INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE

Computer Programming
Overview

Prof. Amit Agarwal

amitfce@iitr.ac.in amit.agarwal@mfs.iitr.ac.in
What do you think of
programming (one word)?

ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.

2
Introduction

• Computer: (Definition by Oxford Dictionary)

“an electronic device for storing and processing data, …,

according to instructions given to it in a variable program.”

• Complex system consisting of hardware and software

– Hardware: physical parts (e.g., input media, motherboard, etc.)
– Software: a set of programs used by a computer

• Programming is a process of writing instructions (a set of

commands) to solve a specific problem.

• Algorithm is a step-by-step problem-solving process.

3
 Basics components

Main memory consists of a long

list of numbered locations called
memory locations (a few
thousands to millions);
Secondary memory (or storage)
The contents of these locations
is the memory that is used for
can change and contain the same
keeping a permanent record of
number of 0s and 1s → binary
information after (and before) the
digit or a bit ➔ most computers
computer is used. Also referred as
contains 8 bits (i.e., byte) → The
auxiliary memory, auxiliary
number that identifies a byte is
storage, external memory, and
called its address.
external storage
4
Programs

Input to the program

Set of instructions

• Algorithm
• A set of explicit and unambiguous finite steps, which, when carried out for
a given set of initial conditions to produce the corresponding output and
terminate in finite time.
• Basically, they are a set of steps to be performed, which can be used to
perform a task/solve a problem.
• Program
• An implementation of an algorithm in a programming language that computer
can understand.
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Programs

Algorithm Program (in C++)

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

Input A, B, C int main() {

int A, B, C, Sum;
Sum = A + B + C
cin>>A>>B>>C;
Print Sum Sum = A + B + C;
cout<<Sum;
return 0;
}

6
High and low level languages

High-level Low-level
• Resemble human languages • It is difficult to write and debug
• Are designed to be easy to read and code in Low-Level Languages.
write • Assembly
• Use more complicated instructions ADD X Y Z
than the CPU can follow • Machine language
• Must be translated to zeros and – CPU can follow machine language
ones for the CPU to execute a – Assembly must be converted to
program machine language
• C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, etc.
0110 1001 1010 1011
• → Source Code
→ Object Code

7
High and low-level languages

8
Programmers?

9
In this course

• How to write programs?

• Program → a set of instructions → special notation or

syntax (i.e., programming language)

• C++
– Derived from C
– C++ designer: Bjarne Stroustrup (1979)
– Powerful and complex

• We will cover only a part of C++….

10
C++ basics

• Syntax: language-specific statements (instructions/

notations/ rules) which are legal

• Comments:
– used to explain the code or increase the readability
– Comments are ignored by compiler
– Single/ multi-lined
// looping over the array
/* looping over
the array*/

• Every instruction/ command is terminated by semi-colon “;”

11
Processing a C++ program

• Editor → simply writing the set of instructions as per the

syntax (many text editors support syntax/ color highlighting)

• Preprocessor → these are directives which give instructions

to the compiler to pre-process the information
– Starts with # (only whitespace is allowed before this)
– these are filenames in the Standard C++ Library.

#include <iostream>  this is a C++ standard library header

for input-output stream
#define PI 3.14

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Processing a C++ program

• Compiler →
– checks the program for syntax errors (set of rules which are
language specific)
– Compiler accepts almost any pattern of line breaks and indentation
– Translate into machine language (low-level language);
– Binary of “Hello World.”
01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111
00100000 01010111 01101111 01110010 01101100
01100100
• Execution
– from top to bottom
– from left to right

• Output
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Program errors

• Syntax errors
– Violation of the grammar rules (syntax) of the language
– Discovered by the compiler
• Error messages may not always show the correct location of
errors

• Run-time errors
– Error conditions detected by the computer at run-time

• Logic errors
– Errors in the program’s algorithm
– Most difficult to diagnose
– Computer does not recognize an error

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Hello World!

#include <iostream>

int main( ) {

// hello world program

std::cout << “Hello world”;
return 0;

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Where to run the program?
• Offline:
– Dev-C++
– Visual Studio
– …
• Online:
– https://www.programiz.com/cpp-programming/online-compiler/
– https://www.tutorialspoint.com/compile_cpp_online.php
– https://www.w3schools.com/cpp/cpp_compiler.asp

[[let’s–run
…the first program]]

Try to write a few programs, which prints your name/ enrolment number/
branch/ institute, etc.

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Where to run the program?

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Why C++ (or programming) in Civil Engineering?

