05/06/2023 18:51 C Tutorial

C Tutorial
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C programming is a general-purpose, procedural, imperative computer programming

language developed in 1972 by Dennis M. Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories to
develop the UNIX operating system. C is the most widely used computer language. It keeps
fluctuating at number one scale of popularity along with Java programming language,
which is also equally popular and most widely used among modern software programmers.

Why to Learn C Programming?

C programming language is a MUST for students and working professionals to become a
great Software Engineer specially when they are working in Software Development
Domain. I will list down some of the key advantages of learning C Programming:

Easy to learn
Structured language

It produces efficient programs

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05/06/2023 18:51 C Tutorial

It can handle low-level activities

It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms

Facts about C
C was invented to write an operating system called UNIX.

C is a successor of B language which was introduced around the early 1970s.

The language was formalized in 1988 by the American National Standard Institute
(ANSI).

The UNIX OS was totally written in C.

Today C is the most widely used and popular System Programming Language.

Most of the state-of-the-art software have been implemented using C.

Hello World using C Programming.

Just to give you a little excitement about C programming, I'm going to give you a small
conventional C Programming Hello World program, You can try it using Demo link.

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
/* my first program in C */
printf("Hello, World! \n");

return 0;
}

Applications of C Programming
C was initially used for system development work, particularly the programs that make-up
the operating system. C was adopted as a system development language because it
produces code that runs nearly as fast as the code written in assembly language. Some
examples of the use of C are -

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05/06/2023 18:51 C Tutorial

Operating Systems

Language Compilers
Assemblers

Text Editors

Print Spoolers

Network Drivers

Modern Programs
Databases

Language Interpreters

Utilities

Audience
This tutorial is designed for software programmers with a need to understand the C
programming language starting from scratch. This C tutorial will give you enough
understanding on C programming language from where you can take yourself to higher
level of expertise.

Prerequisites
Before proceeding with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of Computer
Programming terminologies. A basic understanding of any of the programming languages
will help you in understanding the C programming concepts and move fast on the learning
track.

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05/06/2023 18:51 C Language - Overview

C Language - Overview

C is a general-purpose, high-level language that was originally developed by Dennis M.

Ritchie to develop the UNIX operating system at Bell Labs. C was originally first
implemented on the DEC PDP-11 computer in 1972.

In 1978, Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie produced the first publicly available
description of C, now known as the K&R standard.

The UNIX operating system, the C compiler, and essentially all UNIX application programs
have been written in C. C has now become a widely used professional language for various
reasons −

Easy to learn
Structured language
It produces efficient programs
It can handle low-level activities
It can be compiled on a variety of computer platforms

Facts about C
C was invented to write an operating system called UNIX.

C is a successor of B language which was introduced around the early 1970s.

The language was formalized in 1988 by the American National Standard Institute
(ANSI).

The UNIX OS was totally written in C.

Today C is the most widely used and popular System Programming Language.

Most of the state-of-the-art software have been implemented using C.

Today's most popular Linux OS and RDBMS MySQL have been written in C.

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05/06/2023 18:51 C Language - Overview

Why use C?
C was initially used for system development work, particularly the programs that make-up
the operating system. C was adopted as a system development language because it
produces code that runs nearly as fast as the code written in assembly language. Some
examples of the use of C might be −

Operating Systems
Language Compilers
Assemblers
Text Editors
Print Spoolers
Network Drivers
Modern Programs
Databases
Language Interpreters
Utilities

C Programs
A C program can vary from 3 lines to millions of lines and it should be written into one or
more text files with extension ".c"; for example, hello.c. You can use "vi", "vim" or any other
text editor to write your C program into a file.

This tutorial assumes that you know how to edit a text file and how to write source code
inside a program file.

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05/06/2023 18:50 C - Environment Setup

C - Environment Setup

If you want to set up your environment for C programming language, you need the
following two software tools available on your computer, (a) Text Editor and (b) The C
Compiler.

Text Editor
This will be used to type your program. Examples of few a editors include Windows
Notepad, OS Edit command, Brief, Epsilon, EMACS, and vim or vi.

The name and version of text editors can vary on different operating systems. For example,
Notepad will be used on Windows, and vim or vi can be used on windows as well as on
Linux or UNIX.

The files you create with your editor are called the source files and they contain the
program source codes. The source files for C programs are typically named with the
extension ".c".

Before starting your programming, make sure you have one text editor in place and you
have enough experience to write a computer program, save it in a file, compile it and finally
execute it.

The C Compiler
The source code written in source file is the human readable source for your program. It
needs to be "compiled", into machine language so that your CPU can actually execute the
program as per the instructions given.

