pointers to operate on a linked list.
Some examples.
A do loop program.
#ident "@(#) do_demo.c - An example of the do loop"
#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
char character;
character = 'a';
do printf ( "%c", character ); while ( character++ < 'z' );
printf ( "\n" );
}
Fairly obviously it prints:
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
A while loop example.
#ident "@(#) while_demo.c - An example of the while loop"
#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
char character;
character = 'a';
while ( character <= 'z' ) printf ( "%c", character++ );
printf ( "\n" );
}
Its output is exactly the same as the previous example:
In this totally trivial case it is irrelevant which program structure
you use, however you should note that in the `do' program structure the
repeated statement is always executed at least once.
A for loop example.
The `for' looping structure.
#ident "@(#) for_demo.c - An example of the for loop"
#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
char character;
for ( character = 'a'; character <= 'z' ; character++ )
{
printf ( "%c", character );
}
printf ( "\n" );
}
Surprise, Surprise!
You should be aware that in all the looping program structures, the
repeated statement can be a null statement ( either just a `;' or the
reserved word `continue;' ). This means that it is possible to - for
example - position a pointer, or count up some items of something or other.
It isn't particularly easy to think up a trivial little program which
demonstrates this concept, however the two `for' loops give some indication
of the idea.
#ident "@(#) pointer_demo.c - Pointer operations with the for loop"
#include <stdio.h>
main()
{
char character, *character_pointer, alphabets [ 53 ];
for ( character = 'a', character_pointer = alphabets; /* Start conditions */
character <= 'z'; /* Run while true */
*character_pointer++ = character++ /* All the work */
)TRUE continue;
for ( character = 'A'; /* character_pointer is at the right place already */
character <= 'Z';
*character_pointer++ = character++
) continue;
*character_pointer = (char) '\000'; /* NULL character to terminate string. */
printf ( "%s\n\n", alphabets );
}
Another Surprise!
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
So much for the looping structures provided by the `C' language. The
other main structures required to program a computer are the ones which
alter the program flow. These are the switch, and the if and its extension
the if ... else combination. More demo programs are much the best way of
getting the message across to you, so here they are, first the if construct.
#ident "if_demo.c"
#include <stdio.h>
main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char **argv;
{
if ( argc > 1 ) printf ( "You have initiated execution with arguments."};
}
And the if ... else demo.
#ident "if_else_demo.c"
/*
** The Language #define could go in the compiler invocation line if desired.
*/
#define ENGLISH
#include <stdio.h>
/*
** The message and text fragments output by the program.
*/
char *messages[] =
{
#if defined( ENGLISH )
#ident "@(#)ENGLISH Version"
"\nUsage: if_else_demo <numeric argument 1> <numeric argument 2>\n\n",
"The first argument is ",
"the second",
"equal to ",
"bigger than ",
"smaller than "
#endif
#if defined( FRANCAIS )
#ident "@(#)FRENCH Version"
put the French translation in here so that we are ready to export to
French speaking Countries. I'd be grateful if a French speaker could
make the translation for me.
#endif
};
/*
** Meaningful words defined to constants
*/
#define USAGE 0
#define FIRST 1
#define SECOND 2
#define EQUAL 3
#define BIGGER 4
#define SMALLER 5
#define SUCCESS 0
#define FAILURE 1
/*
** We need this more than once so it can be put in a function.
*/
void usage()
{
printf ( messages[USAGE]);
exit ( FAILURE );
}
/*
** Main program function starts here. ( At the top of a page no less! )
*/
int main ( argc, argv )
int argc;
char **argv;
{
int message_index;
double i, j, strtod();
char *ptr;
if ( argc != 3 ) usage(); /* have we been given the right */
/* number of arguments. */
i = strtod ( argv[1], &ptr); /* Convert to a double float. */
if ( ptr == argv[1] ) usage(); /* Successful conversion? */
j = strtod ( argv[2], &ptr); /* Convert to a double float. */
if ( ptr == argv[2] ) usage(); /* Successful conversion? */
/*
** This statement uses the "ternary conditional assignment" language
** construction to assign the value required to the message indexing variable.
** Note that this concept is efficient in both the generation of machine code
** output ( compile the program with a -S switch and have a look ) and in the
** ease with which it can be understood. The assignment is obvious instead of
** being buried under a litter of ìf' and èlse' keywords.
*/
message_index = ( i == j ) ? EQUAL : ( i > j ) ? BIGGER : SMALLER;
/*
** Now print the message.
*/
(void) printf ( "\n%s%s%s\n\n", /* Format string specifying 3 strings. */
messages[ FIRST ], /* Address of string. */
messages[ message_index ], /* ditto. */
messages[ SECOND ] /* ditto. */
);
return ( SUCCESS );
}
Well as you can no doubt gather it simply compares two numbers on the
command line and ejects a little message depending on the relative magnitude
