Write a program that returns 3 numbers from a function using a structure in c.

Writing a C Program to Return 3 Numbers Using a Structure

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will learn how to write a C program that returns three numbers from a function using a structure. This technique can be useful when you need to pass multiple values from a function to the caller.

Steps to Achieve This

1. Defining the Structure

   First, let's define a structure that will hold the three numbers we want to return. We'll name it NumberSet for this example.

   struct NumberSet {
       int num1;
       int num2;
       int num3;
   };

2. Creating the Function

   Next, we'll create a function that returns an instance of the NumberSet structure.

   struct NumberSet getNumbers() {
       struct NumberSet numbers;
       numbers.num1 = 10;
       numbers.num2 = 20;
       numbers.num3 = 30;
       return numbers;
   }

   In this example, the function getNumbers initializes a NumberSet structure with three numbers and returns it.

3. Using the Function

   Now, let's call the getNumbers function to retrieve the numbers.

   struct NumberSet result = getNumbers();

   After this line, the variable result will contain the three numbers: num1, num2, and num3.

4. Accessing the Numbers

   You can access these numbers using the dot notation.

   int firstNumber = result.num1;
   int secondNumber = result.num2;
   int thirdNumber = result.num3;

Example Code

Here's the complete code for reference:

#include 

struct NumberSet {
    int num1;
    int num2;
    int num3;
};

struct NumberSet getNumbers() {
    struct NumberSet numbers;
    numbers.num1 = 10;
    numbers.num2 = 20;
    numbers.num3 = 30;
    return numbers;
}

int main() {
    struct NumberSet result = getNumbers();

    int firstNumber = result.num1;
    int secondNumber = result.num2;
    int thirdNumber = result.num3;

    printf("First Number: %d\n", firstNumber);
    printf("Second Number: %d\n", secondNumber);
    printf("Third Number: %d\n", thirdNumber);

    return 0;
}

Conclusion

By using a structure to encapsulate multiple values, you can return them from a function in C efficiently. This technique is especially useful when you need to pass more than one value from a function.