• AutoCAD → C++
• SUMO (open-source): https://sumo.dlr.de/ → C++
• 12 D solutions → C++
• FreeFEM: https://freefem.org/ → C++
• …
• Others (general) → C++
– Amazon
– Google web search engine
– Apple OS X (a few important parts)
– Adobe systems
– Bloomberg
– Sun: Open Office
– …
• Many other languages…
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Special symbols

• + • ?
• - • ,
• * • <=
• / • !=
• . • ==
• ; • >=

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Reserved keywords

• int • catch
• float • enum
• double • public
All small-case
• char • false
• const • true
• void • break
• return • continue
• switch • namespace
• while • throw
• do • static
• for • private
• this • …
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C++ basic input, output

• cout → sends the output from main memory to standard

devices (e.g., console screen)

• cin → takes the input from standard devices (e.g.,

keyboard, mouse) to the main memory

• header (required): #include <iostream>

• For cout, insertion (<<) operators are used, whereas for cin
extraction (>>) operators are used

• Let’s look on the Hello World example TODO: try clog and cerr

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cout
header (remember Name of the function;
directives)!! return type;
every program must have
#include <iostream> exactly one main()
function
int main( ) {
Check cout, insertion
// write the comment here… operator, semi colon
std::cout << “Hello world”;
return 0;
What is this? Can we
} get rid of it?

Return statement; optional

but some compilers expect it
to be included as the last line
of the main() function

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cout
This means, all functions under std namespace
#include <iostream> are available in the scope of this program
using namespace std; without explicitly prefixing “std::”

int main( ) {

// write the comment here…

cout << “Hello world”;
return 0;

Let’s look on another example

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cout

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
What will be the output of this?

int main( ) {

cout << “Hel” << “lo” <<“Wo” << “rld”;

return 0;

Let’s look on another example

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cin

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int num ;
cout << “Enter an Integer”;
cin >> num; // taking input
cout << “Square of the number is “ << num*num;
return 0;

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C++ Program

26
Data types

• Primitive data types

• Derived data types
• User defined data types

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Data types

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Primitive Data types: char

• “hello” is a string literal

• char is stored in the computers as an integer
• enclosed in single quotes
• American Standard Code for Information Interchange
(ASCII)
• Visit:
– https://www.ascii-code.com/
– https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/ascii
• Newline character ‘\n’ is one of the non-printing characters
(e.g., \n, \t).
• Size 1 byte
• Range: -128 to 127 or 0 to 255 (on most compilers)

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Primitive Data types

Data type Meaning Size (in bytes) Other details

int Integer 4 Range: -2147483648 to
int age = 24; 2147483647; usually of 4
bytes
float Floating point 4 Precision = 7 places
float speed = 60.5; (decimals)
double Double floating 8 Higher precision than
double dist = 4.45; point float (14)
char Character 1 Inside single quotes; an integer
value is stored rather than the
char te = ‘t’; character itself (see
https://en.cppreference.com/w/c
std::cout << int(te) ; Do you really need 1 pp/language/ascii and
byte for bool? https://www.ascii-code.com/ )
Range: -127 to 127 or 0 to
255
bool Boolean 1 Two possible values: true,
bool val = false; false
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Primitive Data types

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Data types modifiers

• signed: int, char, long-prefix

• unsigned: int, char, long-prefix
• short: int
• long: int, double
• Execute the following and try to understand the results
cout << "Size of char : " << sizeof(char) << endl;
cout << "Size of int : " << sizeof(int) << endl;
cout << "Size of short int : " << sizeof(short int) << endl;
cout << "Size of long int : " << sizeof(long int) << endl;
cout << "Size of signed int : " << sizeof(signed int) << endl;
cout << "Size of unsigned int : " << sizeof(unsigned int) << endl;
cout << "Size of unsigned long int : " << sizeof(unsigned long int) << endl;
cout << "Size of float : " << sizeof(float) << endl;
cout << "Size of double : " << sizeof(double) << endl;
cout << "Size of long double : " << sizeof(long double) << endl;
cout << "Size of signed char : " << sizeof(signed char) << endl;
cout << "Size of unsigned char : " << sizeof(unsigned char) << endl;
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Data types modifiers

1 2 4 8

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Other Data types

• Derived data types: array, pointers, functions, etc.

• User defined: Class, Structure, Union, Enum, etc.