of the numbers. In the UNIX tradition the help message is perhaps somewhat
terse, but it serves the purpose of getting you - the student - to think
about the importance of creating programs which always cope with nonsensical
input in a civilised way. Here are the lines of output.
Usage: if_else_demo <numeric argument 1> <numeric argument 2>
The first argument is equal to the second
The first argument is smaller than the second
The first argument is bigger than the second
Now that the international community is shrinking with vastly improved
telecommunications, it is perhaps a good idea to think carefully about
creating programs which can talk in many languages to the users. The method
of choice is - I believe - that presented above. The #if defined( LANGUAGE )
gives us an easy method of changing the source code to suit the new sales
area. Another possibility is to put all the text output needed from a program
into a file. The file would have to have a defined layout and some consistent
way of `getting at' the message strings.
From a commercial point of view this may or may not be a good business plan.
Quite definitely it is an absolute no no to scatter a mass of string literals
containing the messages and message fragments all over your program script.
There are two more methods of altering the program flow.
1 ) The goto a label.
2 ) The setjump / longjmp library routines.
The concept of the go to a label construction has had reams of literary
verbiage written about it and this author does not intend to add to the pile.
Suffice it to say that a goto is a necessary language construct. There are a
few situations which require the language to have ( in practice ) some form of
unconditional jump. Treat this statement with great caution if you wish your
code to be readable by others. An example of legitimate use.
for ( a = 0; a < MATRIX_SIZE; a++ )
{
for ( b = 0; b < MATRIX_SIZE; b++ )
{
if ( process ( matrix, a, b )) goto bad_matrix;
}
}
return ( OK );
bad_matrix:
perror ( progname, "The data in the matrix seems to have been corrupted" );
return ( BAD );
This is one of the very few "legitimate" uses of goto, as there is no
"break_to_outer_loop" in `C'. Note that some compilers complain if the label
is not immediately followed by a statement. If your compiler is one of these
naughty ones, you can put either a `;' or a pair of braces `{}' after the
`:' as a null statement.
An example of a program package which makes extensive use of the goto is the
rz and sz modem communications protocol implementation by Chuck Forsberg of
Omen Technology. You should download it and study the code, but do remember
that the proof of the pudding argument must apply as the rz & sz system has
become extremely popular in its application because it works so well.
The other method of changing program flow is the setjump and longjmp pair of
library functions. The idea is to provide a method of recovery from errors
which might be detected anywhere within a large program - perhaps a compiler,
interpreter or large data acquisition system. Here is the trivial example:
#ident "set_jmp_demo.c"
#include <stdio.h>
#include <setjmp.h>
jmp_buf save;
main()
{
char c;
for ( ;; ) /* This is how you set up a continuous loop.
*/
{
switch ( setjmp( save ))
{
case 0:
printf ( "We get a zero returned from setjmp on setup.\n\n");
break; /* This is the result from setting up. */
case 1:
printf ( "NORMAL PROGRAM OPERATION\n\n" );
break;
case 2:
printf ( "WARNING\n\n" );
break;
case 3:
printf ( "FATAL ERROR PROGRAM TERMINATED\n\nReally Terminate? y/n: " );
fflush ( stdout );
scanf ( "%1s", &c );
c = tolower ( c );
if ( c == 'y' ) return ( 1 );
printf ( "\n" );
break;
default:
printf ( "Should never return here.\n" );
break;
}
process ();
}
}
process ()
{
int i;
printf ( "Input a number to simulate an error condition: " );
fflush ( stdout );
scanf ( "%d", &i );
i %= 3;
i++; /* So that we call longjmp with 0 < i < 4 */
longjmp ( save, i);
}
Although in this silly little demo the call to longjmp is in the same file
as the call to setjmp, this does not have to be the case, and in the practical
situation the call to longjmp will be a long way from the call to setjmp. The
mechanism is that setjmp saves the entire state of the computer's CPU in a
buffer declared in the jmp_buf save; statement and longjmp restores it exactly
with the exception of the register which carries the return value from longjmp.
This value is the same as the second argument in the longjmp call - i in our
little demo. This means, of course, that the stack and frame pointer registers
are reset to the old values and all the local variables being used at the time
of the longjmp call are going to be lost forever. One consequence of this is
that any pointer to memory allocated from the heap will also be lost, and
you will be unable to access the data stored in the buffer. This is what the
jargonauts call "memory leakage", and is really very difficult bug to find.
Your program runs out of dynamic memory long before it should. Take care.
So you have to keep a record of the buffers' addresses and free them
before the call to longjmp.
More details later on when we learn about the heap memory allocation routines.
Copyright notice:-
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
High and Low-Level C

