Writing a C Program to Handle Array Input and Calculate Sum and Product

How to Write a C Program That Prompts User for 5 Values, Storing Them in an Array and Calculating Sum and Product

Are you familiar with basic C programming and want to enhance your skills by handling arrays? This article will guide you through the process of writing a C program that prompts the user for 5 values, stores them in an array, and calculates their sum and product.

Introduction to C Programming with Arrays

Understanding the basics of C programming, especially array handling, is crucial for any software developer. An array is a collection of elements of the same data type stored in contiguous memory locations. This article aims to build your foundational skills by walking you through a practical example.

Example Code for Prompting User for 5 Values, Storing Them in an Array and Calculating Sum and Product

#include 
using namespace std;
int main() {
    const int SIZE  5; // Define the size of the array
    int values[SIZE];   // Declare an array to store the values
    int sum  0;        // Variable to hold the sum
    int product  1;    // Variable to hold the product
    // Prompt the user for 5 values and store them in the array
    cout > values[i];
    }
    // Calculate the sum and product of the values
    for (int i  0; i 

Explanation of the Code

The C program is structured as follows:

Array Declaration: We declare an integer array `values` to store 5 user inputs. User Input Loop: We prompt the user to enter 5 values, storing each input in the array using a `for` loop. Sum and Product Calculation: We initialize `sum` to 0 and `product` to 1, then iterate through the array to calculate the total sum and product of the values. Output: We print each of the entered values followed by the calculated sum and product.

How to Compile and Run the Program

Save the code in a file named main.cpp. Open a terminal and navigate to the directory containing the main.cpp file. Compile the program using a C compiler like g by running the command: g -o main main.cpp. Run the compiled program using the command: ./main.

This program demonstrates the use of basic array handling, loops, and arithmetic operations in C, making it an excellent practice for beginners.

Conclusion

By following this article, you have learned how to write a C program to prompt the user for values, store them in an array, and calculate their sum and product. This program is a great starting point for understanding and working with arrays in C programming.