C tutorial by rasanuba


									                 Chapter 27
        The C Programming Language

                      Bjarne Stroustrup

Dennis M. Ritchie
   C and C++
   Function prototypes
   printf()/scanf()
   Arrays and strings
   Memory management
   Macros
   const
   C/C++ interoperability

                   Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11   3
                         C and C++

    Both were “born” in the Computer Science Research Department of
     Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ
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Modern C and C++ are siblings

        Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11   5
                                  C and C++
   In this talk, I use “C” to mean “ISO C89”
       That’s by far the most commonly used definition of C
            Classic C has mostly been replaced (though amazingly not completely)
            C99 is not yet widely used
   Source compatibility
       C is (almost) a subset of C++
            Example of exception: int f(int new, int class, int bool); /* ok in C */
       (Almost) all constructs that are both C and C++ have the same meaning
        (semantics) in both languages
            Example of exception: sizeof('a') /* 4 in C and 1 in C++ */
   Link compatibility
       C and C++ program fragments can be linked together in a single program
            And very often are
   C++ was designed to be “as close as possible to C, but no closer”
       For ease of transition
       For co-existence
       Most incompatibilities are related to C++’s stricter type checking
                              Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                   6
                               C and C++
   Both defined/controlled by ISO standards committees
       Separate committees
            Unfortunately, leading to incompatibilities
       Many supported implementations in use
       Available on more platforms than any other languages
   Both primarily aimed at and are heavily used for hard system
    programming tasks, such as
       Operating systems kernels
       Device drivers
       Embedded systems
       Compilers
       Communications systems

                             Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11               7
                             C and C++
   Here we
       assume you know C++ and how to use it
       describe the differences between C and C++
       describe how to program using the facilities offered by C
            Our ideal of programming and our techniques remain the same, but
             the tool available to express our ideas change
       describe a few C “traps and pitfalls”
       don’t go into all the details from the book
            Compatibility details are important, but rarely interesting

                            Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                         8
                       C and C++
   C++ is a general-purpose programming language with
    a bias towards systems programming that
       is a better C
       supports data abstraction
       supports object-oriented programming
       supports generic programming

                                Functions and structs
                                Machine model (basic types and operations)
                                Compilation and linkage model

                      Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                            9
          Missing in C (from a C++ perspective)
   Classes and member functions
        Use struct and global functions
   Derived classes and virtual functions
        Use struct , global functions, and pointers to functions
        You can do GP in C, but why would you want to?
   Templates and inline functions
        Use macros
   Exceptions
        Use error-codes, error-return values, etc.
   Function overloading
        Give each function a separate name
   new/delete
        Use malloc()/free()
   References
        Use pointers
   const in constant expressions
        Use macros
                               Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                      10
        Missing in C (from a C++ perspective)
   With no classes, templates, and exceptions, C can’t
    provide most C++ standard library facilities
       Containers
            vector, map, set, string, etc.
            Use arrays and pointers
            Use macros (rather than parameterization with types)
       STL algorithms
            sort(), find(), copy(), …
            Not many alternatives
            use qsort() where you can
            Write your own, use 3rd party libraries
       Iostreams
            Use stdio: printf(), getch(), etc.
       Regular expression
            Use a 3rd party library

                              Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11               11
                               C and C++
   Lots of useful code is written in C
       Very few language features are essential
            In principle, you don’t need a high-level language, you could write
             everything in assembler (but why would you want to do that?)
   Emulate high-level programming techniques
       As directly supported by C++ but not C
   Write in the C subset of C++
       Compile in both languages to ensure consistency
   Use high compiler warning levels to catch type errors
   Use “lint” for large programs
       A “lint” is a consistency checking program
   C and C++ are equally efficient
       If you think you see a difference, suspect differences in default optimizer
        or linker settings Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                             12
   There can be only one function of a given name
   Function argument type checking is optional
   There are no references (and therefore no pass-by-reference)
   There are no member functions
   There are no inline functions (except in C99)
   There is an alternative function definition syntax

                      Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                      13
                      Function prototypes
                 (function argument checking is optional)

/* avoid these mistakes – use a compiler option that enforces C++ rules */
int g(int);       /* prototype – like C++ function declaration */
int h();          /* not a prototype – the argument types are unspecified */
int f(p,b) char* p; char b;            /* old style definition – not a prototype */
{ /* … */ }
int my_fct(int a, double d, char* p)         /* new style definition – a prototype */
    f();          /* ok by the compiler! But gives wrong/unexpected results */
    f(d,p);       /* ok by the compiler! But gives wrong/unexpected results */
    h(d);         /* ok by the compiler! But may give wrong/unexpected results */
    g(p);         /* error: wrong type */
    g();          /* error: argument missing */
                              Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                 14
     printf() – many people’s favorite C function
                                                                       Format string

/* no iostreams – use stdio */
#include<stdio.h>      /* defines int printf(const char* format, …); */

int main(void)
    printf("Hello, world\n");
    return 0;                                         Arguments to be formatted
void f(double d, char* s, int i, char ch)
   printf("double %g string %s int %i char %c\n", d, s, i, ch);
   printf("goof %s\n", i); /* uncaught error */