Jim Larson
1996-09-13
This talk was given at the Section 312 Programming Lunchtime Seminar.
Introduction
Tower of languages. High-level languages can (mostly) compile to lower-level one
s.
Might want to write in low-level language for access to hardware level. Can writ
e high-level code in low-level language by compiling in your head.
Might want to write in high-level language for flexibility and power. Can write
low-level code in high-level language by "writing through the compiler".
C Features
Recursive Functions
C has a stack used for the call stack, activation records, and local variables.
Note that functions are not nested, as in Pascal. This affords greater freedoms
for using function pointers.
/*
* Simple example of a recursive function.
*/
unsigned
fib(unsigned n)
{
if (n == 0 || n == 1)
return 1;
else
return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2);
}
This simple example is a little contrived, as well as a lousy way to compute Fib
onacci numbers. A better example shows the natural relation between recursive fu
nctions and recursive data structures - those that have references to other obje
cts of the same type.
/*
* Recursive functions work well with recursive data structures.
*/
typedef struct Expr Expr;
struct Expr {
enum { Number, Plus, Minus, Times, Divide } op;
union {
double number;
struct {
Expr *left, *right;
} child;
} u;
};
double
eval(Expr *e)
{
switch (e->op) {
case Number: return e->u.number;
case Plus: return eval(e->u.child.left) + eval(e->u.child.right);
case Minus: return eval(e->u.child.left) - eval(e->u.child.right);
case Times: return eval(e->u.child.left) * eval(e->u.child.right);
case Divide: return eval(e->u.child.left) / eval(e->u.child.right);
}
}
Dynamic memory allocation
Stack-allocation - local variables.
Heap-allocation. Library only, but pervasively used. (Actually, this is our firs
t example of a high-level feature implemented entirely in Standard C.)
Abstract Data Types
C Type theory is kind of confusing: Types where you know the size of the object
Types where you don't know the size of the object void *
Tricks: You can declare and use a pointer to an incomplete type. You can complet
e an incomplete type later. Pointers to structures can be coerced to and from po
inters to their first element, if it also is a structure.
/* In widget.h */
typedef struct Widget Widget;
extern Widget *widget_new(double length, enum Color color);
extern double widget_mass(Widget *w);
extern int widget_fitsin(Widget *w_inner, Widget *w_outer);
extern void widget_delete(Widget *w);
The implementation gets to hide information about the representation, as well as
guarantee invariants.
/* In widget.c */
#include <stdlib.h>
#include "colors.h"
#include "widget.h"
/*
* Non-public definition of Widget structure, declared in "widget.h".
*/
struct Widget {
Widget *next; /* widgets are stored on a linked list */
int id; /* identification stamp */
double length; /* length in centimeters */
double mass; /* mass in grams */
enum Color color; /* see "colors.h" for definitions */
};
static const double widget_height = 2.54; /* in centimeters */
static const double widget_density = 1.435; /* in g/cm^3 */
static Widget *widget_list = 0;
static int widget_next_id = 0;
/*
* Create a new widget. Calculate widget mass. Keep track of
* bookkeeping with id number and store it on linked list of widgets.
*/
Widget *
widget_new(double length, enum Color color)
{
Widget *w = malloc(sizeof (Widget));
if (!w)
return 0;
w->next = widget_list;
widget_list = w;
w->id = widget_next_id++;
w->length = length;
w->mass = 0.5 * length * length * widget_height * widget_density;
w->color = color;
return w;
}
