String in C Programming - Basics, Functions, and Example

A string in C programming is a sequence of characters terminated by a null character (\0). The null character is a special character with the value 0. It is used to mark the end of the string.

Strings can be declared in C using the char keyword. For example, the following code declares a string variable called name:

char name[10];

The name variable can store up to 10 characters, including the null character.

To initialize a string variable, we can use the string literal. A string literal is a sequence of characters enclosed in double quotation marks ("). For example, the following code initializes the name variable to the string "John Doe":

char name[10] = "John Doe";

We can also use the strcpy() function to copy a string from one variable to another. For example, the following code copies the string "John Doe" from the name variable to the new_name variable:

char new_name[10];
strcpy(new_name, name);

Strings can be accessed in C using the array indexing operator ([]). For example, the following code prints the first character of the name variable to the console:

printf("%c\n", name[0]);

We can also use the strlen() function to get the length of a string. For example, the following code prints the length of the name variable to the console:

printf("%d\n", strlen(name));

Strings are a fundamental data type in C programming. They are used to store text data, such as names, addresses, and descriptions. Strings can also be used to represent numbers, dates, and times.

Examples of how to use strings in C programming:

// Print a message to the console.
printf("Hello, world!\n");

// Get the user's name.
char name[10];
printf("Enter your name: ");
scanf("%s", name);

// Print a greeting to the user.
printf("Hello, %s!\n", name);

This program will prompt the user for their name and then print a greeting to the user.

// Compare two strings.
char str1[] = "Hello";
char str2[] = "World";

int result = strcmp(str1, str2);

if (result == 0) {
  printf("The two strings are equal.\n");
} else if (result < 0) {
  printf("The first string is less than the second string.\n");
} else {
  printf("The first string is greater than the second string.\n");
}

This program will compare the two strings "Hello" and "World" and print a message to the console indicating whether the two strings are equal, less than, or greater than each other.

Strings are a powerful tool in C programming. They can be used to store and manipulate text data in a variety of ways.

 Top Resources

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