                                    Formatting characters
Format strings
                            Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                    15
                       scanf() and friends
/* the most popular input functions from <stdio.h>: */
int i = getchar(); /* note int, not char;
                       getchar() returns EOF when it reaches end of file */
p = gets();         /* read '\n' terminated line into char array pointed to by p */

void f(int* pi, char* pc, double* pd, char* ps)
{ /* read into variables whose addresses are passed as pointers: */
    scanf("%i %c %g %s", pi, pc, pd, ps);
    /* %s skips initial whitespace and is terminated by whitespace */
int i; char c; double d; char s[100]; f(&i, &c, &d, s); /* call to assign to i, c, d, and s */

   Don’t ever use gets() or scanf("%s")!
      Consider them poisoned
      They are the source of many security violations
      An overflow is easily arranged and easily exploitable
      Use getchar()

                                Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                    16
          printf() and scanf() are not type safe

    double d = 0;
    int s = 0;
    printf("d: %d , s: %s\n", d, s);       /* compiles and runs
                                              the result might surprise you */

                                   “s” for “string”

     “d” for “decimal”, not “double”

    Though error-prone, printf() is convenient for built-in types
    printf() formats are not extensible to user-defined types
        E.g. no %M for My_type values
    Beware: a printf () with a user-supplied format string is a cracker tool

                               Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                           17
                    Arrays and pointers
   Defined almost exactly as in C++
   In C, you have to use them essentially all the time
       because there is no vector, map, string, etc.
   Remember
       An array doesn’t know how long it is
       There is no array assignment
            use memcpy()
       A C-style string is a zero-terminated array

                            Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11       18
                      C-style strings
   In C a string (called a C-string or a C-style string in C++
    literature) is a zero-terminated array of characters
    char* p = "asdf";
    char s[ ] = "asdf";

      p:                           'a'    's'    'd'    'f'    0

                             s:     'a'    's'    'd'    'f'   0

                          Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                  19
                           C-style strings
   Comparing strings
    #include <string.h>
    if (s1 = = s2) {                    /* do s1 and s2 point to the same array?
                                           (typically not what you want) */
    if (strcmp(s1,s2) = = 0) { /* do s1 and s2 hold the same characters? */

   Finding the lengths of a string
    int lgt = strlen(s);    /* note: goes through the string at run time
                               looking for the terminating 0 */
   Copying strings
    strcpy(s1,s2);          /* copy characters from s2 into s1
                               be sure that s1 can hold that many characters */

                            Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                20
                     C-style strings
   The string copy function strcpy() is the archetypical
    C function (found in the ISO C standard library)
   Unless you understand the implementation below,
    don’t claim to understand C:

        char* strcpy(char *p, const char *q)
            return p;

   For an explanation see for example K&R or TC++PL
                        Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11             21
          Standard function libraries
   <stdio.h>     printf(), scanf(), etc.
   <string.h>   strcmp(), etc.
   <ctype.c>    isspace(), etc.
   <stdlib.h>   malloc(), etc.
   <math.h>     sqrt(), etc.

   Warning: By default, Microsoft tries to force you to use safer,
    but non-standard, alternatives to the unsafe C standard library

                          Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                 22
           Free store: malloc()/free()
void f(int n) {
   /* malloc() takes a number of bytes as its argument */
   int* p = (int*)malloc(sizeof(int)*n);      /* allocate an array of n ints */
   /* … */
   free(p);       /* free() returns memory allocated by malloc() to free store */

                           Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                            23
            Free store: malloc()/free()
   Little compile-time checking
    /* malloc() returns a void*. You can leave out the cast of malloc(), but don’t */
    double* p = malloc(sizeof(int)*n);      /* probably a bug */
   Little run-time checking
    int* q = malloc(sizeof(int)*m); /* m ints */
    for (int i=0; i<n; ++i) init(q[i]);
   No initialization/cleanup
       malloc() doesn’t call constructors
       free() doesn’t call destructors
       Write and remember to use your own init() and cleanup()
   There is no way to ensure automatic cleanup
   Don’t use malloc()/free() in C++ programs
       new/delete are as fast and almost always better
                           Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                            24
                      Uncast malloc()
   The major C/C++ incompatibility in real-world code
       Not-type safe
       Historically a pre-standard C compatibility hack/feature
   Always controversial
       Unnecessarily so IMO

void* alloc(size_t x);     /* allocate x bytes
                             in C, but not in C++, void* converts to any T* */
void f (int n)
   int* p = alloc(n*sizeof(int));                    /* ok in C; error in C++ */
   int* q = (int*)alloc(n*sizeof(int));              /* ok in C and C++ */
   /* … */
                           Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                 25
   Why does void* convert to T* in C but not in C++?
       C needs it to save you from casting the result of malloc()
       C++ does not: use new
   Why is a void* to T* conversion not type safe?
    void f()
        char i = 0;
        char j = 0;
        char* p = &i;
        void* q = p;
        int* pp = q;        /* unsafe, legal C; error in C++ */
        *pp = -1;           /* overwrite memory starting at &i */