The compiler compiles the source codes into final executable programs. The most
frequently used and free available compiler is the GNU C/C++ compiler, otherwise you can
have compilers either from HP or Solaris if you have the respective operating systems.

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05/06/2023 18:50 C - Environment Setup

The following section explains how to install GNU C/C++ compiler on various OS. We keep
mentioning C/C++ together because GNU gcc compiler works for both C and C++
programming languages.

Installation on UNIX/Linux
If you are using Linux or UNIX, then check whether GCC is installed on your system by
entering the following command from the command line −

$ gcc -v

If you have GNU compiler installed on your machine, then it should print a message as
follows −

Using built-in specs.

Target: i386-redhat-linux
Configured with: ../configure --prefix=/usr .......
Thread model: posix
gcc version 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-46)

If GCC is not installed, then you will have to install it yourself using the detailed instructions
available at https://gcc.gnu.org/install/

This tutorial has been written based on Linux and all the given examples have been
compiled on the Cent OS flavor of the Linux system.

Installation on Mac OS
If you use Mac OS X, the easiest way to obtain GCC is to download the Xcode development
environment from Apple's web site and follow the simple installation instructions. Once you
have Xcode setup, you will be able to use GNU compiler for C/C++.

Xcode is currently available at developer.apple.com/technologies/tools/ .

Installation on Windows
To install GCC on Windows, you need to install MinGW. To install MinGW, go to the
MinGW homepage, www.mingw.org , and follow the link to the MinGW download page.
Download the latest version of the MinGW installation program, which should be named
MinGW-<version>.exe.

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While installing Min GW, at a minimum, you must install gcc-core, gcc-g++, binutils, and
the MinGW runtime, but you may wish to install more.

Add the bin subdirectory of your MinGW installation to your PATH environment variable, so
that you can specify these tools on the command line by their simple names.

After the installation is complete, you will be able to run gcc, g++, ar, ranlib, dlltool, and
several other GNU tools from the Windows command line.

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05/06/2023 18:50 C - Program Structure

C - Program Structure

Before we study the basic building blocks of the C programming language, let us look at a
bare minimum C program structure so that we can take it as a reference in the upcoming
chapters.

Hello World Example

A C program basically consists of the following parts −

Preprocessor Commands
Functions
Variables
Statements & Expressions
Comments

Let us look at a simple code that would print the words "Hello World" −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
/* my first program in C */
printf("Hello, World! \n");

return 0;
}

Let us take a look at the various parts of the above program −

The first line of the program #include <stdio.h> is a preprocessor command, which tells
a C compiler to include stdio.h file before going to actual compilation.

The next line int main() is the main function where the program execution begins.

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05/06/2023 18:50 C - Program Structure

The next line /*...*/ will be ignored by the compiler and it has been put to add additional
comments in the program. So such lines are called comments in the program.
The next line printf(...) is another function available in C which causes the message
"Hello, World!" to be displayed on the screen.

The next line return 0; terminates the main() function and returns the value 0.

Compile and Execute C Program

Let us see how to save the source code in a file, and how to compile and run it. Following
are the simple steps −

Open a text editor and add the above-mentioned code.

Save the file as hello.c

Open a command prompt and go to the directory where you have saved the file.
Type gcc hello.c and press enter to compile your code.

If there are no errors in your code, the command prompt will take you to the next line
and would generate a.out executable file.
Now, type a.out to execute your program.

You will see the output "Hello World" printed on the screen.

$ gcc hello.c
$ ./a.out
Hello, World!

Make sure the gcc compiler is in your path and that you are running it in the directory
containing the source file hello.c.

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05/06/2023 18:50 C - Basic Syntax

C - Basic Syntax

You have seen the basic structure of a C program, so it will be easy to understand other
basic building blocks of the C programming language.

Tokens in C
A C program consists of various tokens and a token is either a keyword, an identifier, a
constant, a string literal, or a symbol. For example, the following C statement consists of
five tokens −

printf("Hello, World! \n");

The individual tokens are −

printf
(
"Hello, World! \n"
)
;

Semicolons
In a C program, the semicolon is a statement terminator. That is, each individual statement
must be ended with a semicolon. It indicates the end of one logical entity.

Given below are two different statements −

printf("Hello, World! \n");

return 0;

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Comments
Comments are like helping text in your C program and they are ignored by the compiler.
They start with /* and terminate with the characters */ as shown below −

/* my first program in C */

You cannot have comments within comments and they do not occur within a string or
character literals.

Identifiers
A C identifier is a name used to identify a variable, function, or any other user-defined item.
An identifier starts with a letter A to Z, a to z, or an underscore '_' followed by zero or more
letters, underscores, and digits (0 to 9).

