Description
Assignment overview
We would like students to experience command line input with C types of character, int,
and float, to understand and use C types such as char, int, and float, as well as the flow
control structures studied in class, and to use functions and recursive functions.
This assignment consists of two parts.
In part one, you are required to write a C program to perform some simple conversions.
In part two, you are to write a C program to calculate value of exponential numbers.
Part one: 70%
The goal of the exercise is to implement a simple converter, called ”converter”, which works
as follows.
(1) First, the user is asked what she/he wants to do. An integer can be entered with the
following six actions associated with different values of the integer.
• 1 for conversion between Kilometer and Mile
• 2 for conversion between Meter and Feet
• 3 for conversion between Centimetre and Inch
• 4 for conversion between Celsius and Fahrenheit
• 5 for quit
• else for repeat step (1)
(2) In case of 1, 2, 3, and 4, each action should be implemented as a function. In case of 5,
the program will terminate. For all the other values, repeat step (1).
(3) In case of 1 to 4, the program will ask the direction of the conversion. In each case, two
characters can be entered corresponding to each conversion direction.
In case of 1, the program will prompt the user for two choices and wait for a character
input
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• K for conversion from Kilometer to Mile
• M for conversion from Mile to Kilometer
In case of 2, the program will prompt the user for two choices and wait for a character
input
• M for conversion from Meter to Feet
• F for conversion from Feet to Meter
In case of 3, the program will prompt the user for two choices and wait for a character
input
• C for conversion from Centimetre to Inch
• I for conversion from Inch to Centimetre
In case of 4, the program will prompt the user for two choices and wait for a character
input
• C for conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit
• F for conversion from Fahrenheit to Celsius
HINT: to read a character properly, your program should handle the leading space
character, tab character, and end of line character, if any.
(4) Then the program asks for the input value, properly displays the result and returns to
Step (1).
(5) The input value should be a float number and we assume the user will always enter
valid numbers.
(6) Your program should handle non-valid single character input values for (3).
(7) Your program should prompt user and display the result to user in a descriptive manner.
(8) Your program should follow good programming styles, i.e. write clear code, choose good
variable names, use appropriate functions, make proper comments, and etc.
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Part two: 30%
The goal of this exercise is to implement an exponential number calculator, called ”exp calculator”
with recursive function.
(1) First, the user is asked for the base and the exponent. We assume that base is a positive
float number and exponent is a non-negative integer number.
(2) Then the exponential number is calculated using a recursive function in logarithmic time
in terms of the absolute value of the exponent inputted. The result is then displayed.
Hint: when n > 0
a
n =
a
n/2 ∗ a
n/2 = (a
n/2
)
2
if n is even
a
(n−1)/2 ∗ a
(n−1)/2 ∗ a = (a
(n−1)/2
)
2 ∗ a if n is odd
(3) You can assume that the user always enter float number for the base and integer number
for the exponent. Your program should check if the input base and exponent are
positive.
(4) Your program should follow good programming styles, i.e. write clear code, choose good
variable names, use appropriate functions, make proper comments, and etc.
Testing your program
You should test your program by running it on Gaul. For part one, each case should be
tested at least once. For part two, different bases and exponents should be tested. Capture
the screen of your testing by using script command. There should be two resulting script
files, one for each part.
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