CSE 1203

OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING

Data Types in C

 Which data types are known to you till now?

 Can you create a new data type?
Custom Data type in C

 Structures
 Union
 Bit-field
 Enumeration
 typedef
Structures

 A structure is a collection of variables referenced under one name,

providing a convenient means of keeping related information together.
 The keyword struct tells the compiler that a structure is being declared.
 Structure declaration is terminated by a semicolon because
declaration of structure is a statement.
 From the code on right side, only a structure has been
declared, no variable has been created yet. The form of
data has been defined only.
Structures (declaring variables)

 To declare a variable, of type addr,

 This declares a variable(object) of type addr named addr_info.

 You can also declare one or more objects when you declare a structure.
Structures (declaring variable)

addr_info structure in memory

Structures (declaring variable)

 General form of a structure declaration

 If you need only one variable you can skip the stuct tag.
Stuctures (How to use)

 Individual members of a structure are accessed through the use of the .

operator (usually called the dot operator)
 The following statement assigns the ZIP code 12345 to the zip field of
variable addr_info

 To print the ZIP code on the screen

Array of Structures

 To declare an array of structures, first define a structure and then declare

an array variable of that type. For example, to declare a 100-element
array of structures of type addr defined earlier, write

 To access a specific structure, index the array name. For example, to print
the ZIP code of structure 3, write
Passing structures to functions

 Any member of a structure can be passed to a function

 Entire structure can be passed to a function

Structure Pointers

 C allows pointers to structures just like pointer to any other type of object.
 Structure pointers are declared by placing * in front of a structure
variable's name

 For example,
To place the address of person
into pointer p
Structure pointer

 To access the members of a structure using a pointer to that structure, you

must use the –> operator. For example, this references the balance field:
p–>balance

 The –>, usually called the arrow operator, consists of the minus sign
followed by a greater than sign.
 The arrow is used in place of the dot operator when you are accessing a
structure member through a pointer to the structure.
Unions

 A union is a memory location that is shared by two or more different types

of variables.
 A union provides a way of interpreting the same bit pattern in two or more
different ways.
 General form is like structure
Bit-Fields

 C has a built-in feature, called a bit-field, that allows you to access a single
bit
 Why to use?
 If storage is limited, you can store several Boolean (true/false) variables in one
byte
 Certain devices transmit status information encoded into one or more bits within
a byte
 Certain encryption routines need to access the bits within a byte
Bit-Fields
Enumeration

 An enumeration is a set of named integer constants

 For example, here penny =0, nickel =1, dime =2 …

 You can also change the values, here penny=0, nickel=1, dime =2, quarter
= 100, half_dollar = 101, dollar = 102
Typedef

 You can define new data type names by using the keyword typedef

 For example, to give float a new name balance use this

 Following statement will create a float variable named over_due

 The following will set a new name for balance which is another name for float
Thank you!