DATA TYPE

BOLA AKANDE
COSC101
DATA TYPES

 The data type of an object in memory determines the set

of values it can have and what operations that can be
performed on it. Examples of data types, int, float, char
etc. Thus if a data type is an integer or float you can
perform arithmetic operations on it.
 It also signifies the way data is represented.

 C is a strongly typed language because variables i.e. data

must be declared before use.
DATATYPES
C has a small family of datatypes.
 Numeric (int, float, double)

 Character (char)

 User defined (struct,union,array)

NUMERIC DATA TYPES
 int: Data type int is used for whole numbers. int
specifies integer. int occupies 4 bytes in the memory and
it can be as low as 2 bytes.
 float: it is used for specifying floating point numbers i.e.
decimals, it specifies the fractional part of a number up
to a single precision. It occupies 4 bytes memory space.
NUMERIC DATA TYPES
 double: it specifies a double-precision fractional
number. Thus its used for large precision. It has the
largest range in the computer. It occupies 8 to 16bytes
CHAR
 char: it’s a data type for specifying one character. It has
the smallest range. It occupies 1 byte.
 In ANSI C we have character constant, arrays of
characters, and other character handling function.
NOTE THESE……….
 float and double can also store whole numbers
 Note that precision means number of digits used in
expressing a value.
 Also the space a data type occupies in the memory (i.e.
its range) is machine dependent.
 Real numbers is the same thing as float.
DERIVED DATA TYPES
 There are other data types which are defined by users
and called derived types.
 There are infinite number of derived types, common
examples are arrays, structures, and pointers.
 They are constructed to meet user’s specific needs.
WHAT ARE VARIABLES?
 Variables
 Named memory location
 Their value can change during the execution of a program
 In ANSI C programs, all variables must be declared prior
to their use. This property makes C to be a strongly typed
language.
VARIABLES
 A variable is as named link/reference to a value stored in
the system’s main memory or it is an expression that can
be evaluated.
Consider: int x=0,y=0;
int y=x+2;.
 x, y are variables

 y = x +2 is an expression,+ is an operator.
SYNTAX FOR VARIABLE
DECLARATION

 Note that variables are declared by the association of a

data type with a variable name.
 Variable declaration syntax is as follows:

 <data-type><identifier or variable name>;

 For example
 int x;
 float area;
 double temp;
 char c;
INITIALIZING VARIABLES
 Intialization means declaring the first or starting value or constant
value of a variable that has been previously declared or has just been
declared.
 By default a variable which is not intialize will take a 0 value, thus
if you don’t want your variable to be 0 then you must initialized it.
 Point of initialization:
at the point of declaration e.g.
int n=3;
INITIALIZING VARIABLES
 char x; /∗ uninitialized ∗/
 char x=’A’; /∗ intialized to ’A’∗/
 char x=’A’,y=’B’; /∗multiple variables initialized,
meaning variable x will take character A while
variable y will take character B∗/
 char x=y=’Z’; /∗multiple initializations this means
character Z is assigned to variables x and
y∗/
HOW?

Variables is intialized through assignment operator i.e. =

Decalration and intialization can be done thus:
int a,b,c =0, d=4;
OR
int a=0;
=+
MEMORY CONCEPTS
 Variable names such as r, and area actually correspond
to locations in the computer’s memory.
 Every variable has a name, a type and a value.
 when the statement
 scanf( "%f", &r ); /* read a floating value */
 isexecuted, the value typed by the user is placed into a
memory location to which the name r has been assigned.
 Suppose the user enters the number 2 as the value for r.
 The computer will place 2 into location r
 The statement
 area = PI * r * r; /* assign value to area */
 thatperforms the multiplications also replaces whatever
value was stored in area.
QUIZ

 Pick out the errors

 # include <stdio.h>
 int main (void)
{
 int h=10;
 float y
 float x
 h*y=x
 printf(“the product is ” +x);
}
EXTERNAL AND LOCAL VARIABLES
 Differences:
 The scope of external variable is from the point of
declaration to the end of the program.
 Scope of local or automatic variable is only within the
function where it is declared.
 External variable remains in existence permanently i.e.
they retain their values even if after the function that set
them have returned.
 Local variables are temporal; they only exists when
the function that sets them exists.
IDENTIFIER
 An identifier refers directly to the data stored in a
particular memory location
 Variable names are known as identifiers
 Identifiers can contain letters, digits, underscore but it
must not start with a digit.
 In ANSI C the first 63 characters of an identifier is
significant.
 This is to increase portability and reduce errors.
RULES FOR NAMING IDENTIFIERS
 Rules govern the names that can be used as
identifiers.
 Do not use C keywords (reserved) as identifiers
 Identifiers are case sensitive
 Identifiers must not start with a numeric or digit character
 Identifiers must not include punctuation, control, or special
characters
 It must not include space.
 An identifier can start with an underscore e.g._age
 For external variables, only the first 31 characters of
identifiers are significant
 Do not use an hyphen, the compiler treat it as minus.
NAMING IDENTIFIER CONTD
 Do not use C keywords(reserved) as identifiers
 C has only 32 keywords
 auto, double, int, struct, long, enum, register, typedef, char, extern,
union, const, float, short, unsigned, signed, void, volatile, if, else while ,
for, do, double etc.
 These keywords cannot be redefined for they already have an intended
meaning or interpretation.
 Identifiers are case sensitive
 Case sensitivity means that an uppercase letter is not considered to be
the same as its lowercase equivalent
 For example, identifiers EMPL_NO and empl_no are different.
NAMING IDENTIFIER CONTD
 Identifiers must not start with a numeric character

5age is illegal X
 Identifiers must not include punctuation, control, or special
characters

?. @, ” are illegal X
 Standard C practice is to use lowercase letters for variable
names
 n=0;
 And you use uppercase for symbolic constants
 PI = 3.142
NAMING IDENTIFIERS
 Names that begin with the underscore character are
traditionally used in libraries for values or functions,
 so it is better to avoid using names that begin with an
underscore in simple application programs.
 note also that library functions like printf() are not part
of C keywords.
 This is because they can be redefined though they have
been predefined.
EXERCISE
Pop quiz (correct/incorrect):
 int money$owed;

 int total_count;

 int score2;

 int 2ndscore;

 int long;