Programming Fundamentals

Tutorial Overview:

• Part 1: Variables and constants
  • Topics Covered: Declaring and initialising variables, data types, Calculating Values in Programs.
• Part 2: Calculating values in programs
  • Topics Covered: Arithmetic, Logic, Comparitive operators.
• Part 3: Weird Data Types and Arithmetic
  • Topics Covered: Complex Arithmetic expressions, order of operations.
• Part 4: Diagramming
  • Topics Covered: Flow charts, If statements
• Part 5: Practical Programming Exercise
  • Topics Covered: If statements, scanf.

Part 1: Variables and constants (5 mins)

Objectives: Understand how to declare and initialise variables and understand the different data types. Understand how and when to use constants.

In this short activity we will recap the parts of a variables and how to declare, initialise and print variables working off of the starter code below:

// part1_variables
//
// This program was written by YOUR-NAME (ZID),
// on [DATE]
//
// This program calculates the area of a circle

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
	// 1. Declare the variables
	
    // 2. Initalise the variables
    
    // 3. Calculate the area of the circle
    
	// 4. Print the result

	return 0;
}

In this activity we will write a short program that takes input from the user to calculate the area of a circle. In this activity we will recap the parts of variables, how to declare, initalise and print variables and also revise when to use constants.

Part 2: Calculating Values in Programs (5 mins)

Objectives: Understand the different types of operators, and how to use them.

In this short section, we will review what tools we have for doing mathematics in our programs. This section will be completed quickly, to make sure we have time for the rest of the tutorial.

Part 3: Weird Data Types and Arithmetic (10 mins)

In this short section, we will review how you can store values in programs.

These are short arithmetic expressions we will use during this tutorial:

• (7 / 2)
• (3.0 / 2) + 1
• 'a' + 5
• 'F' - 'A' + 'a'

Part 4: Diagramming (15 mins)

Objectives: Understand Flowcharts, and how to use them to break down a problem.

In this section, we'll work on diagramming a small program.

Flow Charts:

We'll start by discussing the following flowchart:

Part 5: Practical Programming Exercise (rest of tutorial)

Objectives: Understand if statements, scanning and constants.

In this activity, you'll be writing a program to determine whether someone is tall enough to ride a roller coaster. It should:

1. Scan in the users height.
2. If the height is 0 or less, it should print an error message,
3. If the height is below the minimum height, it should print a message telling the user they are not tall enough to ride,
4. If the hight is above the minimum but below the ride alone threshold, it should print a message telling the user they can ride with an adult,
5. If the height is or is above the ride alone threshold, it should print a message telling the user they can ride.

For the purposes of this activity the minimum height to ride if 100cm and the minimum height to ride alone is 160cm.

// part5_roller_coaster
//
// This program was written by YOUR-NAME, ZID
// on [DATE]
//
// This program:
// 1. Scans in the users height.
//
// 2. If the height is 0 or less, 
//    it should print an error message
//
// 3. If the height is below the minimum height, 
//    it should print a message telling the user they are not tall enough to ride
// 
// 4. If the height is above the minimum but below the ride alone threshold,
//    it should print a message telling the user they can ride with an adult
//
// 5. If the height is or is above the ride alone threshold, 
//    it should print a message telling the user they can ride.

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
	
	return 0;
}