What are differences between Structure and Union in c?
Structures vs. Unions in C
Structures and unions are both user-defined data types in C. They can be used to store data of different types under a single name. However, there is a key difference between the two: structures allocate separate memory locations for each member, while unions share the same memory location for all members.
Key differences between structures and unions:
| Characteristic | Structure | Union |
|---|---|---|
| Memory allocation | Separate memory location for each member | Shared memory location for all members |
| Size | Size is equal to the sum of the sizes of all members | Size is equal to the size of the largest member |
| Accessing members | Each member can be accessed individually | Only one member can be accessed at a time |
Example of a structure:
struct student {
int id;
char name[20];
float marks;
};This structure defines a data type called student that can be used to store information about a student, such as their ID, name, and marks.
Example of a union:
union employee {
int id;
char name[20];
float salary;
};This union defines a data type called employee that can be used to store information about an employee, such as their ID, name, or salary. However, only one of these values can be stored at a time, since the union only has one memory location.
When to use structures and unions:
- Structures should be used when you need to store multiple values of different types under a single name and you need to be able to access each value individually.
- Unions should be used when you need to store multiple values of different types under a single name and you only need to be able to access one value at a time.
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