C does not allow punctuation characters such as @, $, and % within identifiers. C is a case-
sensitive programming language. Thus, Manpower and manpower are two different
identifiers in C. Here are some examples of acceptable identifiers −

mohd zara abc move_name a_123

myname50 _temp j a23b9 retVal

Keywords
The following list shows the reserved words in C. These reserved words may not be used
as constants or variables or any other identifier names.

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auto else long switch

break enum register typedef

case extern return union

char float short unsigned

const for signed void

continue goto sizeof volatile

default if static while

do int struct _Packed

double

Whitespace in C
A line containing only whitespace, possibly with a comment, is known as a blank line, and a
C compiler totally ignores it.

Whitespace is the term used in C to describe blanks, tabs, newline characters and
comments. Whitespace separates one part of a statement from another and enables the
compiler to identify where one element in a statement, such as int, ends and the next
element begins. Therefore, in the following statement −

int age;

there must be at least one whitespace character (usually a space) between int and age for
the compiler to be able to distinguish them. On the other hand, in the following statement −

fruit = apples + oranges; // get the total fruit

no whitespace characters are necessary between fruit and =, or between = and apples,
although you are free to include some if you wish to increase readability.

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05/06/2023 18:50 C - Data Types

C - Data Types

Data types in c refer to an extensive system used for declaring variables or functions of
different types. The type of a variable determines how much space it occupies in storage
and how the bit pattern stored is interpreted.

The types in C can be classified as follows −

Sr.No. Types & Description

1
Basic Types

They are arithmetic types and are further classified into: (a) integer types and (b)
floating-point types.

2
Enumerated types

They are again arithmetic types and they are used to define variables that can
only assign certain discrete integer values throughout the program.

3
The type void

The type specifier void indicates that no value is available.

4
Derived types

They include (a) Pointer types, (b) Array types, (c) Structure types, (d) Union
types and (e) Function types.

The array types and structure types are referred collectively as the aggregate types. The
type of a function specifies the type of the function's return value. We will see the basic
types in the following section, where as other types will be covered in the upcoming
chapters.

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Integer Types
The following table provides the details of standard integer types with their storage sizes
and value ranges −

Type Storage size Value range

char 1 byte -128 to 127 or 0 to 255

unsigned char 1 byte 0 to 255

signed char 1 byte -128 to 127

-32,768 to 32,767 or -2,147,483,648 to

int 2 or 4 bytes
2,147,483,647

unsigned int 2 or 4 bytes 0 to 65,535 or 0 to 4,294,967,295

short 2 bytes -32,768 to 32,767

unsigned short 2 bytes 0 to 65,535

long 8 bytes or -9223372036854775808 to

(4bytes for 32 9223372036854775807
bit OS)

unsigned long 8 bytes 0 to 18446744073709551615

To get the exact size of a type or a variable on a particular platform, you can use the sizeof
operator. The expressions sizeof(type) yields the storage size of the object or type in bytes.
Given below is an example to get the size of various type on a machine using different
constant defined in limits.h header file −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <float.h>

int main(int argc, char** argv) {

printf("CHAR_BIT : %d\n", CHAR_BIT);

printf("CHAR_MAX : %d\n", CHAR_MAX);
printf("CHAR_MIN : %d\n", CHAR_MIN);

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printf("INT_MAX : %d\n", INT_MAX);

printf("INT_MIN : %d\n", INT_MIN);
printf("LONG_MAX : %ld\n", (long) LONG_MAX);
printf("LONG_MIN : %ld\n", (long) LONG_MIN);
printf("SCHAR_MAX : %d\n", SCHAR_MAX);
printf("SCHAR_MIN : %d\n", SCHAR_MIN);
printf("SHRT_MAX : %d\n", SHRT_MAX);
printf("SHRT_MIN : %d\n", SHRT_MIN);
printf("UCHAR_MAX : %d\n", UCHAR_MAX);
printf("UINT_MAX : %u\n", (unsigned int) UINT_MAX);
printf("ULONG_MAX : %lu\n", (unsigned long) ULONG_MAX);
printf("USHRT_MAX : %d\n", (unsigned short) USHRT_MAX);

return 0;
}

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result on
Linux −

CHAR_BIT : 8
CHAR_MAX : 127
CHAR_MIN : -128
INT_MAX : 2147483647
INT_MIN : -2147483648
LONG_MAX : 9223372036854775807
LONG_MIN : -9223372036854775808
SCHAR_MAX : 127
SCHAR_MIN : -128
SHRT_MAX : 32767
SHRT_MIN : -32768
UCHAR_MAX : 255
UINT_MAX : 4294967295
ULONG_MAX : 18446744073709551615
USHRT_MAX : 65535

Floating-Point Types
The following table provide the details of standard floating-point types with storage sizes
and value ranges and their precision −

