Learn to Program with C_ Learn to Program using the Popular C Programming Language ( PDFDrive )

Chapter 1 ■ Elementary Programming Concepts
b = 25;
is written as
and
set sum to a + b
is written as
sum = a + b;
One final point: you may have gathered from a previous exercise that, for this problem, the
variable sum is not really necessary. We could, for instance, have omitted sum from the program
altogether and used this:
int a, b;
a = 14;
b = 25;
printf("%d + %d = %d\n", a, b, a + b);
to give the same result since C lets us use an expression (e.g., a + b) as an argument to
printf. However, if the program were longer and we needed to use the sum in other places, it
would be wise to calculate and store the sum once (in sum, say). Whenever the sum is needed,
we use sum rather than recalculate a + b each time.
Now that we have a general idea of what is involved in writing a program, we are ready to get
down to the nitty-gritty of C programming.
Exercises 1
1. What makes it possible to do such a variety of things on a computer?
2. Computers can execute instructions written in what language?
3. Give two advantages of assembly language over machine language.
4. Give two advantages of a high-level language over assembly language.
5. Describe two main tasks performed by a compiler.
6. Describe the steps required to solve a problem on a computer.
7. Distinguish between an algorithm and a program.
8. Programming instructions fall into three main categories; what are they?
9. Distinguish between a syntax error and a logic error.
10. What is meant by “debugging a program”?
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