6.
087 Lecture 1 January 11, 2010
Introduction to C
Writing C Programs
Our First C Program
What is C?
Dennis Ritchie AT&T Bell
Laboratories 1972
16-bit DEC PDP-11
computer (right) Widely used today extends to newer system architectures efciency/performance low-level access
Features of C
C features:
Few keywords Structures, unions compound data types Pointers memory, arrays External standard library I/O, other facilities Compiles to native code Macro preprocessor
Versions of C
Evolved over the years:
1972 C invented 1978 The C Programming Language published; rst
specication of language
1989 C89 standard (known as ANSI C or Standard C) 1990 ANSI C adopted by ISO, known as C90
1999 C99 standard
mostly backward-compatible not completely implemented in many compilers 2007 work on new C standard C1X announced
In this course: ANSI/ISO C (C89/C90)
What is C used for?
Systems programming:
OSes, like Linux microcontrollers: automobiles and airplanes embedded processors: phones, portable electronics, etc. DSP processors: digital audio and TV systems
. . .
C vs. related languages
More recent derivatives: C++, Objective C, C# Inuenced: Java, Perl, Python (quite different) C lacks: exceptions range-checking garbage collection
object-oriented programming
polymorphism
. . .
Low-level language faster code (usually)
Warning: low-level language!
Inherently unsafe:
No range checking Limited type safety at compile time No type checking at runtime
Handle with care.
Always run in a debugger like gdb (more later. . . ) Never run as root Never test code on the Athena1 servers
1 Athena is MIT's UNIX-based computing environment. OCW does not provide access to it.
6.087 Lecture 1 January 11, 2010
Introduction to C
Writing C Programs
Our First C Program
Editing C code
.c extension Editable directly
More later. . .
Compiling a program
gcc (included with most Linux distributions): compiler .o extension omitted for common programs like gcc
More about gcc
Run gcc: athena%1 gcc -Wall infilename.c -o outfilename.o -Wall enables most compiler warnings More complicated forms exist multiple source les auxiliary directories
optimization, linking
Embed debugging info and disable optimization: athena% gcc -g -O0 -Wall infilename.c -o outfilename.o
1 Athena is MIT's UNIX-based computing environment. OCW does not provide access to it.
Debugging
Figure: gdb: command-line debugger
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Using gdb
Some useful commands:
break linenumber create breakpoint at specied line break file:linenumber create breakpoint at line in
le
run run program
c continue execution
next execute next line step execute next line or step into function quit quit gdb print expression print current value of the specied
expression
help command in-program help
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Memory debugging
Figure: valgrind: diagnose memory-related problems
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The IDE all-in-one solution
Popular IDEs: Eclipse (CDT), Microsoft Visual C++
(Express Edition), KDevelop, Xcode, . . .
Integrated editor with compiler, debugger Very convenient for larger programs
Courtesy of The Eclipse Foundation. Used with permission.
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Using Eclipse
Need Eclipse CDT for C programs (see
http://www.eclipse.org/cdt/)
Use New > C Project choose Hello World ANSI C Project for simple project Linux GCC toolchain sets up gcc and gdb (must be installed separately) Recommended for nal project
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6.087 Lecture 1 January 11, 2010
Introduction to C
Writing C Programs
Our First C Program
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Hello, 6.087 students
In style of Hello, world! .c le structure Syntax: comments, macros, basic declarations The main() function and function structure Expressions, order-of-operations Basic console I/O (puts(), etc.)
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Structure of a .c le
/* Begin with comments about file contents */ Insert #include statements and preprocessor definitions Function prototypes and variable declarations Define main() function { Function body } Define other function { Function body } . . .