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Type Storage size Value range Precision

float 4 byte 1.2E-38 to 3.4E+38 6 decimal places

double 8 byte 2.3E-308 to 1.7E+308 15 decimal places

long double 10 byte 3.4E-4932 to 1.1E+4932 19 decimal places

The header file float.h defines macros that allow you to use these values and other details
about the binary representation of real numbers in your programs. The following example
prints the storage space taken by a float type and its range values −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <limits.h>
#include <float.h>

int main(int argc, char** argv) {

printf("Storage size for float : %d \n", sizeof(float));

printf("FLT_MAX : %g\n", (float) FLT_MAX);
printf("FLT_MIN : %g\n", (float) FLT_MIN);
printf("-FLT_MAX : %g\n", (float) -FLT_MAX);
printf("-FLT_MIN : %g\n", (float) -FLT_MIN);
printf("DBL_MAX : %g\n", (double) DBL_MAX);
printf("DBL_MIN : %g\n", (double) DBL_MIN);
printf("-DBL_MAX : %g\n", (double) -DBL_MAX);
printf("Precision value: %d\n", FLT_DIG );

return 0;
}

When you compile and execute the above program, it produces the following result on
Linux −

Storage size for float : 4

FLT_MAX : 3.40282e+38
FLT_MIN : 1.17549e-38
-FLT_MAX : -3.40282e+38
-FLT_MIN : -1.17549e-38
DBL_MAX : 1.79769e+308
DBL_MIN : 2.22507e-308

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-DBL_MAX : -1.79769e+308
Precision value: 6

The void Type

The void type specifies that no value is available. It is used in three kinds of situations −

Sr.No. Types & Description

1
Function returns as void

There are various functions in C which do not return any value or you can say
they return void. A function with no return value has the return type as void. For
example, void exit (int status);

2
Function arguments as void

There are various functions in C which do not accept any parameter. A function
with no parameter can accept a void. For example, int rand(void);

3
Pointers to void

A pointer of type void * represents the address of an object, but not its type. For
example, a memory allocation function void *malloc( size_t size ); returns a
pointer to void which can be casted to any data type.

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05/06/2023 18:53 C - Variables

C - Variables

A variable is nothing but a name given to a storage area that our programs can manipulate.
Each variable in C has a specific type, which determines the size and layout of the variable's
memory; the range of values that can be stored within that memory; and the set of
operations that can be applied to the variable.

The name of a variable can be composed of letters, digits, and the underscore character. It
must begin with either a letter or an underscore. Upper and lowercase letters are distinct
because C is case-sensitive. Based on the basic types explained in the previous chapter,
there will be the following basic variable types −

Sr.No. Type & Description

1
char

Typically a single octet(one byte). It is an integer type.

2
int

The most natural size of integer for the machine.

3
float

A single-precision floating point value.

4
double

A double-precision floating point value.

5
void

Represents the absence of type.

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C programming language also allows to define various other types of variables, which we
will cover in subsequent chapters like Enumeration, Pointer, Array, Structure, Union, etc. For
this chapter, let us study only basic variable types.

Variable Definition in C
A variable definition tells the compiler where and how much storage to create for the
variable. A variable definition specifies a data type and contains a list of one or more
variables of that type as follows −

type variable_list;

Here, type must be a valid C data type including char, w_char, int, float, double, bool, or any
user-defined object; and variable_list may consist of one or more identifier names separated
by commas. Some valid declarations are shown here −

int i, j, k;
char c, ch;
float f, salary;
double d;

The line int i, j, k; declares and defines the variables i, j, and k; which instruct the compiler to
create variables named i, j and k of type int.

Variables can be initialized (assigned an initial value) in their declaration. The initializer
consists of an equal sign followed by a constant expression as follows −

type variable_name = value;

Some examples are −

extern int d = 3, f = 5; // declaration of d and f.

int d = 3, f = 5; // definition and initializing d and f.
byte z = 22; // definition and initializes z.
char x = 'x'; // the variable x has the value 'x'.

For definition without an initializer: variables with static storage duration are implicitly
initialized with NULL (all bytes have the value 0); the initial value of all other variables are
undefined.

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Variable Declaration in C
A variable declaration provides assurance to the compiler that there exists a variable with
the given type and name so that the compiler can proceed for further compilation without
requiring the complete detail about the variable. A variable definition has its meaning at the
time of compilation only, the compiler needs actual variable definition at the time of linking
the program.

A variable declaration is useful when you are using multiple files and you define your
variable in one of the files which will be available at the time of linking of the program. You
will use the keyword extern to declare a variable at any place. Though you can declare a
variable multiple times in your C program, it can be defined only once in a file, a function, or
a block of code.

