Elements of C Language

C language is one of the most important and widely used low-level programming languages developed in the late 1970s. The language is well-known for its speed, portability, and efficiency. With C, the users will be able to develop a wide range of applications, such as general-purpose applications, operating systems and embedded systems. It also helps users develop web and mobile based applications. Like other programming languages, C also includes some basic building blocks or elements that are used in a C program.

If you don’t know about these building blocks or elements, follow this article’s guidelines.

Elements of C Language

The C language has multiple distinct elements that make it easy and efficient to use. These elements are variables, data types, keywords, operators and more. However, the below-mentioned elements are important and widely used in a C programming language.

1: Variables

Variables are the main elements of C language. A variable is a piece of memory which holds a value that can be used as an argument for a particular set of instructions. Declaring variables involves stating their name, value, and data type. Variables can also be used to represent numbers, strings, character arrays, or any other data type.

#include <stdio.h>

void function()
{
int a = 10;
printf("The value of variable a is %d", a);
}

int main() {
function();
}

In this code, we are using a variable ‘a’ and printing its value using printf statement.

Output

2: Data Types

A group of values known as data types can be kept in a variable. C language uses several data types such as int (for integers), char (for characters), float (for numerical values with decimal points), double (for double precision floating point values) and more. Depending on the sort of variable you want to add, they are utilized in the code. Let’s follow up with the example discussed below:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
int num = 10;
printf("The value of num is %d", num);
}

In the above code, we are using an integer data type ‘num’ and printing its value using printf statement.

Output

3: Keywords

Keywords are predefined words that have specific meaning and help to initiate the program. There are 32 keywords in C language including if, else, while, for, int, and float. Each keyword has its own specific purpose, which makes them very important elements in the code.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
auto a = 10;
printf("%d", a);
return 0;
}

In this code, we are using the keyword ‘auto’ and printing its value using printf statement.

Note: You cannot use a keyword name as the name of your variable since it will generate errors. The reason is they are already defined in the C programming language.

Output

4: Operators

Operators are unique symbols that perform operations on a set of operands (values) to generate results. C language has multiple types of operators like comparison, arithmetic, assignment, and logical operators. Each type of operator performs a certain type of operation on the given values.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int a = 11, b = 5;
printf("the sum is = %d \n", a+b);
return 0;
}

In this code, we are using an operator ‘+’ to print the sum of the two variables a and b.

Output

5: Control Structures

C language contains a range of control structures which allows developers to control the flow of execution of their program. These include processing objects like if statements, for loops, and while loops, which can be used to repeat certain operations depending on certain conditions. Control structures like these help developers create complex instructions nearly as if they were reading instructions from a book.

#include<stdio.h>

int main ()
{
int year;
printf("Enter a year:");
scanf("%d",&year);
if (year % 4==0)
printf("%d is a leap year.",year);
else printf("%d is not a leap year.",year);
}

In this code, we utilize the ‘if-else’ control structure to determine if the year the user enters is a leap year or not.

Output

6: Functions

An executable function is a section of code that may be invoked from the main program. This lets developers put a piece of code in a single place, and then call it multiple times elsewhere in the code if they need it. Functions also allow developers to write code in a modular way so that large problems can be broken into small, manageable pieces.

#include<stdio.h>

void World();
int main ()
{
printf("Hello ");
World();
}
void World()
{
printf("World");
}

In this code, the word “World” is printed using the function “World”, which is called from the function “main()” to print the phrase “Hello World”.

Output

7: Arrays

The definition of an array in C is a way to bring together many items of the same type. Arrays can have data types like int, float, char, double, or user-defined data types like structures. Nevertheless, for the components to be kept together in a single array, they must all be of the same data type. The items are kept in order from left to right, with the 0th index on the left and the (n-1)th index on the right.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
int values[5];
printf("Enter 5 integers: ");
for(int x = 0; x < 5; ++x) {
scanf("%d", &values[x]);
}
printf("Displaying integers: \n");
for(int i = 0; i < 5; ++i) {
printf("%d\n", values[i]);
}
return 0;
}

The user enters 5 numbers into an array called “values” in this code, and the array’s contents are subsequently displayed.

Output

8: Structures

A struct is a mixed data type declaration that creates a physically organized list of variables in a block of memory under a single name in the C computer language. By using a single pointer or the struct-declared name, which returns the same address, it is possible to access the different variables. In C, a user-defined data type called structure allows us to store a variety of distinct data kinds.Each part of a structure is referred to as a “member”. Because of their ability to contain a variety of data, structures can emulate the usage of classes and templates.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

struct Book {
char name[50];
int price;
} Book1;
int main() {
strcpy(Book1.name, "Odessy");
Book1.price = 500;
printf("Name: %s\n", Book1.name);
printf("Price of the Book: %d\n", Book1.price);
return 0;
}

The above code creates a structure called “Book” with the characteristic’s “name” and “price” which are then entered in a structure instance before being printed.

Output

Conclusion

C elements are useful that work together to allow developers to write a C program. There are several elements of the C programming language, which includes variables, data types, keywords and much more discussed in the above guidelines. Understanding these elements will help users create efficient and well written C programs.

Elements of C Language