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Comments
Comments: / this is a simple comment / Can span multiple lines
/ T h i s comment
spans
m u l t i p l e l i n e s /
Completely ignored by compiler Can appear almost anywhere
/ h e l l o . c our f i r s t C program Created by D a n i e l Weller , 01/11/2010 /
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The #include macro
Header les: constants, functions, other declarations #include <stdio.h> read the contents of the header le
stdio.h
stdio.h: standard I/O functions for console, les
/ h e l l o . c our f i r s t C program Created by D a n i e l Weller , 01/11/2010 / # include < s t d i o . h> / b a s i c I /O f a c i l i t i e s /
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More about header les
stdio.h part of the C Standard Library other important header les: ctype.h, math.h, stdlib.h, string.h, time.h For the ugly details: visit http: //www.unix.org/single_unix_specification/ (registration required) Included les must be on include path -Idirectory with gcc: specify additional include directories standard include directories assumed by default #include "stdio.h" searches ./ for stdio.h rst
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Declaring variables
Must declare variables before use Variable declaration:
int n;
oat phi;
int - integer data type float - oating-point data type Many other types (more next lecture. . . )
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Initializing variables
Uninitialized, variable assumes a default value Variables initialized via assignment operator:
n = 3;
Can also initialize at declaration:
oat phi = 1.6180339887;
Can declare/initialize multiple variables at once:
int a, b, c = 0, d = 4;
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Arithmetic expressions
Suppose x and y are variables
x+y, x-y, x*y, x/y, x%y: binary arithmetic A simple statement:
y = x+3x/(y4);
Numeric literals like 3 or 4 valid in expressions Semicolon ends statement (not newline) x += y, x -= y, x *= y, x /= y, x %= y: arithmetic
and assignment
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Order of operations
Order of operations:
Operator +,- (sign) *,/,% +,=,+=,-=,*=,/=,%=
Evaluation direction right-to-left left-to-right left-to-right right-to-left
Use parentheses to override order of evaluation
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Order of operations
Assume x = 2.0 and y = 6.0. Evaluate the statement
oat z = x+3x/(y4);
1. Evaluate expression in parentheses
oat z = x+3x/(y4); oat z = x+3x/2.0;
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Order of operations
Assume x = 2.0 and y = 6.0. Evaluate the statement
oat z = x+3x/(y4);
1. Evaluate expression in parentheses
oat z = x+3x/(y4); oat z = x+3x/2.0;
2. Evaluate multiplies and divides, from left-to-right oat z = x+3x/2.0; oat z = x+6.0/2.0; oat z = x+3.0;
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Order of operations
Assume x = 2.0 and y = 6.0. Evaluate the statement
oat z = x+3x/(y4);
1. Evaluate expression in parentheses
oat z = x+3x/(y4); oat z = x+3x/2.0;
2. Evaluate multiplies and divides, from left-to-right oat z = x+3x/2.0; oat z = x+6.0/2.0; oat z = x+3.0; 3. Evaluate addition
oat z = x+3.0; oat z = 5.0;
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Order of operations
Assume x = 2.0 and y = 6.0. Evaluate the statement
oat z = x+3x/(y4);
1. Evaluate expression in parentheses
oat z = x+3x/(y4); oat z = x+3x/2.0;
2. Evaluate multiplies and divides, from left-to-right oat z = x+3x/2.0; oat z = x+6.0/2.0; oat z = x+3.0; 3. Evaluate addition
oat z = x+3.0; oat z = 5.0;
4. Perform initialization with assignment
Now, z = 5.0.
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Order of operations
Assume x = 2.0 and y = 6.0. Evaluate the statement
oat z = x+3x/(y4);
1. Evaluate expression in parentheses
oat z = x+3x/(y4); oat z = x+3x/2.0;
2. Evaluate multiplies and divides, from left-to-right oat z = x+3x/2.0; oat z = x+6.0/2.0; oat z = x+3.0; 3. Evaluate addition
oat z = x+3.0; oat z = 5.0;
4. Perform initialization with assignment
Now, z = 5.0.
How do I insert parentheses to get z = 4.0?
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Order of operations
Assume x = 2.0 and y = 6.0. Evaluate the statement
oat z = x+3x/(y4);
1. Evaluate expression in parentheses
oat z = x+3x/(y4); oat z = x+3x/2.0;
2. Evaluate multiplies and divides, from left-to-right oat z = x+3x/2.0; oat z = x+6.0/2.0; oat z = x+3.0; 3. Evaluate addition
oat z = x+3.0; oat z = 5.0;
4. Perform initialization with assignment
Now, z = 5.0.