Example
Try the following example, where variables have been declared at the top, but they have
been defined and initialized inside the main function −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

// Variable declaration:
extern int a, b;
extern int c;
extern float f;

int main () {

/* variable definition: */
int a, b;
int c;
float f;

/* actual initialization */
a = 10;
b = 20;

c = a + b;
printf("value of c : %d \n", c);

f = 70.0/3.0;
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printf("value of f : %f \n", f);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

value of c : 30
value of f : 23.333334

The same concept applies on function declaration where you provide a function name at the
time of its declaration and its actual definition can be given anywhere else. For example −

// function declaration
int func();

int main() {

// function call
int i = func();
}

// function definition
int func() {
return 0;
}

Lvalues and Rvalues in C

There are two kinds of expressions in C −

lvalue − Expressions that refer to a memory location are called "lvalue" expressions.
An lvalue may appear as either the left-hand or right-hand side of an assignment.

rvalue − The term rvalue refers to a data value that is stored at some address in
memory. An rvalue is an expression that cannot have a value assigned to it which
means an rvalue may appear on the right-hand side but not on the left-hand side of an
assignment.

Variables are lvalues and so they may appear on the left-hand side of an assignment.
Numeric literals are rvalues and so they may not be assigned and cannot appear on the left-
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hand side. Take a look at the following valid and invalid statements −

int g = 20; // valid statement

10 = 20; // invalid statement; would generate compile-time error

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05/06/2023 18:53 C - Constants and Literals

C - Constants and Literals

Constants refer to fixed values that the program may not alter during its execution. These
fixed values are also called literals.

Constants can be of any of the basic data types like an integer constant, a floating constant,
a character constant, or a string literal. There are enumeration constants as well.

Constants are treated just like regular variables except that their values cannot be modified
after their definition.

Integer Literals
An integer literal can be a decimal, octal, or hexadecimal constant. A prefix specifies the
base or radix: 0x or 0X for hexadecimal, 0 for octal, and nothing for decimal.

An integer literal can also have a suffix that is a combination of U and L, for unsigned and
long, respectively. The suffix can be uppercase or lowercase and can be in any order.

Here are some examples of integer literals −

212 /* Legal */
215u /* Legal */
0xFeeL /* Legal */
078 /* Illegal: 8 is not an octal digit */
032UU /* Illegal: cannot repeat a suffix */

Following are other examples of various types of integer literals −

85 /* decimal */
0213 /* octal */
0x4b /* hexadecimal */
30 /* int */
30u /* unsigned int */
30l /* long */

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30ul /* unsigned long */

Floating-point Literals
A floating-point literal has an integer part, a decimal point, a fractional part, and an
exponent part. You can represent floating point literals either in decimal form or exponential
form.

While representing decimal form, you must include the decimal point, the exponent, or
both; and while representing exponential form, you must include the integer part, the
fractional part, or both. The signed exponent is introduced by e or E.

Here are some examples of floating-point literals −

3.14159 /* Legal */
314159E-5L /* Legal */
510E /* Illegal: incomplete exponent */
210f /* Illegal: no decimal or exponent */
.e55 /* Illegal: missing integer or fraction */

Character Constants
Character literals are enclosed in single quotes, e.g., 'x' can be stored in a simple variable of
char type.

A character literal can be a plain character (e.g., 'x'), an escape sequence (e.g., '\t'), or a
universal character (e.g., '\u02C0').

There are certain characters in C that represent special meaning when preceded by a
backslash for example, newline (\n) or tab (\t).

Here, you have a list of such escape sequence codes −

Following is the example to show a few escape sequence characters −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
printf("Hello\tWorld\n\n");

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return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Hello World

String Literals
String literals or constants are enclosed in double quotes "". A string contains characters
that are similar to character literals: plain characters, escape sequences, and universal
characters.

You can break a long line into multiple lines using string literals and separating them using
white spaces.

Here are some examples of string literals. All the three forms are identical strings.

"hello, dear"

"hello, \

dear"

"hello, " "d" "ear"

Defining Constants
There are two simple ways in C to define constants −

Using #define preprocessor.

Using const keyword.

The #define Preprocessor

Given below is the form to use #define preprocessor to define a constant −

#define identifier value

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The following example explains it in detail −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

#define LENGTH 10
#define WIDTH 5
#define NEWLINE '\n'

int main() {
int area;

area = LENGTH * WIDTH;

printf("value of area : %d", area);
printf("%c", NEWLINE);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

value of area : 50

The const Keyword

You can use const prefix to declare constants with a specific type as follows −

const type variable = value;

The following example explains it in detail −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
const int LENGTH = 10;
const int WIDTH = 5;
const char NEWLINE = '\n';
int area;

area = LENGTH * WIDTH;

printf("value of area : %d", area);
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printf("%c", NEWLINE);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

value of area : 50

Note that it is a good programming practice to define constants in CAPITALS.