Nonlocal exits
Setjmp/longjmp work like a bunch of immediate returns from functions. Intermedia
te functions don't need to make provisions for this - modular way to raise error
conditions.
Viewing function call/return sequences (aka procedure activations) as a tree, lo
ngjump can only work on a saved jmp_buf from a parent in the tree.
#include <signal.h>
#include <setjmp.h>
static jmp_buf begin;
static void
fpecatch(int sig)
{
warning("floating point exception");
longjmp(begin, 0);
}
void
command_loop(void)
{
for (;;) {
if (setjmp(begin)) {
printf("Command failed to execute!\n");
}
signal(SIGFPE, &fpecatch);
prompt();
do_command(read_command());
}
}
High-Level C
Classes and objects
The core of OO is "Dynamic Dispatch" - you don't know which function you're call
ing. Function pointers also provide this kind of indirection.
Structure coercion and nesting provide for single-inheritance of classes.
Method calls can be masked by functions or macros. Can "crack open" the abstract
ion to cache methods.
/* In shape.h */
typedef struct Point Point;
struct Point {
double x, y;
};
typedef struct Shape Shape;
struct Shape {
void (*move)(Shape *self, Point p);
void (*scale)(Shape *self, double factor);
void (*rotate)(Shape *self, double degrees);
void (*redraw)(Shape *self);
};
extern Shape *make_triangle(Point center, double size);
In the implementation:
/* In triangle.c */
#include <stdlib.h>
#include "shape.h"
typedef struct Triangle Triangle;
struct Triangle {
Shape ops;
Point center;
Point voffset[3];
};
static void
tri_move(Shape *self, Point p)
{
Triangle *t = (Triangle *) self;
t->center = p;
}
static void
tri_scale(Shape *self, double factor)
{
int i;
for (i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
t->voffset[i].x *= factor;
t->voffset[i].y *= factor;
}
}
static void
tri_redraw(Shape *self)
{
Point c = t->center;
Point v0 = addpoint(c, t->voffset[0]);
drawline(v0, v1);
drawline(v1, v2);
drawline(v2, v0);
}
Shape triangle_ops = { &tri_move, &tri_redraw, &tri_scale, &tri_rotate };
Shape *
make_triangle(Point center, double size)
{
Triangle *t = malloc(sizeof (Triangle));
if (!t)
return 0;
t->ops = triangle_ops;
t->center = center;
t->voffset[0].x = size * V0X;
t->voffset[0].y = size * V0Y;
return &t->ops;
}
In a client module that uses the interface:
/* In animate.c */
void
pulsate(Shape *s, double period)
{
double factor = 1.0, step = 0.1;
int i;
void (*scale)(Shape *, double) = s->scale; /* cache method */
void (*redraw)(Shape *) = s->redraw;
for (;;) {
for (i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
factor += step;
(*scale)(s, factor);
(*redraw)(s);
sleep(1);
}
step *= -1.0;
}
}
Closures
In Scheme, abstractions carry their environment with them. This is like bundling
a function pointer and some data to work with. The data acts like "configuratio
n" data. Can either make it an explicit argument, or create ADT for closure and
make "apply_closure" function - breaks from ordinary function syntax.
Much like objects, implemented above, but less constrained in use.
/* In closure.h */
typedef struct Closure Closure;
struct Closure {
void *(*fn)(void *);
void *data;
}
inline void *
appclosure(Closure *t)
{
return (*t->fn)(t->data);
}
Exception handling
Want to be able to raise a certain kind of error to by handled by a designated h
andler, but with the "linkage" established dynamically.
#include "exception.h"
void
logcommands(char *filename)
{
if (!(f = fopen(filename)))
THROW_ERROR(Err_filename);
CATCH_ERROR(ALL_ERRS) {
fflush(f);
fclose(f);
THROW_ERROR(throwerror);
} ERRORS_IN {
while ((x = read_input(stdin)) != EOF) {
a = compute_result(x);
print_result(a, f);
}
} END_ERROR;
}