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Variable names in C++

• Unique names (called as identifiers)

• This is basically, a name given to the memory location
• Variables must be declared before use.
• It could be short as (i,j,k or long as volume, speed)
• It may contain letters, digits, underscores (_)
• It must begin with a letter or underscore (i.e., it cannot begin with a
number)
• Names are case sensitive
• Names cannot contain white spaces or special characters
• Reserved words cannot be used.
• Examples:
age _age A_ge a_g_e
age23 a23ge a ageOfPerson

What will happen if you write wrong names? Try it.

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Variable names in C++

• Syntax
datatype variable_name;
• Though, it is a matter of personal preference, descriptive
names are recommended for better readability of the code
• Unlike reserved words, predefined identifiers (e.g., cout,
cin) can be redefined, but don’t do that.

• Cases:
– Camel ageOfPerson
– Pascle AgeOfPerson
– Snake age_of_person

Different style for local, instance, static, variables may be adopted for clarity.

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Variable names in C++

int age = 24;

data_type variable_name value (initialize)

int time, speed;

What will be output of the following?

float number = 1/10;

std::cout << number <<std::endl;
What will be output of the following?

float number = 1.0/10.0;

std::cout << number <<std::endl;
What will be output of the following?

int number = 1.0/10.0;

std::cout << number <<std::endl;
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Variable names in C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int num ; // declaration

num = 23; // initialization or assignment
return 0;

A variable must be initialized before it is used (not necessarily during declaration).

A variable can be initialized by assignment and by taking from inputs.

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Variable names in C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int num1;
int num2;
num1=34;
num2=90;
cout << num1 << endl;
cout << num2;
return 0;
}

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Variable names in C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int num1 =34, num2=90; // declaration and initialization

cout << num1 << endl;
cout << num2;
return 0;
}

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Variable names in C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int num1 =34, num2=90;

cout << num1 << endl;
cout << num2 <<endl;
int num3 = num1 +num2; /* expression (on the right) is
evaluated first and then assigned to num3 */
cout << num3;
return 0;
}

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Variable names in C++

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int hours, minutes, seconds;

cin>> hours >> minutes >> seconds; // order is important
cout<< hours << ":" << minutes << ":" << seconds;
return 0;
}

Three variables can be entered separated by space or one number in each line
(newline separator).

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Operators

1. Arithmetic
2. Assignment
3. Relational
4. Logical
5. Other

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Arithmetic Operators

Operator Operation

+ Addition

- Subtraction

* Multiplication

/ Division

Modulo Operation (Remainder

%
after division)

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Arithmetic Operators
int main( ) {
int a =34, b=90;
cout << "a+b=" << (a+b) << endl;
cout << "a-b=" << (a-b) << endl;
cout << "a*b=" << (a*b) << endl;
cout << "a/b=" << (a/b) << endl;
cout << "a%b=" << (a%b) << endl;
return 0;
}

int main( ) {
int a =3;
Unary operators
int x = a++;
• Pre-increment ++x (also --x)
cout << x << endl;
• Post-increment x++ (also x-- )
cout << a << endl;
x = ++a;
cout << x << endl;
cout << a << endl;
return 0;
}
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Assignment Operators

Operator Example Equivalent to

= a = b; a = b;
+= a += b; a = a + b;
-= a -= b; a = a - b;
*= a *= b; a = a * b;
/= a /= b; a = a / b;
%= a %= b; a = a % b;

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Assignment Operators

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int a =3, b=9;

cout << “Old value of a:" << a << endl;
a += b
cout << “New value of a:" << a << endl;
return 0;

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Order of Precedence
• All operations inside of () are evaluated first

• *, /, and % are at the same level of precedence and are evaluated next

• + and – have the same level of precedence and are evaluated last

• When operators are on the same level

• Performed from left to right (associativity)

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Mixed expression
• Integral expression 2+3*6

• Floating expression 2.5 + 3.1 * 3.2

• Mixed expression evaluation: 2 + 3.5 / 2

• If operator has same types of operands
• Evaluated according to the type of the operands

• If operator has both types of operands

• Integer is changed to floating-point
• Operator is evaluated
• Result is floating-point

• Entire expression is evaluated according to precedence rules

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Relational Operators

Operator Meaning Example

== Is Equal To 3 == 5 gives us false

!= Not Equal To 3 != 5 gives us true

> Greater Than 3 > 5 gives us false

< Less Than 3 < 5 gives us true

Greater Than or Equal

>= 3 >= 5 give us false
To

<= Less Than or Equal To 3 <= 5 gives us true

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Logical Operators

Operator Example Meaning

Logical AND.
expression1 &&
&& True only if all the
expression2
operands are true.

