An Introduction to Programming through

C++
Abhiram G. Ranade

Introduction
 Outline
• Introduction to computers and programming
• Some simple programs
• Remarks on programming
• Spirit of the course
 Computers are everywhere!
• Cars, phones, laptops, game consoles, cameras, televisions
contain a computer
• Computers used to:
– Book train/plane/bus tickets
– Search the internet
– Predict the weather
–…
• Goal of the course: Learn how to make computers do things
such as the above
 What is a computer?
A computer is a giant electrical circuit that can do the following:
• Receive data from the external world
– data = numbers,
– images, sounds can be represented using numbers and fed to a computer
• Perform calculations on the data it receives
• Send the results back to the external world
What calculations are performed?
• Determined by a program loaded in the computer
 Programs
• Program = a precise description of the calculations we want
the computer to perform
• By feeding different programs to a computer you can make it
do different calculations.
• This course tells you how to construct (“write”) programs.
• Special notation is to be used to write programs:
“Programming Language”
 The C++ programming language
• Designed by Bjarne Stroustrup, 1980s.
• Evolved out of the C programming language.
• C++ is a powerful, complex language.
• We will not study all of it.
• What we study will still be more convenient and safer than C.
• We will lay the foundation for learning advanced features later.
 The programming environment
Initial weeks: C++ augmented with Simplecpp
Simplecpp is a C++ library developed in IITB
• Provides facilities convenient to learners
– Graphics programming – more fun!
– Easy to understand “repeat” statement
– “main_program” keyword
• Download from www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~ranade/simplecpp
– Available as Linux/Mac OS library or as IDE for windows and Linux
Later weeks: Only C++
• We may continue to use Simplecpp graphics
 The textbook
An introduction to programming through C++, Abhiram Ranade,
McGraw Hill Education, 2014.
• www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~ranade/book.html
• Available in physical and on-line bookstores
• Integrated with use of simplecpp

• Reading for this lecture sequence: Chapter 1

 Prerequisites
• Science and math of standard XII
• No knowledge of computers expected
• Enthusiasm!
 Let us write some simple C++ programs
• The programs will draw pictures on the screen.
• Use “Turtle Simulator” contained in simplecpp
– Based on Logo: A language invented for teaching programming to
children by Seymour Pappert et al.
– We “drive” a “turtle” on the screen!
– To drive the turtle you write a C++ program.
– Turtle has a pen, so it draws as it moves.
Drawing pictures seems too much fun?
“You master picture drawing, you master programming!”
 The first program
#include <simplecpp> • “Use simplecpp facilities”
main_program{ • Main program begins
turtleSim(); • Start turtle simulator
– Creates window + turtle at center, facing right
forward(100); right(90);
• forward(n) :
forward(100); right(90); – Move the turtle n pixels in the direction it is
currently facing.
forward(100); right(90);
• right(d) :
forward(100);
– Make turtle turn d degrees to the right.
wait(5); • wait(t) :
} – Do nothing for t seconds.
• } : End of main program
 How to run this program
• Install simplecpp on your computer,
– See instructions at www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~ranade/simplecpp
• Type in the program into a file/IDE. Call it square.cpp
• “Compile” it:
– If you installed library on unix run: s++ square.cpp
– If you installed code blocks IDE: use compile button
• Execute it:
– On unix, run: ./a.out
– On code blocks: use run button
Demo
 Exercises
• Write a program that draws a smaller square.
• Write a program that draws an equilateral triangle.
– Remember that the external angles of a polygon add up to 360
degrees.
– Also remember that all the external angles of an equilateral triangle
are equal.
 What we discussed so far
• General information about the course
• Installing simplecpp
• A program to draw a square

🐿
 A better way to draw a square
#include <simplecpp>
main_program{
turtleSim();
repeat(4){
forward(10);
right(90);
}
wait(10);
}
 Repeat Statement
• Form
repeat (x) { yyy }
• Causes the statements yyy inside { } to be executed x times.
• The statements yyy are called the body.
• Each execution of yyy is called an iteration.
 How to draw a polygon
#include <simplecpp> cout << msg;
main_program{ • Print message msg on the screen.
turtleSim(); int nsides;
cout << “How many sides?”; • Reserve a cell in memory in which I will store some integer value,
int nsides; and call that cell nsides.
cin >> nsides; • You choose the name as you wish, almost!
repeat(nsides){ • int : abbreviation of “integer”
forward(100); cin >> nsides; :
right(360.0/nsides); • Read a value from the keyboard and put it in the cell nsides.
repeat(nsides) : repeat as many times as content of nsides
}
360.0/nsides : result of dividing 360 by content of nsides.
wait(10);
}
Demo
 More commands
• left(A) : turn left A degrees. Equivalent to right(–A)
• penUp(), penDown(): Causes the pen to be raised, lowered
Drawing happens only if the turtle moves while the pen is low.
• sqrt(x) : square root of x.
• sine(x), cosine(x), tangent(x) : x should be in degrees.
• sin(x), cos(x), tan(x) : x should be in radians.
• Also commands for arcsine, arccosine, arctangent… See book.
 Remarks
• You can use commands without worrying about how exactly
they do their work.
– sqrt(17.35) : will get calculated somehow.
– forward(100) : Don’t worry how the turtle is moved on the screen
 Exercises
• Draw a square of side length 100 as before. On top of this
draw a square obtained by joining the midpoints of the sides
of the first square.
– Hint: Use Pythagoras’s theorem to determine the length of the side
of the inner square.
• Draw a dashed line, say a dash of 10 pixels, a gap of 10 pixels,
so on 10 times.
 What we discussed
• Repeat statements cause repeated executions of some
statements.
• cin and cout statements can be used to read from keyboard
and to type messages to the screen.
• C++ has commands to compute mathematical functions as well
as lift the pen up and down.