The implementation is kind of tricky - use of ternary expression to make complic
ated series of tests into a syntactic expression:
/* In exception.h */
const int maxcatchers = 100;
extern jmp_buf catchers[maxcatchers];
extern volatile int nextcatch;
extern volatile int throwerror;
#define ALL_ERRS 0
#define CATCH_ERROR(E) \
if ((nextcatch == maxcatchers) \
? error("too many exception handlers") \
: (setjmp(catchers[nextcatch++]) == 0) \
? 0 \
: ((E) != ALL_ERRS && throwerror != (E)) \
? longjmp(catchers[--nextcatch]) \
: 1)
#define ERRORS_IN else
#define END_ERROR do { --nextcatch; } while (0)
#define THROW_ERROR(E) \
do { \
throwerr = (E); \
longjmp(catchers[--nextcatch]); \
} while (0)
Continuations
Scheme's general continuations will let you resume at any previous location in c
all tree - cool for escapes, coroutines, backtracking, etc.
Setjmp/longjmp will let you jump up to a known location. Disciplined use can res
ult in catch/throw.
By making stacks explicit, you can do coroutines.
By using a continuation-passing style, you can do arbitrarily cool things using
Cheney on the MTA. See paper by Henry Baker.
typedef void *(*Genfun)(void);
void
trampoline(Genfun f)
{
while (f)
f = (Genfun) (*f)();
}
Garbage-collected memory
Through explicit maintenance of roots into the GC'd heap, and the types of objec
ts, you can safely ignore free() and the associate bookkeeping.
"Conservative GC" implementations allow GC behavior for standard programs. See w
ork by Hans Boehm, or the commercial product by Geodesic Systems.
Cheney on the MTA gives simple generational capabilities.
Low-level C
Bounded memory usage
Ted Drain's idea: have a malloc() substitute profile allocation for a sample run
, then can build a dedicated allocator for a heap whose size is known at compile
-time.
#include <assert.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
static size_t allocbytes = 0;
void
printalloc(void)
{
fprintf(stderr, "Allocated %lu bytes\n", (unsigned long) allocbytes);
}
void
ememinit(void)
{
int err;
err = atexit(&printalloc);
assert(err == 0);
}
void *
emalloc(size_t size)
{
void *p = malloc(size);
assert(p);
allocbytes += size;
return p;
}
Bounded call stack depth
Trampoline back and manage stack explicitly.
Can also implement a state-machine within a function.
Data type representation
Structure ordering and offsets - make explicit with arrays.
Byte-level representation - use arrays of characters. Portable binary representa
tions of output.
typedef char ipv4hdr[20];
struct {
char *fieldname;
int byteoffset;
int bitoffset;
int bitlength;
} ipv4fields[] = {
{ "vers", 0, 0, 4 },
{ "hlen", 0, 4, 4 },
{ "service type", 1, 0, 8 },
{ "total length", 2, 0, 16 },
{ "identification", 4, 0, 16 },
{ "flags", 6, 0, 3 },
{ "fragment offset", 6, 3, 13 },
{ "time to live", 8, 0, 8 },
{ "protocol", 9, 0, 8 },
{ "header checksum", 10, 0, 16 },
{ "source ip address", 12, 0, 32 },
{ "desination ip address", 16, 0, 32}
};

C Lessons by Chris Sawtell

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C Lessons by Chris Sawtell

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C Lesson by Chris Sawtell

This copy was taken in May 94

1 a) Historical introduction to the Language.

2 a) How the 'C' language arranges for the storage of data.

3 Structures, arrays and pointers.

11 a) Lint, and more on errors / bugs and how to avoid them.

12 The stack and a quick dip into assembler

d) Signed and unsigned prefixes.

Getting data in and out of your programs.

The symbol FLAG may be an expression which reduces to a boolean value.

Here are some more tips for young players.

High and Low-Level C

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