Logical OR.
expression1 ||
|| True if at least one of
expression2
the operands is true.

Logical NOT.
! !expression True only if the
operand is false.

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Logical Operators

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

bool out = (3 != 5) && (3 < 5); // 1 (true)

bool out2 = !(5 == 2); // 1 (true)

bool out3 = !(5 == 5); //0 (false)

return 0;

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other Operators

Operator Description Example

sizeof returns the size of data type sizeof(int); // 4

string result = (5%2==0) ?

?: returns value based on the condition
"even" : "odd"; // "even"

represents memory address of the

& &num; // address of num
operand

accesses members of struct variables or

. s1.marks = 92;
class objects

used with pointers to access the class or

-> ptr->marks = 92;
struct variables

<< prints the output value cout << 5;

>> gets the input value cin >> num;

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Mathematical Functions

• Large number of mathematical functions are available in

standard C++

• To use them, include:

#include<cmath>

#include<math.h>

• Examples:
– sin, cos, tan …
– asin, acos, atan …
– sqrt, abs, pow, floor, ceil …
– log, exp, …
– See https://www.cplusplus.com/reference/cmath/
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Mathematical Functions

#include <iostream>
#include<cmath>
using namespace std;

int main( ) {

int num = -10;

cout << abs(num) << endl;

int a = 25;
cout << sqrt(a) << endl;

int b = 5;
int c = 3;
cout << pow(5,3);
return 0;
}

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Conditional Statements

• Remember Relational and logical operators

• Use if to execute a block of code, if a condition is met (i.e., true)

• Use else to execute a block of code, if the same condition is false

• Use else if to test a new condition, if the first condition is false

• Use switch to execute many alternative blocks based on different criteria of a

variable

if (condition) {
// block of code to be executed if the condition is true
}

if (35 >= 20) {

cout << “35 is greater than or equal to 20";
}

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Conditional Statements
Truth Tables

57
Conditional Statements

58
Conditional Statements

Unary operators are right-associative,

meaning that if multiple unary operators
are applied to the same operand, they are
evaluated from right to left

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Conditional Statements

int speed = 30;

if (speed < 40) {
cout << “Good going…";
} else {
cout << “Too fast, slow down…";
}

int speed = 30;

if (speed < 40) {
cout << “Good going…";
} else if (speed < 50) {
cout << “Just right …";
} else {
cout << “Too fast, slow down…";
}

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Conditional Statements

61
Conditional Statements

int speed = 30;

if (speed < 40) {
cout << “Good going…";
} else {
cout << “Too fast, slow down…";
}

int speed;
cin >> speed;
if (speed < 40) {
cout << “Good going…";
} else if (speed < 50) {
cout << “Just right …";
} else {
cout << “Too fast, slow down…";
}

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Conditional Statements

In the above case, the else is connected with the inner conditional and not
the outermost conditional statement.

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 Conditional Statements

int speed = 30;

string message = (speed < 40) ? "Good going…" : “Too fast, slow down…";
cout << message;

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Conditional Statements
int day = 4;
switch (day) {
case 1:
cout << "Monday"; It breaks out of the switch
break; block, i.e., no more case
case 2: testing inside the switch
cout << "Tuesday";
block.
break;
case 3:
cout << "Wednesday";
break;
case 4:
cout << "Thursday";
break;
case 5:
cout << "Friday";
break;
default:
cout << “Enjoying the Weekend";
}

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Conditional Statements: nested

int speed = 30;

int vehicle = 1; // 1→ car, 2→ MTW
if (speed < 40) {
if (vehicle == 1) {
cout << “Good going…";
} else {
cout << “Be careful, out there.";
}
} else {
if (vehicle == 1) {
cout << “Too fast, slow down …";
} else {
cout << “Dangerous speed…";
}
}

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 Loops
• Repetition
• To execute a block of code as long as a specific condition is met
• Loops are handy, saves time, reduce errors, and are more readable

The while loop loops through

while (condition) { a block of code as long as a
// code block to be executed specified condition is true.
}
This loop will execute the code block
once, before checking if the condition
do { is true, then it will repeat the loop as
// code block to be executed long as the condition is true.
}
while (condition);
If it is known that a block of
for (initialization; condition; update) { code is to be executed ‘n’
// code block to be executed times, use the for loop
} instead of a while loop:

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Loops

int i = 0; for (int i = 0; i < max; i++) {

int max; cout << i << "\n";
cin >> max; }
while (i < max) {
cout << i << "\n";
i++;
}

int i = 0;
int max;
cin >> max;
do {
cout << i << "\n";
i++;
} while (i < max);

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Loops

• Compute the average of numbers as long as a user enters the numbers

69
Loops

• Multiple variables in the loop

70
Loops

• Multiple variables in the loop

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Loops

• Infinite loop

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Loops: nested

for (int i = 0; i < max; i++) {

for (int j = 0; j < max; j++) {
cout << i << "\n";
}
}

How can we get the following?

