Creating a Simple Calculator Program in Python and C

Designing a program that can perform basic arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is a fundamental task for both beginner and advanced programmers alike. These operations form the backbone of many more complex computations and can serve as an excellent learning tool. In this guide, we will explore how to create such a program using both Python and C, two popular programming languages with different syntax and features.

Python Implementation

Python is widely known for its simplicity and ease of use, making it an excellent choice for beginners. Below is a simple script that performs the arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The program uses a menu structure to allow users to choose an operation and input two numbers.

# Import necessary functions
def add(x, y):
    return x   y
def subtract(x, y):
    return x - y
def multiply(x, y):
    return x * y
def divide(x, y):
    if y  0:
        return Cannot divide by zero
    else:
        return x / y
def main():
    print(
        Choose operation:
t1. Add
t2. Subtract
t3. Multiply
t4. Divide
    )
    while True:
        choice  input(
            Enter choice(1/2/3/4): 
        )
        if choice in ['1', '2', '3', '4']:
            num1  float(input(Enter first number: ))
            num2  float(input(Enter second number: ))
            if choice  '1':
                print(Result: , add(num1, num2))
            elif choice  '2':
                print(Result: , subtract(num1, num2))
            elif choice  '3':
                print(Result: , multiply(num1, num2))
            elif choice  '4':
                result  divide(num1, num2)
                print(Result: , result)
            next_calculation  input(
                Do you want to continue? (yes/no): 
            )
            if next_calculation.lower() ! 'yes':
                break
        else:
            print(Invalid input, please try again)
# Check if the script is run directly
if __name__  __main__:
    main()

This Python script defines four functions for each arithmetic operation. It then presents the user with a menu to select an operation and prompts for the two numbers to be used. The results are printed to the console. If the user chooses to divide by zero, the program returns a warning message instead of performing the division.

C Implementation

While Python is easy to read and write, C is a powerful, low-level language that is widely used in various applications. Here is a simple C program that performs the same operations using a similar approach:

#include stdio.h
int main() {
    int x  3, y  4;
    printf(Subtraction is %d
, x - y);
    printf(Addition is %d
, x   y);
    printf(Multiplication is %d
, x * y);
    printf(Division is %d
, x / y);
    return 0;
}

This C program directly calculates the arithmetic operations and prints the results. When run, the output is:

subtraction is 1
addition is 7
multiplication is 12
division is 1

To use the Python script, copy and paste the code into a Python environment and execute it. The C program can be compiled using a C compiler (e.g., GCC) and run directly.

Conclusion

Both Python and C provide straightforward ways to create a simple calculator program that performs basic arithmetic operations. Python is user-friendly and easy to learn, making it ideal for beginners, while C offers a powerful tool for more advanced programmers. Whether you start with Python or move on to C, these basic programs can serve as a solid foundation for further learning and development.

Key Takeaways

Understanding basic arithmetic operations is crucial for programming. Python and C provide different approaches to implement arithmetic operations. Python is beginner-friendly, whereas C is more powerful and lower-level.