How do I insert parentheses to get z = 4.0?
oat z = (x+3x)/(y4);
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Function prototypes
Functions also must be declared before use Declaration called function prototype Function prototypes:
int factorial ( int );
or
int factorial ( int n);
Prototypes for many common functions in header les for
C Standard Library
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Function prototypes
General form:
return_type function_name(arg1,arg2,...);
Arguments: local variables, values passed from caller Return value: single value returned to caller when function
exits
void signies no return value/arguments
int rand(void);
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The main() function
main(): entry point for C program Simplest version: no inputs, outputs 0 when successful,
and nonzero to signal some error
int main(void);
Two-argument form of main(): access command-line
arguments
int main(int argc, char argv);
More on the char **argv notation later this week. . .
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Function denitions
Function declaration { declare variables; program statements; } Must match prototype (if there is one)
variable names dont have to match
no semicolon at end Curly braces dene a block region of code Variables declared in a block exist only in that block Variable declarations before any other statements
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Our main() function
/ The main ( ) f u n c t i o n / i n t main ( void ) / e n t r y p o i n t / { / w r i t e message t o console / p u t s ( "hello, 6.087 students" ) ; r e t u r n 0 ; / e x i t ( 0 => success ) / }
puts(): output text to console window (stdout) and end
the line
String literal: written surrounded by double quotes return 0;
exits the function, returning value 0 to caller
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Alternative main() function
Alternatively, store the string in a variable rst:
i n t main ( void ) / e n t r y p o i n t /
{
const char msg [ ] = "hello, 6.087 students" ;
/ w r i t e message t o console / p u t s ( msg ) ;
const keyword: qualies variable as constant char: data type representing a single character; written in
quotes: a, 3, n
const char msg[]: a constant array of characters
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More about strings
Strings stored as character array Null-terminated (last character in array is \0 null) Not written explicitly in string literals Special characters specied using \ (escape character): \\ backslash, \ apostrophe, \ quotation mark \b, \t, \r, \n backspace, tab, carriage return, linefeed \ooo, \xhh octal and hexadecimal ASCII character codes, e.g. \x41 A, \060 0
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Console I/O
stdout, stdin: console output and input streams puts(string): print string to stdout putchar(char): print character to stdout char = getchar(): return character from stdin string = gets(string): read line from stdin into
string
Many others - later this week
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Preprocessor macros
Preprocessor macros begin with # character
#include <stdio.h>
#dene msg "hello, 6.087 students"
denes msg as hello, 6.087 students throughout source le
many constants specied this way
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Dening expression macros
#dene can take arguments and be treated like a function
#dene add3(x,y,z) (( x)+(y)+(z))
parentheses ensure order of operations compiler performs inline replacement; not suitable for
recursion
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Conditional preprocessor macros
#if , #ifdef, #ifndef, #else, # elif , #endif
conditional preprocessor macros, can control which lines are compiled
evaluated before code itself is compiled, so conditions must
be preprocessor denes or literals
the gcc option -Dname=value sets a preprocessor dene
that can be used
Used in header les to ensure declarations happen only
once
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Conditional preprocessor macros
#pragma
preprocessor directive
#error, #warning
trigger a custom compiler error/warning
#undef msg
remove the denition of msg at compile time
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Compiling our code
After we save our code, we run gcc:
athena%1 gcc -g -O0 -Wall hello.c -o hello.o
Assuming that we have made no errors, our compiling is complete.
1 Athena is MIT's UNIX-based computing environment. OCW does not provide access to it.
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Running our code
Or, in gdb,
athena% gdb hello.o
.
. . Reading symbols from hello.o...done. (gdb) run Starting program: hello.o hello, 6.087 students Program exited normally.
(gdb) quit
athena%
Athena is MIT's UNIX-based computing environment. OCW does not provide access to it.
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Summary
Topics covered:
How to edit, compile, and debug C programs C programming fundamentals:
comments
preprocessor macros, including #include the main() function declaring and initializing variables, scope using puts() calling a function and passing an argument returning from a function
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6.087 Practical Programming in C
IAP 2010
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