Department of Computer and Information Science,

School of Science, IUPUI

CSCI 230

Functions
Declarations
Dale Roberts, Lecturer
IUPUI
droberts@cs.iupui.edu

Dale Roberts

Functions Support Decomposition

Functions
Category

Programmers

Trivial
1
Small
1-3
Medium
2-5
Large
5-25
Very Large
25-100
Extremely Large > 100

Duration

Size of Code

1-2 weeks
Few Weeks
Few Months
1 - 3 years
3 - 5 years
> 5 years

< 500 lines (student homework)

500 -2000 lines (term projects)
2000 -10000 (research project)
10,000-100,000(current applications)
100,000 - 1M (real-time operations)
>1M (advanced military work)

Divide and conquer

Large programs cannot be monolithic
Construct a program from smaller pieces or components. These
smaller pieces are called modules
Each piece is more manageable than the original program

Dale Roberts

Program Modules in C
Functions
Modules in C
Programs combine user-defined functions with library functions
C standard library has a wide variety of functions
Math function, I/O, string function, such as printf(), scanf()

Function calls
Invoking functions
Provide function name and arguments (data)
Function performs operations or manipulations
Function returns results
Write function once and call it many times

Function call analogy:

Boss asks worker to complete task
Worker gets information, does task, returns result
Information hiding: boss does not know details
Also called Encapsulation

Dale Roberts

Math Library Functions

Math library functions
perform common mathematical calculations
#include <math.h>
gcc compiler requires lm parameter

Format for calling functions

FunctionName( argument );
If multiple arguments, use comma-separated list

printf( "%.2f", sqrt( 900.0 ) );

Calls function sqrt, which returns the square root of its argument
All math functions return data type double

Arguments may be constants, variables, or expressions

Dale Roberts

Functions
Functions
Modularize a program
All variables declared inside functions are local variables
Known only in function defined

Parameters
Communicate information between functions
Local variables

Benefits of functions
Divide and conquer
Manageable program development

Software reusability
Use existing functions as building blocks for new programs
Abstraction - hide internal details (library functions)

Avoid code repetition

Dale Roberts

Function Definitions
Function definition format
return-value-type function-name( parameter-list )
{
declarations and statements
}
Function-name: any valid identifier
Return-value-type: data type of the result (default int)
void indicates that the function returns nothing
An unspecified return-value-type is always assumed by the compiler to be int

Parameter-list: comma separated list, declares parameters

A type must be listed explicitly for each parameter, unless the parameter is of type int

Declarations and statements: function body (block)

Variables can be declared inside blocks (can be nested)
Functions can not be defined inside other functions

Returning control
If nothing returned
return;
or, until reaches right brace

If something returned
return expression;

Dale Roberts

Function Prototypes
Function prototype
Function name
Parameters what the function takes in
Return type data type function returns (default int)
Used to validate functions
Prototype only needed if function definition comes after
use in program
The function with the prototype
int maximum( int, int, int );
Takes in 3 ints
Returns an int

Promotion rules and conversions

Converting to lower types can lead to errors
Dale Roberts

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/* Fig. 5.4: fig05_04.c

Finding the maximum of three integers */
#include <stdio.h>
int maximum( int, int, int );

/* function prototype */

1. Function prototype

(3 parameters)

int main()
{
int a, b, c;
printf( "Enter three integers: " );
scanf( "%d%d%d", &a, &b, &c );
printf( "Maximum is: %d\n", maximum( a, b, c ) );

2. Input values
3. Call function

return 0;
}

4. Function definition

/* Function maximum definition */

int maximum( int x, int y, int z )
{
int max = x;
if ( y > max )
max = y;
if ( z > max )
max = z;
return max;
}

Enter three integers: 22 85 17

Maximum is: 85

Program Output

Dale Roberts

Examples
float plus1(float
x,y)
{
float sum;
sum = x + y;
return sum;
}

plus2(int x,y)
{
int sum;
sum = x + y;
return sum;
}

The minimal function, called a null function, is dummy(){}

Again, the return statement can be
return expression;
Example: return a*a;
return (expression); Example: return ((a > 0)? a : -a));
return;

In conclusion, to call a function from another function, you should:

1. Declare the type of the called function, if not a int function
2. Use format of function_name(actual parameters)
Dale Roberts

Acknowledgements
Some examples were obtained from the course
textbook.

Dale Roberts