[Enter Post Title Here]

Learn Programming

Learn C programming tutorial lesson 2 -

Variables and constants
What are variables
Variables in C are memory locations that are given names and can be assigned values.
We use variables to store data in memory for later use. There are 2 basic kinds of
variables in C which are numeric and character.
Numeric variables
Numeric variables can either be integer values or they can be Real values. Integer
values are whole numbers without a fraction part or decimal point in them. Real
numbers can have a decimal point in them.
Character variables
Character variables are letters of the alphabet as well as all characters on the ASCII
chart and even the numbers 0 - 9. Characters must always be put between single
quotes. A number put between single quotes is not the same thing as a number without
them.
What are constants
The difference between variables and constants is that variables can change their value
at any time but constants can never change their value. Constants can be useful for
items such as Pi or the charge on an electron. Using constants can stop you from
changing the value of an item by mistake.
Declaring variables
To declare a variable we first put the type of variable and then give the variable a name.
The following is a table of the names of the types of variables as well as their ranges:
Name Type Range
int Numeric - Integer -32 768 to 32 767
short Numeric - Integer -32 768 to 32 767
long Numeric - Integer -2 147 483 648 to 2 147 483 647
float Numeric - Real 1.2 X 10-38 to 3.4 X 1038
double Numeric - Real 2.2 X 10-308 to 1.8 X 10308
char Character All ASCII characters
You can name a variable anything you like as long as it includes only letters, numbers
or underscores and does not start with a number. It is a good idea to keep your variable
names less than 32 characters long to save time on typing them out and for compiler
compatibility reasons. Variables must always be declared at the top before any other
commands are used. Now let's declare an integer variable called a and a character
variable called b.
int main()
{
   int a;
   char b;
   return 0;
}
You can declare more than one variable at the same time in the following way:
int main()
{
   int a,b,c;
   return 0;
}
To declare a constant all you have to do it put the word const in front of a normal
variable declaration and make assign a value to it.
int main()
{
   const float pi = 3.14;
   return 0;
}

Signed and unsigned variables

The difference between signed and unsigned variables is that signed variables can be
either negative or positive but unsigned variables can only be positive. By using an
unsigned variable you can increase the maximum positive range. When you declare a
variable in the normal way it is automatically a signed variable. To declare an unsigned
variable you just put the word unsigned before your variable declaration or signed for a
signed variable although there is no reason to declare a variable as signed since they
already are.
int main()
{
   unsigned int a;
   signed int b;
   return 0;
}

Using variables in calculations

To assign a value to a variable you use the equals sign.
int main()
{
   int a;
   char b;
   a = 3;
   b = 'H';
   return 0;
}
There are a few different operators that can be used when performing calculations
which are listed in the following table:
Operator Operation
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
% Modulus(Remainder of integer division)
To perform a calculation you need to have a variable to put the answer into. You can
also use both variables and normal numbers in calculations.
int main()
{
   int a,b;
   a = 5;
   b = a + 3;
   a = a - 3;
   return 0;
}

Reading and printing variables

You can read a variable from the keyboard with the scanf command and print a variable
with the printf command.
#include<stdio.h>
 
int main()
{
   int a;
   scanf("%d",&a);
   a = a * 2;
   printf("The answer is %d",a);
   return 0;
}
The %d is for reading or printing integer values and there are others as shown in the
following table:
%d or %i int
%c char
%f float
%lf double
%s string
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 1 - Hello World
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 2 - Variables and constants
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 3 - Decisions
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 4 - Loops
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 5 - Pointers
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 6 - Arrays
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 7 - Strings
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 8 - Functions
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 9 - Structures
 Learn C programming tutorial lesson 10 - Text and data files
 Learn C Programming

 Learn C++ Programming

 Learn C# Programming

 Learn D Programming

 Learn Java Programming

 Learn Pascal Programming

 Learn VB/VB.NET Programming

 Learn Web Development

 General Computer Articles

 Links

 Contact

 Copyright Policy