                           Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                   26
   // comments were introduced by Bjarne Stroustrup into C++
    from C’s ancestor BCPL when he got really fed up with typing
    /* … */ comments
   // comments are accepted by most C dialects including the new
    ISO standard C (C99)

                      Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                  27
// in C, a const is never a compile time constant
const int max = 30;
const int x;        // const not initialized: ok in C (error in C++)

void f(int v)
   int a1[max]; // error: array bound not a constant (max is not a constant!)
   int a2[x];   // error: array bound not a constant (here you see why)
   switch (v) {
   case 1:
         // …
   case max:    // error: case label not a constant
         // …
}                        Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                           28
        Instead of const use macros
#define max 30

void f(int v)
   int a1[max]; // ok
   switch (v) {
   case 1:
         // …
   case max:    // ok
         // …

                        Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11   29
                   Beware of macros
#include "my_header.h"
// …
int max(int a, int b) { return a>=b?a:b; } // error: “obscure error message”

   As it happened my_header.h contained the macro max from the previous
    slide so what the compiler saw was
          int 30(int a, int b) { return a>=b?a:b; }
   No wonder it complained!
   There are tens of thousands of macros in popular header files.
   Always define macros with ALL_CAPS names, e.g.
         #define MY_MAX 30
    and never give anything but a macro an ALL_CAPS name
   Unfortunately, not everyone obeys the ALL_CAPS convention

                          Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                        30
              C/C++ interoperability
   Works because of shared linkage model
   Works because a shared model for simple objects
       built-in types and structs/classes
   Optimal/Efficient
       No behind-the-scenes reformatting/conversions

                        Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11         31
                  Calling C from C++
   Use extern "C" to tell the C++ compiler to use C calling conventions

       // calling C function from C++:

       extern "C" double sqrt(double);         // link as a C function

       void my_c_plus_plus_fct()
                double sr = sqrt(2);
                // …

                          Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                        32
                  Calling C++ from C
   No special action is needed from the C compiler

    /* call C++ function from C: */

    int call_f(S* p, int i); /* call f for object pointed to by p with argument i */
    struct S* make_S(int x, const char* p); /* make S( x,p) on the free store */

    void my_c_fct(int i)
                 /* … */
                 struct S* p = make_S(17, "foo");
                 int x = call_f(p,i);
                 /* … */
    }                     Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                              33
  Word counting example (C++ version)

using namespace std;
int main()
    map<string,int> m;
    string s;
    while (cin>>s) m[s]++;         // use getline() if you really want lines
    for(map<string,int>::iterator p = m.begin(); p!=m.end(); ++p)
         cout << p->first << " : " << p->second << "\n";

                        Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                34
    Word counting example (C version)
// word_freq.c
// Walter C. Daugherity

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

#define MAX_WORDS 1000 /* max unique words to count */
#define MAX_WORD_LENGTH 100

#define STR(s) #s            /* macros for scanf format */
#define XSTR(s) STR(s)

typedef struct record{
    char word[MAX_WORD_LENGTH + 1];
    int count;
} record;
                          Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11            35
    Word counting example (C version)
int main()
    // … read words and build table …
    qsort(table, num_words, sizeof(record), strcmp);
    for(iter=0; iter<num_words; ++iter)
           printf("%s %d\n",table[iter].word,table[iter].count);
    return EXIT_SUCCESS;

                         Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                   36
  Word counting example (most of main)
record table[MAX_WORDS + 1];
int num_words = 0;
char word[MAX_WORD_LENGTH + 1];
int iter;
while(scanf("%" XSTR(MAX_WORD_LENGTH) "s", word) != EOF) {
  for(iter = 0; iter < num_words && strcmp(table[iter].word, word); ++iter);
  if(iter == num_words) {
      strncpy(table[num_words].word, word, MAX_WORD_LENGTH + 1);
      table[num_words++].count = 1;
  else table[iter].count++;
  if(num_words > MAX_WORDS){
      printf("table is full\n");
      return EXIT_FAILURE;
                        Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                                37
        Word counting example (C version)
   Comments
       In (some) colloquial C style (not written by BS)
       It’s so long and complicated! (my first reaction – BS)
       See, you don’t need any fancy and complicated language features!!!
        (not my comment – BS)
       IMHO not a very good problem for using C
            Not an atypical application, but not low-level systems programming
       It’s also C++ except that in C++, the argument to qsort() should be cast
        to its proper type:
            (int (*)(const void*, const void*))strcmp
       What are those macros doing?
       Maxes out at MAX_WORD words
       Doesn’t handle words longer than MAX_WORD_LENGTH
       First reads and then sorts
            Inherently slower than the colloquial C++ version (which uses a map)
                               Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11                              38
                       More information
   Kernighan & Ritchie: The C Programming Language
        The classic
   Stroustrup: TC++PL, Appendix B: Compatibility
        C/C++ incompatibilities, on my home pages
   Stroustrup: Learning Standard C++ as a New Language.
        Style and technique comparisons
        www.research.att.com/~bs/new_learning.pdf
   Lots of book reviews: www.accu.org

                            Stroustrup/PPP - Oct'11        39

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