Thread: Totally lost beginner

Hint:

Code:

double income;
...
scanf ( "%lf", &income );

Do you have a textbook to refer to?

Code:

#include<stdio.h>
char get_choice(void);
int main(void)
	{
	  char ch ='e';

	  while ( (ch < 'a' || ch > 'd') && ch != 'q')
	  {

						  printf("By entering your filing status from the menu below and then your annual income\n");
						  printf("when prompted,this program will calculate your taxes owed.\n\n\n\n");
						  printf("Enter the letter of your choice:\n\n");
						  printf("a. Single\n");
						  printf("b. Head of Household\n");
						  printf("c. Married filing Jointly\n");
						  printf("d. Married filing Seperately\n");
						  printf("q. Exit Program\n");
						  printf("Please respond with a, b, c, d or q.\n\n");

						  ch = getchar();

	  switch(ch)

I realise this has not much to do with the original question, however it is worth noting that getchar() returns an int. (I copied and pasted the following from a web page and then edited slightly...)


The prototype for getchar() is as follows:

Code:

 int getchar(void);

As indicated by the void keyword in the fragment of code above, getchar() takes no arguments. It also returns an int. The fact that it returns an int is worth taking note of. The name getchar is a little misleading in that it could imply that a char is being returned. Indeed, the function gets characters, but does not return a char. Many new C programmers get caught on this one and assign the return value of getchar() to a char variable, instead of an int. Remember: when using getchar() be sure to always assign the return value to an int variable.

Consider the char data type as opposed to an int. The char is a numeric integer data type. Kernighan and Ritchie state in their book The C Programming Language: Second Edition that, "By definition, chars are just small integers, so char variables and constants are identical to ints in arithmetic expressions." (pg 23) Also, a char is specifically meant for storing character data, but any integer type can be used as well as char, for the purpose of storing character data.(pg 16) This does NOT mean that chars and ints are interchangeable in all things. For our purpose, the main difference between the two is this: On a 32 bit machine a char is one byte while an int is four bytes.

Consider that when you obtain data from the user, there has to be a suitable method of distinguishing between valid data, and the end of the file (ie, no more input). The function getchar() does return a special value when the end of the input is reached, and this value is called EOF (or end of file). EOF is defined in <stdio.h> and must be a value that will not be mistaken as a useful character that was entered by the user. At this point it is not necessary to worry about the actual value of EOF - that has already been taken care of when your compiler was put together - but here is where the importance of assigning the return value of getchar() to an int becomes clear; It takes space to hold the value of EOF, so now what happens when getchar() returns EOF as well as a character? The space will be used for the character, or the value of EOF, but there will not be room for both. This then, is the reason why you assign the return value of getchar() to an int in order to make room for any character returned plus EOF if necessary.

>That's one heck of an indent.
Only wimps use small indents. If one tab is good, multiple tabs are great. Right?