Chapter 4, Problem 7E

A decimal point before the field width specification in a p statement has a special purpose. Try to determine its purpose by typing in and running the following program. Experiment by typing in different values each time you are prompted.

#

i

{

}

Explanation of Solution

Program:

The following program will display the decimal point before the field width specification:

//include the header file

#include <stdio.h>

//definition of main method

int main (void)

{

//declare the variables

int dollars, cents, count;

//check the condition

for (count = 1; count <= 10; ++count)

{

//get the input from the user

printf("Enter dollars: ");

scanf("%i", &dollars);

printf("Enter cents: ");

scanf("%i", &cents);

//display the result

printf("$%i.%.2i\n\n", dollars, cents);

}

//return statement

return 0;

}

Explanation:

In the above program, declare the required header file. Inside the main method, declare the necessary variables. The “for” condition is used to get the 10 inputs from the user and print the result using field width specification. The “$%i.%.2i” in the print statement denotes the “$%i” is left side of the dot which means before the dot one numbers will appears and “%.2i” is right side of the dot which means after the dot two numbers will appears.

If the print statement is:

printf("$%.3i.%.5i\n\n", dollars, cents);

the “$%.3i” is left side of the dot which means before the dot three numbers will appears and “%.5i” is right side of the dot which means after the dot five numbers will appears. The output is: $006.00005

If the print statement is:

printf("$%.5i.%.10i\n\n", dollars, cents);

the “$%.5i” is left side of the dot which means before the dot five numbers will appears and “%.10i” is right side of the dot which means after the dot ten numbers will appears. The output is: $00009.0000000005

Sample Output

Enter dollars:  5

Enter cents:  3

$5.03

Enter dollars:  4

Enter cents:  2

$4.02

Enter dollars:  9

Enter cents:  2

$9.02

Enter dollars:  4

Enter cents:  9

$4.09

Enter dollars:  8

Enter cents:  7

$8.07

Enter dollars:  5

Enter cents:  9

$5.09

Enter dollars:  4

Enter cents:  8

$4.08

Enter dollars:  7

Enter cents:  9

$7.09

Enter dollars:  6

Enter cents:  1

$6.01

Enter dollars:  4

Enter cents:  8

$4.08