🐿
 General remarks about C++ programs
• Program = sequence of statements/commands.
main_program{… written here …}
• Statement/command: terminated by “;”
• Commands are executed from top to bottom, left to right.
• Arguments: additional data needed by command to do its work.
– forward: how much forward?
– right: what angle?
– () if no arguments, e.g. turtleSim()
 Language syntax
• Syntax = grammatical rules indicating how commands must be written.
• Syntax of programming languages is very strict, e.g.
– “right(90);” cannot be written as “right 90;”.
– “penUp()” cannot be written as “penup()” or “penUp”, i.e. without parentheses.
– We will later learn other kinds of statements which will have their own syntax
which must be adhered to.
• Lot of flexibility is still allowed, e.g.
– Wherever a number is acceptable, often an ”expression” such as 360/n is
acceptable
– repeat statement is allowed wherever other statements are allowed, e.g. we can
have a repeat inside another repeat.
 Comments
• A program will be executed on a computer, but it will also be read by
people.
• Sometimes readers may not understand why the program is written
the way it is written.
• To help such human readers, you can place “comments” in your
program.
– Anything placed between /* and */ is a comment
– Anything between // and end of line is a comment
– A comment is meant only for human readers and is ignored by the computer
during execution.
 A program with comments
/* Author: Abhiram Ranade
Program to draw polygon */
#include <simplecpp>
main_program{
turtleSim();
cout << “How many sides?”;
int nsides; cin >> nsides;
repeat(nsides){
forward(100);
right(360.0/nsides); // Exterior angle of an n sided polygon is 360/n
}
wait(10);
}
 Indentation
#include <simplecpp> • You will notice that at the beginning of some
main_program{ lines some space is inserted.
turtleSim();
• This space is called indentation.
cout << “How many sides?”;
• The indentation allows you to quickly see which
int nsides; cin >> nsides;
statements constitute the body of the repeat,
repeat(nsides){
which statements are part of the main program.
forward(100);
right(360.0/nsides);
• The general rule: if X is ”inside” Y, then put two
}
additional spaces before every line of X.
wait(10); • Also note how the { and } are placed.
} • Indentation is very helpful for human readers.
• Indentation is ignored during execution.
 Repeat within repeat
repeat(4){
repeat(3){
forward(10); penUp();
forward(10); penDown();
}
right(90);
}
 How nested repeat statements execute
• repeat(x){ yyy } = execute yyy x times
• If yyy contains repeat (w) {zzz}, then the zzz is executed w
times in each execution of yyy.
• And so on if there are repeats inside zzz
 What will the following program do?
#include <simplecpp>
main_program{
cout << “a”;
repeat(5){
cout << “b”;
repeat(2){ cout << “c”; }
cout << “d”;
}
}
 Answer
• The program will print
abccdbccdbccdbccdbccd
 Some commonly used terminology
• “Control is at statement w”: Computer is currently executing
statement w.
• “Control flow”: The order in which statements get executed.
– Execution starts at top and goes down. Retraced if there is a repeat
statement.
• Variable: region of memory designated for storing some value you
need
– Example: nsides which we saw earlier.
– Named so because the value stored in the region can vary
– How to change the value: later.
 What we discussed
• General form of a program
• Notions of syntax, terms such as control flow.
• Repeat statements can be nested inside other repeat
statements.

🐿
 Why picture drawing
• The calculations/actions needed to solve any problem will contain patterns
– For example, a sequence of calculations may be repeated
• Key programming activity: The pattern in the calculations must be mirrored
by appropriate statements in program.
– If some calculation is to be repeated 5 times, use repeat(5){} rather than writing
out the statement 5 times
• Interesting pictures also contain patterns.
• To draw interesting pictures you need to use repeat statements
competently
• By drawing interesting pictures you get some practice at representing
patterns in your programs.
 Other reasons why we focus on picture drawing

• Graphical input and output is very convenient and useful.

– “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
– “Data Visualization” : upcoming area of CS. Useful in Science and
Engineering.
• Drawing is fun!
 Spirit of the course
• Learn C++ statements/concepts.
– We have already covered a lot of ground, even if it doesn’t seem so.
• Understand patterns in the calculations that you want to do
– Very important in all programming, not just drawing.
• Goal: if you can solve a problem by hand, possibly taking an
enormous amount of time, by the end of the book, you should
be able to write a program for it.
• Learn new ways of solving problems!
 Spirit of the course 2
• Do not be afraid of using the computer.
• “What if I write xyz in my program instead of pqr?” : Just do
so and find out.
– Be adventurous.
• Exercise your knowledge by writing programs – that is the real
test.
 Exercises
• Draw a 5 pointed star.
– Hint: If the turtle starts at a certain point with a certain orientation and returns
to the same point with the same orientation, it must have turned totally
through a multiple of 360 degrees
• Draw a 7 pointed star. How many different 7 pointed stars can you have?
• Draw 7 identical circles, with 6 touching the central circle. Circle = polygon of
large no of sides, say 360.
• Draw 4x4 array of tiles slightly separated from each other.
Hard Exercise: Plate border design

• You know enough to write

a program to do this!
• Combine together ideas
from previous exercises.
 What can you look forward to in this course
We give a demo of programs you could write..
• A sequence of drawings using the turtle.
• Animation of cars moving on the screen
• Animation of a ball bouncing in a box
• Simulation of an airport (hard)
• Gravitational simulation, modelling Newton’s laws.