Introduction
Many people think that to be a good programmer, you need to be "good at math". This is not necessarily the case. Being good at math is often equated to being good at arithmetic (able to perform mathematical operations such as add, subtract, multiply, divide numbers). While this skill is important and very very useful, the far more important skill is to understand what these operators do and when you should apply the math.
Programming isn't about becoming a human calculator (though it does help). Instead, the far more useful skill is to knowing what operator to apply in different situations. You can let the computer do the math.. its faster and more accurate at it than you can ever be. The key for you is to know what operator to use. This section looks at problems that have to do with using mathematical opertors. Data types that you learned about in the previous section will also play an important role as the operators work differently depending on the data type.
Learning Outcomes
After completing this chapter, students will be able to:
- Identify and apply basic arithmetic operators
(+, -, *, /, %)to solve mathematical problems in C programs - Distinguish between integer and floating-point arithmetic and predict how data types affect calculation results, particularly with division and truncation
- Understand operator precedence and associativity and use parentheses to control the order of operations in complex expressions
- Use self-assignment operators
(+=, -=, *=, /=, %=)to write concise code - Distinguish between prefix and postfix increment/decrement operators and predict the value each expression evaluates to
- Trace program execution using walkthroughs to track variable values and determine program output
- Identify and fix syntax and logical errors in programs involving mathematical operations and operator misuse
- Write interactive C programs that perform mathematical calculations based on user input and display formatted results