C program to find amount of volume passed through a tunnel

In C programming, we can solve problems involving conditional volume calculations using structures and functions. This program determines which boxes can pass through a tunnel based on height restrictions and calculates their volumes.

Syntax

struct Box {
    int length, width, height;
};

int volume(struct Box box);
int canPass(struct Box box, int tunnelHeight);

Problem Description

Given a tunnel with height 41 and unlimited width, we need to find the total volume of boxes that can pass through it. A box can pass if its height is strictly less than the tunnel height. The volume is calculated as length × width × height.

Example

Here's a complete program that solves the tunnel volume problem −

#include <stdio.h>
#define TUNNEL_HEIGHT 41
#define N 4

struct Box {
    int length, width, height;
};

int volume(struct Box box) {
    return box.length * box.width * box.height;
}

int canPassTunnel(struct Box box) {
    return box.height < TUNNEL_HEIGHT;
}

void calculatePassableVolumes(struct Box boxes[]) {
    printf("Volumes of boxes that can pass through the tunnel:<br>");
    for (int i = 0; i < N; i++) {
        if (canPassTunnel(boxes[i])) {
            printf("Box %d: %d<br>", i + 1, volume(boxes[i]));
        }
    }
}

int main() {
    struct Box boxes[N] = {
        {9, 5, 20},   /* height 20 < 41, can pass */
        {3, 7, 15},   /* height 15 < 41, can pass */
        {8, 15, 41},  /* height 41 = 41, cannot pass */
        {6, 3, 42}    /* height 42 > 41, cannot pass */
    };
    
    printf("Tunnel height: %d<br>", TUNNEL_HEIGHT);
    printf("Number of boxes: %d<br><br>", N);
    
    calculatePassableVolumes(boxes);
    
    return 0;
}

Tunnel height: 41
Number of boxes: 4

Volumes of boxes that can pass through the tunnel:
Box 1: 900
Box 2: 315

How It Works

• The struct Box stores dimensions of each box
• volume() function calculates length × width × height
• canPassTunnel() checks if box height is strictly less than tunnel height
• Only boxes with height < 41 can pass through the tunnel
• Box 1: height 20, volume = 9 × 5 × 20 = 900
• Box 2: height 15, volume = 3 × 7 × 15 = 315
• Box 3: height 41 (equal to tunnel), cannot pass
• Box 4: height 42 (greater than tunnel), cannot pass

Key Points

• Use structures to organize related data (box dimensions)
• Separate logic into functions for better code organization
• The condition is strictly less than (<), not less than or equal to
• Volume calculation requires all three dimensions

Conclusion

This program demonstrates how to use structures and conditional logic to solve real-world problems. By organizing box data in structures and using functions for calculations, we create clean, readable code that efficiently determines which boxes can pass through a tunnel based on height restrictions.