Do C language pointers frighten you? Good! They’re supposed to, mostly because few instructors bother explaining them well, but also because of the nomenclature: “Pointers point.” Regardless, if you shun pointers, as many C programmers do, you can fall back on array notation. It’s a useful alternative and a handy shortcut, but it’s completely bogus.
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Today is May 1st. It’s the 121st day of the year 2017. In 2016, May 1 was the 122nd day of the year, because 2016 was a leap year. You can look up this information on a calendar or, more disappointingly, use Google. You can also write code that does the calculation for you, which is this month’s Exercise.
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Though it’s possible to guess the byte size of a structure, it’s bad practice to do so. Even advanced C programmers, who know variable widths by heart, rely upon the sizeof operator to obtain a structure’s size.
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A structure is a multi-variable, containing several variable types, all members of the same unit. Two declarations are required for a structure: The structure itself and the variable. Programmers get into trouble with structures when determining the variable’s size, using typedef as a structure shortcut, and when declaring structure pointers.
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It’s a common question beginning programmers ask: “Why use different types of variables when every number can be expressed as a float?”
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Being a C nerd, I occasionally browse the C library to discover new functions. Such an exercise is a must, not just for C but for any programming language. That’s because programmers can become complacent and rely upon the same old tricks. Only by reviewing the libraries, or by looking at other programmers’ code, can you learn new things.
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Easter occurs later this month, on the 16th. You can discover that date by using Google or by running the code solution for this month’s Exercise.
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I’m sure a mathematical solution exists to condense Roman numeral values. The values ending in 4 or 9 can be reduced, but whatever that solution is, it’s beyond me. So for my resolution to the Roman numeral reduction problem, I rely on strings instead of math.
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Of all the annual holidays, Easter is the most difficult date to predict. It’s always a Sunday, but which one? It could land in March or April. Most people look at a calendar or (these days) use Google to find out when Easter occurs. Yet, you can write a program that tells you exactly when Easter falls.
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The C language lacks a printf() conversion character to display Roman numerals. Therefore, if your code requires input of a decimal value, say 266, and output of a Roman numeral value, which would be CCLXVI, you must craft your own function.
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