Introduction

Welcome to C programming! C is a formal computer language invented in the 1970s to implement the Unix operating system. Its inventors had two conflicting goals:

• maximum control over the computer's hardware, so that the operating system could manage specific types of memory, arithmetic processors, printers, keyboards, and other devices;
• maximum portability among different computers, so that the operating system could be migrated to new machines with minimal changes.

C was standardized in 1990 by an international committee of engineers, into what is called ANSI/ISO 9899-1990 Standard C, or ANSI C for short. This was necessary because dialects of the now-popular language had appeared, but programs written in one dialect would not always compile or run on a machine expecting another. Math 1201 will teach you to write correct ANSI C programs.

Syllabus

Topics. This course is an introduction to the international standard version of the C programming language for networked and personal computers. It emphasizes reading and understanding, but also requires writing many correct programs. No previous knowledge of computing is assumed.

Prerequisites. High school algebra and trigonometry, or consent of the instructor.

Text. The lectures will follow Mark Allen Weiss, Efficient C Programming: a Practical Approach, Prentice Hall, 1995. Recommended reference texts are

• Herbert Schildt, The Annotated ANSI C Standard, Osborne, 1990
• P. J. Plauger, The Standard C Library, Prentice Hall, 1992

Homework assigments:

HW #1, due Wed., Sep. 1 (Ans) HW #2, due Wed., Sep. 8 (Ans) HW #3, due Wed., Sep. 15 (Ans) HW #4, due Wed., Sep. 22 (Ans) HW #5, due Wed., Sep. 29 (Ans) HW #6, due Wed., Oct. 6 (Ans)	HW #7, due Wed., Oct. 13 (Ans) HW #8, due Wed., Oct. 20 (Ans) HW #9, due Wed., Oct. 27 (Ans) HW #10, due Wed., Nov. 3 (Ans) HW #11, due Wed., Nov. 10 HW #12, due Wed., Nov. 17 (Ans)

Solutions are due at the end of class on the due date. Late homework will not be accepted. The homework will often require writing a working computer program, which will be judged for correctness and clarity. Homework should be submitted on paper, including the printed results of any programs. However, you will occasionally be requested to provide the machine-readable program source via email to victor@math.wustl.edu, so find out now how to use your campus email account.

Tests. Midterm examinations: Test #1 (with model solutions) Friday, September 24, 1999, in class, and Test #2 (with model solutions) Friday, November 19, 1999, in class. Cumulative final examination (with model solutions) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Monday, December 13, 1999, in the classroom.

Projects. By mid-term, you should choose one complex programming project from a list, to be completed alone or in teams of two. These projects will be due at the end of the last class, Monday, December 6, 1999.

Grading. One letter grade will be assigned for homework, one for the two in-class tests, one for the programming project, and one for the final examination. These four will contribute equally to the course grade. Students taking the Cr/NCr or P/F options will need a grade of D or better to pass.

Computing. To create software with the C programming language, you need

• a text editor, which is a simple kind of word processor used to write plain text files, readable both by humans and machines, with names like "problem3.c" or "gcd_def.h", called source codes.
• a C compiler, which is a computer program that translates the source codes into more compact but human-unreadable machine codes.
• a shell, which is a computer program that reads the machine code, allocates any needed system resources, executes the instructions, and communicates input and output between the user and your program.

• Unix users in the Arts and Sciences Computing Center: If you are familiar with campus email, then you can use its host computer artsci.wustl.edu for your homework assignments:
  • use pico, which is the default email text editor, as the text editor for your source codes.
  • use gcc, which is already installed, as the C compiler.
  • use telnet from whatever terminal you usually use to access your email, to start a shell on artsci in which you can edit, compile, and run your programs.
• Users of IBM PCs or compatibles: If you have a personal computer of this type with Microsoft Windows 95 or 98 or NT as its operating system, then:
  • use Notepad, which is a Windows system accessory, as the text editor,
  • obtain DJGPP, a free ANSI C compiler for Microsoft DOS and Windows running on IBM-PC compatible computers, from its author's web site http://www.delorie.com/djgpp. An installation CD can also be borrowed overnight from the instructor
  • use the DOS shell by selecting "MS-DOS Prompt" from the "Start/Programs" menu.
• Macintosh users: If your Mac runs Mac OS 7 or 8, you can use the integrated development environment called "Macintosh Programmers Workshop" (MPW), which is available free from Apple Computer, Inc. Look in !ReadMe.txt at that site for downloading instructions, or start at the MPW link http://developer.apple.com/tools/mpw-tools/about_mpw.html for an overview.
  • Use MPW Shell, which launches an edit window, as the text editor.
  • Use SC as the compiler.
  • Use the command window of MPW Shell as the shell.

Office Hours. See the instructor in Cupples I, room 105a, on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11-12 am, i.e., after class, or make an appointment by telephone or email.