Lecture 3 & 4 - Elements of Programming

Elements of Programming Language

Scope and Coverage

• Character Set

• Variables

• Constants

• Data Types

• Declaration (constants and variables)

• Operators

• Expressions

Learning Objectives

• Understand and explain various elements such as character set, constants, operators, and expressions and their usage in programming.

• Understand and explain various data types.

• Explain what variables are and how to declare and define them using the character set.

• Demonstrate knowledge of using operators to write expressions.

Character Set

Definition

• A character set is a set of all valid characters that can be used in a program.

• Specifies characters or symbols recognized by a programming language.

• Comprises characters used to form words, numbers, and expressions in source programs:

  • Source Character Set: Characters used for the source program text.

  • Execution Character Set: Characters used during program execution.

Components of Character Set

• Letters: A-Z, a-z

  • Lowercase: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

  • Uppercase: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

• Digits: 0-9 (10 decimal digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

• Special Symbols: Space, +, -, *, /, ^, \ , (), [] , {}, =, !=, <, >, ., ‘, $, ", ;, :, %, !, &, _, #, <=, >=, @

Special Characters