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05/06/2023 18:54 C - Storage Classes

C - Storage Classes

A storage class defines the scope (visibility) and life-time of variables and/or functions
within a C Program. They precede the type that they modify. We have four different storage
classes in a C program −

auto
register
static
extern

The auto Storage Class

The auto storage class is the default storage class for all local variables.

{
int mount;
auto int month;
}

The example above defines two variables with in the same storage class. 'auto' can only be
used within functions, i.e., local variables.

The register Storage Class

The register storage class is used to define local variables that should be stored in a
register instead of RAM. This means that the variable has a maximum size equal to the
register size (usually one word) and can't have the unary '&' operator applied to it (as it
does not have a memory location).

{
register int miles;
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The register should only be used for variables that require quick access such as counters. It
should also be noted that defining 'register' does not mean that the variable will be stored
in a register. It means that it MIGHT be stored in a register depending on hardware and
implementation restrictions.

The static Storage Class

The static storage class instructs the compiler to keep a local variable in existence during
the life-time of the program instead of creating and destroying it each time it comes into
and goes out of scope. Therefore, making local variables static allows them to maintain
their values between function calls.

The static modifier may also be applied to global variables. When this is done, it causes
that variable's scope to be restricted to the file in which it is declared.

In C programming, when static is used on a global variable, it causes only one copy of that
member to be shared by all the objects of its class.

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration */
void func(void);

static int count = 5; /* global variable */

main() {

while(count--) {
func();
}

return 0;
}

/* function definition */
void func( void ) {

static int i = 5; /* local static variable */

i++;
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printf("i is %d and count is %d\n", i, count);

}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

i is 6 and count is 4
i is 7 and count is 3
i is 8 and count is 2
i is 9 and count is 1
i is 10 and count is 0

The extern Storage Class

The extern storage class is used to give a reference of a global variable that is visible to ALL
the program files. When you use 'extern', the variable cannot be initialized however, it
points the variable name at a storage location that has been previously defined.

When you have multiple files and you define a global variable or function, which will also
be used in other files, then extern will be used in another file to provide the reference of
defined variable or function. Just for understanding, extern is used to declare a global
variable or function in another file.

The extern modifier is most commonly used when there are two or more files sharing the
same global variables or functions as explained below.

First File: main.c

#include <stdio.h>

int count ;
extern void write_extern();

main() {
count = 5;
write_extern();
}

Second File: support.c

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#include <stdio.h>

extern int count;

void write_extern(void) {
printf("count is %d\n", count);
}

Here, extern is being used to declare count in the second file, where as it has its definition in
the first file, main.c. Now, compile these two files as follows −

$gcc main.c support.c

It will produce the executable program a.out. When this program is executed, it produces
the following result −

count is 5

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05/06/2023 18:55 C - Operators

C - Operators

An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler to perform specific mathematical or logical
functions. C language is rich in built-in operators and provides the following types of
operators −

Arithmetic Operators
Relational Operators
Logical Operators
Bitwise Operators
Assignment Operators
Misc Operators

We will, in this chapter, look into the way each operator works.

Arithmetic Operators
The following table shows all the arithmetic operators supported by the C language.
Assume variable A holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then −

Show Examples

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Operator Description Example

+ Adds two operands. A + B = 30

− Subtracts second operand from the first. A − B = -10

* Multiplies both operands. A * B = 200

/ Divides numerator by de-numerator. B/A=2

% Modulus Operator and remainder of after an B%A=0

integer division.

++ Increment operator increases the integer value by A++ = 11

one.

-- Decrement operator decreases the integer value by A-- = 9

one.

Relational Operators
The following table shows all the relational operators supported by C. Assume variable A
holds 10 and variable B holds 20 then −

Show Examples

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Operator Description Example

== Checks if the values of two operands are equal or (A == B) is not true.

not. If yes, then the condition becomes true.

!= Checks if the values of two operands are equal or (A != B) is true.

not. If the values are not equal, then the condition
becomes true.

> Checks if the value of left operand is greater than (A > B) is not true.
the value of right operand. If yes, then the
condition becomes true.

< Checks if the value of left operand is less than the (A < B) is true.
value of right operand. If yes, then the condition
becomes true.

>= Checks if the value of left operand is greater than (A >= B) is not true.
or equal to the value of right operand. If yes, then
the condition becomes true.

<= Checks if the value of left operand is less than or (A <= B) is true.
equal to the value of right operand. If yes, then the
condition becomes true.

Logical Operators
Following table shows all the logical operators supported by C language. Assume variable
A holds 1 and variable B holds 0, then −

Show Examples

Operator Description Example

&& Called Logical AND operator. If both the operands (A && B) is false.
are non-zero, then the condition becomes true.

|| Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two (A || B) is true.

operands is non-zero, then the condition becomes
true.

