COURSE GUIDE  ix

COURSE GUIDE DESCRIPTION

You must read this Course Guide carefully from the beginning to the end. It tells
you briefly what the course is about and how you can work your way through
the course material. It also suggests the amount of time you are likely to spend in
order to complete the course successfully. Please keep on referring to Course
Guide as you go through the course material as it will help you to clarify
important study components or points that you might miss or overlook.

INTRODUCTION
CDCP2103 C Programming is one of the courses offered by Faculty of
Information Technology and Multimedia Communication at Open University
This course is offered to all students taking the Diploma in Information
Technology. This course is the basis of understanding programming before
learners can follow other courses that require problem solving and with this
knowledge; it will make it easier for learners to learn other programming
language formally or on their own.

As an open and distance learner, you should be acquainted with learning

independently and being able to optimise the learning modes and environment
available to you. Before you begin this course, please confirm the course material,
the course requirements and how the course is conducted.

COURSE AUDIENCE
This course is offered to all students taking the Diploma in Information
Technology. This course is the basis of understanding programming before
learners can follow other courses that require problem solving and with this
knowledge; it will make it easier for learners to learn other programming
language formally or on their own.

As an open and distance learner, you should be acquainted with learning

independently and being able to optimise the learning modes and environment
available to you. Before you begin this course, please confirm the course material,
the course requirements and how the course is conducted.
x  COURSE GUIDE

STUDY SCHEDULE
It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit hour. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend
120 study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.

Table 1: Estimation of Time Accumulation of Study Hours

ACTIVITY HOURS

Understanding the course contents and initial discussions 5

Reading 3 text units and completing the suggested exercises,

60
with a rate of 20 hours per exercise

Attending 5 tutorial sessions, with a 2 hour per session rate 10

Access to websites 12

Completion of 1 assignment with the rate of 15 hours 15

Revision 18

TOTAL 120

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, learners should be able to:
1. Represent a programming problem by using algorithms and pseudocodes;
and
2. Write, compile and execute computer programs using C language.
 COURSE GUIDE  xi

COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course is divided into 12 topics. The synopsis for each topic can be listed as
follows:

Topic 1: Introduction to Programming

This topic gives the definition of the term programming and what are the steps
taken to create a complete program. C Programming language is also introduced.

Topic 2: Installing and Using C

In this topic, the methods of installing Turbo C software that will be used by the
students for the entire module, is shown through sample screen shots. An
example of a C program is given so that students can learn to use the software to
learn how C programs are developed.

Topic 3: Algorithm
The problem solving phase is the main focus of this topic. There are two types of
problem solving techniques, either using the flow chart or the pseudo code.
Students are given a few examples for each type of problem solving technique.
Students are also introduced to three types of structures: sequence, selection and
repetition.

Topic 4: Programming Language

Three levels of programming language will be introduced, which are machine
language, assembly language and high-level language. This topic will also
introduce the concept of memory and variables in the computer in the form of
bits, bytes, words as well as character representation.

Topic 5: Data Types and Variables

Data can be classified into two types: numeric and characters. This topic explains
on the similarities and differences between these two types of data. Variable
declaration using these types of data is given and methods on how to assign
values into the variables are also given in this topic.

Topic 6: Constants
This topic explains the usage of constants in C programs. There are many types
of constants that can be used such as integer, real, character and array constant.
Using these variables is to make it easier to read the program by the programr.
xii  COURSE GUIDE

Topic 7: Input and Output

A program has to be interactive so that the data needed in the program changes
according to the user input. Input method (scanf()) is used to enter data into the
program and output method (printf()) is used to display output to the users. In
this topic, students will be given a guideline on how these methods are written.

Topic 8: Operators and Expressions

In C language, there are many types of operators such as arithmetic, relational
and logical operators. This topic provides an introduction to these operators and
also its usage. The difference between expressions and statements is also given
here.

Topic 9: Selection Control Structure

In this topic, students will be introduced to the selection control structure which
uses if and switch statement. A few examples are given so that students can write
programs using this control structure. The usage of the break statement is also
introduced. The difference between selection structures is given to students so
that students can use it correctly.

Topic 10: Repetition

This topic gives three types of repetition structure that is used in C programs,
which are while, do-while and for statements. Examples are given to students so
that students can write the repetition structure with the correct syntax. Students
also will learn two other statements that are related to the looping which are
continuing and break statement.

Topic 11: Functions

Functions are sub-programs in a C program. To write a C program which is long,
functions are necessary so that every sub-program can be written separately and
tested separately. After all the sub-programs are written, it can be combined to
make a complete program.

Topic 12: Files

After finishing using the C program, data that is in the memory will be
destroyed. Therefore, files are necessary to be used if the data needs to be kept
permanently. There are two types of files: binary and text, but only text files will
be discussed in this topic. There are many file functions discussed, such as
fopen() to open files, fprintf() to write into the file, fscanf() to read the file and
fclose() to close a file.
 COURSE GUIDE  xiii

TEXT ARRANGEMENT GUIDE

Before you go through this module, it is important that you note the text
arrangement. Understanding the text arrangement should help you to organise
your study of this course to be more objective and more effective. Generally, the
text arrangement for each topic is as follows:

Learning Outcomes: This section refers to what you should achieve after you had
completely gone through a topic. As you go through each topic, you should
frequently refer your reading back to these given learning outcomes. By doing
this, you can continuously gauge your progress of digesting the topic.

Self-Check: This component of the module is inserted at strategic locations

throughout the module. It is inserted after you had gone through one sub-section
or sometimes a few sub-sections. It usually comes in a form of a question that
may require you to stop your reading and start thinking. When you come across
this component, try to reflect what you had already gone through. When you
attempt to answer the question prompted, you should be able to gauge whether
you had understand what you had read clearly, vaguely or worse you might find
out that you had not comprehended or retained the sub-section(s) that you had
just gone through. Most of the time, the answer to the question can be found
directly from the module itself.

Activity: Like Self-Check, activities are also placed at various locations or

junctures throughout the module. Compared to Self-Check, Activity can appear
in various forms such as questions, short case studies or it may even ask you to
conduct an observation or research. Activity may also ask your opinion and
evaluation on a given scenario. When you come across an Activity, you should
try to widen what you had gathered from the module and introduce it to real
situations. You should engage yourself in higher order thinking where you might
be required to analyse, synthesise and evaluate instead of just having to recall
and define.

Summary: You can find this component at the end of each topic. This component
assists you to recap the whole topic. By going through summary, you should be
able to gauge your knowledge retention level. Should you find points inside the
summary that you do not fully understand; it would be a good idea for you to
revisit the details from the module.

Key Terms: This component can be found at the end of each topic. You should go
through this component so as to remind yourself on important terms or jargons
used throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms from the module.
xiv  COURSE GUIDE

References: References is where a list of relevant and usually useful textbooks,

journals, articles, electronic contents or sources can be found. This list can appear
in a few locations such as in the Course Guide (at References section), at the end
of every topic or at the back of the module. You are encouraged to read and refer
to the suggested sources to elicit the additional information needed as well as to
enhance you overall understanding of the course.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Learners who wish to enrol in this course do not need to have any basic
knowledge on programming.

ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myLMS.

REFERENCES
Deitel, H.M., Dietel, P.J. (2000). C: How to program (3rd ed.). Prentice Hall.

Hanly, J.R., Koffman, E.B. (1999). Problem solving and program design in C
(3rd ed.). Addison Wesley.

Kelly, A., Pohl, I. (2001). A book on C: Programming in C (4th ed.). Addison

Wesley.

Lawlor, S.C. (1997). The art of programming: Computer science with C.

International Thomson Publishing.