*
**
***
****
*****
How can we get the following?
*****
****
***
**
*

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Jumps with break, continue and goto

• break: The break statement exits from a switch or loop immediately. You can use
the break keyword to jump to the first statement that follows the switch or loop.

• continue: The continue statement can be used in loops and has the opposite effect
to break, that is, the next loop is begun immediately. In the case of a while or do-
while loop, the program jumps to the test expression, whereas a for loop is
reinitialized.

• goto: C++ also offers a goto statement and labels. This allows you to jump to any
given point marked by a label within a function. For example, you can exit from a
deeply embedded loop construction immediately. A label is a name followed by a
colon.

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break

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {

if (i == 4) {
break;
}
cout << i << "\n";
}

int i = 0;
while (i < 10) {
cout << i << "\n";
i++;
if (i == 4) {
break;
}
}

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break

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continue

for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {

if (i == 4) {
continue;
}
cout << i << "\n";
}

int i = 0;
while (i < 10) {
if (i == 4) {
i++;
continue;
}
cout << i << "\n";
i++;
}

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goto

78
goto

79
Control structure in C++

80
string in C++

• string is a variable, which is a collection of characters

• Surrounded by double quotes (“my string”)
string age = “34";
• Example
string message("Good morning!");
Try to use sizeof(age) and Note that: sizeof only
age.size();
• Size of string see the output. Does it
reports the memory
occupied by the
age.length(); make sense? variable

81
string in C++

• Each character has a relative position in the string

– Position of the first character is 0

• The length of a string is the number of characters in it

– Example: length of “Good Morning!" is 13

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string in C++

• endl → causes insertion point to move to beginning of next

line
• Escape sequence:

83
string in C++

• Relational operators can be applied to strings

• Strings are compared character by character, starting with
the first character
• Comparison continues until either a mismatch is found, or
all characters are found equal
• If two strings of different lengths are compared and the
comparison is equal to the last character of the shorter
string
– The shorter string is less than the larger string

84
string in C++

string str1 = "Hello";

string str2 = "Hi";
string str3 = "Air";
string str4 = "Bill";
string str5 = "Big";

What will be the output of…

str1 < str2; // true
str1 > “Hen”; // false bool out = 'H' < 'h';
str3 < “An”; // true std::cout << std::boolalpha<< out << std::endl;
str1 ==“hello”; // false
str3 <= str4; // true
str2 > str4; // true
Str4 >= “Billy”; //false
Str5 <= “Bigger” // true

You may need https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/ascii

85
String Concatenation

• The + operator can be used between two strings to make a

new string
• White space can also be concatenated.
string firstName = “Amit ";
string lastName = “Agarwal";
string fullName = firstName +
lastName;
cout << fullName;

• A string is an object, thus append() can also be used to

concatenate strings.
string firstName = “Amit ";
string lastName = “Agarwal";
string fullName
= firstName.append(lastName);
cout << fullName;

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String Concatenation

• Append allows part of a string.

str1.append(str2, 0, 5);

What will be the output of…

int x = 10;
int y = 20;
int z = x + y; // output →??

string x = "10";
string y = "20";
string z = x + y; // output →??

87
String Access

• String index starts at 0 (i.e., first character)

• The characters in the string can be accessed using index
numbers inside [ ]
What will be the output of…

string myString = "Hello";

cout << myString[1]; // output →??

• It can also replace the existing character

What will be the output of…

string myString = "Hello";

myString[0] = 'J';
cout << myString;

88
String inserting and erasing
string s1("Miss Summer");
s1.insert(5, "Ashley "); // Insert at position: 5

string s(“The summer-time");

s.erase(4,7); // position: 4, quantity 7

89
String Access

• Taking a string as input with whitespace in it.

What will be the output of…

string name;
cin >> name; // Enter “Amit Agarwal”
cout << name;

• cin considers a space (whitespace, tabs, etc.) as a terminating

character, which means that it can only display a single word

What will be the output of…

string name;
cout << "Enter your name" <<endl;
getline (cin, name);
cout << name;

90
Thanks …
amitfce@iitr.ac.in

91