Know your / operator more

PublishedDecember 24, 2023

I am Jyotiprakash, a deeply driven computer systems engineer, software developer, teacher, and philosopher. With a decade of professional experience, I have contributed to various cutting-edge software products in network security, mobile apps, and healthcare software at renowned companies like Oracle, Yahoo, and Epic. My academic journey has taken me to prestigious institutions such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison and BITS Pilani in India, where I consistently ranked among the top of my class.

At my core, I am a computer enthusiast with a profound interest in understanding the intricacies of computer programming. My skills are not limited to application programming in Java; I have also delved deeply into computer hardware, learning about various architectures, low-level assembly programming, Linux kernel implementation, and writing device drivers. The contributions of Linus Torvalds, Ken Thompson, and Dennis Ritchie—who revolutionized the computer industry—inspire me. I believe that real contributions to computer science are made by mastering all levels of abstraction and understanding systems inside out.

In addition to my professional pursuits, I am passionate about teaching and sharing knowledge. I have spent two years as a teaching assistant at UW Madison, where I taught complex concepts in operating systems, computer graphics, and data structures to both graduate and undergraduate students. Currently, I am an assistant professor at KIIT, Bhubaneswar, where I continue to teach computer science to undergraduate and graduate students. I am also working on writing a few free books on systems programming, as I believe in freely sharing knowledge to empower others.

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C Programming

Part 34 of 50

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Jyotiprakash's Blog

253 posts

I'm Jyotiprakash, a software dev and professor at KIIT, with expertise in system programming.

When using the / operator in C, especially in the context of dividing integers and floating-point numbers, there are some important considerations to keep in mind:

Division with Integers:

Integer Division Result:
- If both operands of the / operator are integers, the result will be an integer, and any fractional part will be truncated (not rounded).

    int result = 7 / 2; // result is 3, not 3.5

Truncation towards zero:
- The result of integer division truncates towards zero. This means the result is rounded towards zero rather than the nearest integer.

    int result = -7 / 2; // result is -3, not -4

Avoiding Loss of Precision:
- If you want a floating-point result from integer division, cast one or both operands to float or double before the division.

    float result = (float)7 / 2; // result is 3.5

Division with Floating-Point Numbers:

Floating-Point Precision:
- Floating-point division preserves the fractional part, providing a more precise result.

    float result = 7.0 / 2.0; // result is 3.5

Mixing Integers and Floats:
- If one operand is an integer and the other is a floating-point number, the integer is usually automatically promoted to a floating-point type before the division.

    float result = 7 / 2.0; // result is 3.5

Avoiding Division by Zero:
- Division by zero in C is undefined behavior. Always ensure that the denominator is not zero before performing division.

    int numerator = 7;
    int denominator = 0;

    if (denominator != 0) {
        float result = (float)numerator / denominator;
    } else {
        // Handle division by zero error
    }

Precision Issues:
- Be aware of precision issues with floating-point arithmetic. Comparisons for equality (==) might not work as expected due to the limited precision of floating-point numbers. Consider using an epsilon value for comparisons.

    float a = 0.1 + 0.2;
    float b = 0.3;

    if (fabs(a - b) < 0.0001) {
        // Considered equal
    }

In summary, understanding the behavior of the / operator in C, particularly in the context of integer and floating-point types, is crucial to avoid unexpected results and ensure the correctness of your code. Always be mindful of data types, type conversions, and the potential for division by zero.