! Called Logical NOT Operator. It is used to reverse !(A && B) is true.

the logical state of its operand. If a condition is
true, then Logical NOT operator will make it false.

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Bitwise Operators
Bitwise operator works on bits and perform bit-by-bit operation. The truth tables for &, |,
and ^ is as follows −

p q p&q p|q p^q

0 0 0 0 0

0 1 0 1 1

1 1 1 1 0

1 0 0 1 1

Assume A = 60 and B = 13 in binary format, they will be as follows −

A = 0011 1100

B = 0000 1101

-----------------

A&B = 0000 1100

A|B = 0011 1101

A^B = 0011 0001

~A = 1100 0011

The following table lists the bitwise operators supported by C. Assume variable 'A' holds
60 and variable 'B' holds 13, then −

Show Examples

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Operator Description Example

& Binary AND Operator copies a bit to the result if it (A & B) = 12, i.e., 0000 1100
exists in both operands.

| Binary OR Operator copies a bit if it exists in either (A | B) = 61, i.e., 0011 1101
operand.

^ Binary XOR Operator copies the bit if it is set in (A ^ B) = 49, i.e., 0011 0001
one operand but not both.

~ Binary One's Complement Operator is unary and (~A ) = ~(60), i.e,. -0111101
has the effect of 'flipping' bits.

<< Binary Left Shift Operator. The left operands value

is moved left by the number of bits specified by the A << 2 = 240 i.e., 1111 0000
right operand.

>> Binary Right Shift Operator. The left operands

value is moved right by the number of bits A >> 2 = 15 i.e., 0000 1111
specified by the right operand.

Assignment Operators
The following table lists the assignment operators supported by the C language −

Show Examples

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Operator Description Example

= Simple assignment operator. Assigns values from C = A + B will assign the

right side operands to left side operand value of A + B to C

+= Add AND assignment operator. It adds the right

C += A is equivalent to C = C
operand to the left operand and assign the result
+A
to the left operand.

-= Subtract AND assignment operator. It subtracts

C -= A is equivalent to C = C -
the right operand from the left operand and
A
assigns the result to the left operand.

*= Multiply AND assignment operator. It multiplies

C *= A is equivalent to C = C
the right operand with the left operand and
*A
assigns the result to the left operand.

/= Divide AND assignment operator. It divides the left

C /= A is equivalent to C = C /
operand with the right operand and assigns the
A
result to the left operand.

%= Modulus AND assignment operator. It takes

C %= A is equivalent to C = C
modulus using two operands and assigns the
%A
result to the left operand.

<<= Left shift AND assignment operator. C <<= 2 is same as C = C <<

2

>>= Right shift AND assignment operator. C >>= 2 is same as C = C >>

2

&= Bitwise AND assignment operator. C &= 2 is same as C = C & 2

^= Bitwise exclusive OR and assignment operator. C ^= 2 is same as C = C ^ 2

|= Bitwise inclusive OR and assignment operator. C |= 2 is same as C = C | 2

Misc Operators ↦ sizeof & ternary

Besides the operators discussed above, there are a few other important operators including
sizeof and ? : supported by the C Language.

Show Examples

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Operator Description Example

sizeof() Returns the size of a variable. sizeof(a), where a is integer, will return 4.

& &a; returns the actual address of the

Returns the address of a variable.
variable.

* Pointer to a variable. *a;

?: If Condition is true ? then value X :

Conditional Expression.
otherwise value Y

Operators Precedence in C
Operator precedence determines the grouping of terms in an expression and decides how
an expression is evaluated. Certain operators have higher precedence than others; for
example, the multiplication operator has a higher precedence than the addition operator.

For example, x = 7 + 3 * 2; here, x is assigned 13, not 20 because operator * has a higher
precedence than +, so it first gets multiplied with 3*2 and then adds into 7.

Here, operators with the highest precedence appear at the top of the table, those with the
lowest appear at the bottom. Within an expression, higher precedence operators will be
evaluated first.

Show Examples

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Category Operator Associativity

Postfix () [] -> . ++ - - Left to right

Unary + - ! ~ ++ - - (type)* & sizeof Right to left

Multiplicative */% Left to right

Additive +- Left to right

Shift << >> Left to right

Relational < <= > >= Left to right

Equality == != Left to right

Bitwise AND & Left to right

Bitwise XOR ^ Left to right

Bitwise OR | Left to right

Logical AND && Left to right

Logical OR || Left to right

Conditional ?: Right to left

Assignment = += -= *= /= %=>>= <<= &= ^= |= Right to left

Comma , Left to right

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05/06/2023 18:55 C - Decision Making

C - Decision Making

Decision making structures require that the programmer specifies one or more conditions to
be evaluated or tested by the program, along with a statement or statements to be
executed if the condition is determined to be true, and optionally, other statements to be
executed if the condition is determined to be false.

Show below is the general form of a typical decision making structure found in most of the
programming languages −

C programming language assumes any non-zero and non-null values as true, and if it is
either zero or null, then it is assumed as false value.

C programming language provides the following types of decision making statements.

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Sr.No. Statement & Description

1 if statement

An if statement consists of a boolean expression followed by one or more

statements.

2 if...else statement

An if statement can be followed by an optional else statement, which executes

when the Boolean expression is false.

3 nested if statements

You can use one if or else if statement inside another if or else if statement(s).

4 switch statement

A switch statement allows a variable to be tested for equality against a list of

values.

5 nested switch statements

You can use one switch statement inside another switch statement(s).

The ? : Operator
We have covered conditional operator ? : in the previous chapter which can be used to
replace if...else statements. It has the following general form −

Exp1 ? Exp2 : Exp3;

Where Exp1, Exp2, and Exp3 are expressions. Notice the use and placement of the colon.

The value of a ? expression is determined like this −

Exp1 is evaluated. If it is true, then Exp2 is evaluated and becomes the value of the
entire ? expression.

If Exp1 is false, then Exp3 is evaluated and its value becomes the value of the
expression.

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05/06/2023 18:55 C - Loops

C - Loops

You may encounter situations, when a block of code needs to be executed several number
of times. In general, statements are executed sequentially: The first statement in a function
is executed first, followed by the second, and so on.

Programming languages provide various control structures that allow for more complicated
execution paths.

A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of statements multiple times.

Given below is the general form of a loop statement in most of the programming languages
−

C programming language provides the following types of loops to handle looping

requirements.

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Sr.No. Loop Type & Description

1 while loop

Repeats a statement or group of statements while a given condition is true. It

tests the condition before executing the loop body.

2 for loop

Executes a sequence of statements multiple times and abbreviates the code that
manages the loop variable.

3 do...while loop

It is more like a while statement, except that it tests the condition at the end of
the loop body.

4 nested loops

You can use one or more loops inside any other while, for, or do..while loop.

Loop Control Statements

Loop control statements change execution from its normal sequence. When execution
leaves a scope, all automatic objects that were created in that scope are destroyed.

C supports the following control statements.

Sr.No. Control Statement & Description

1 break statement

Terminates the loop or switch statement and transfers execution to the

statement immediately following the loop or switch.

2 continue statement

Causes the loop to skip the remainder of its body and immediately retest its
condition prior to reiterating.

3 goto statement

Transfers control to the labeled statement.

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The Infinite Loop

A loop becomes an infinite loop if a condition never becomes false. The for loop is
traditionally used for this purpose. Since none of the three expressions that form the 'for'
loop are required, you can make an endless loop by leaving the conditional expression
empty.

#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

for( ; ; ) {
printf("This loop will run forever.\n");
}

return 0;
}

When the conditional expression is absent, it is assumed to be true. You may have an
initialization and increment expression, but C programmers more commonly use the for(;;)
construct to signify an infinite loop.

NOTE − You can terminate an infinite loop by pressing Ctrl + C keys.

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05/06/2023 18:56 C - Functions

C - Functions

A function is a group of statements that together perform a task. Every C program has at
least one function, which is main(), and all the most trivial programs can define additional
functions.

You can divide up your code into separate functions. How you divide up your code among
different functions is up to you, but logically the division is such that each function performs
a specific task.

A function declaration tells the compiler about a function's name, return type, and
parameters. A function definition provides the actual body of the function.

The C standard library provides numerous built-in functions that your program can call. For
example, strcat() to concatenate two strings, memcpy() to copy one memory location to
another location, and many more functions.

A function can also be referred as a method or a sub-routine or a procedure, etc.

Defining a Function
The general form of a function definition in C programming language is as follows −

return_type function_name( parameter list ) {

body of the function
}

A function definition in C programming consists of a function header and a function body.

Here are all the parts of a function −

Return Type − A function may return a value. The return_type is the data type of the
value the function returns. Some functions perform the desired operations without
returning a value. In this case, the return_type is the keyword void.

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Function Name − This is the actual name of the function. The function name and the
parameter list together constitute the function signature.
Parameters − A parameter is like a placeholder. When a function is invoked, you pass a
value to the parameter. This value is referred to as actual parameter or argument. The
parameter list refers to the type, order, and number of the parameters of a function.
Parameters are optional; that is, a function may contain no parameters.

Function Body − The function body contains a collection of statements that define
what the function does.

Example
Given below is the source code for a function called max(). This function takes two
parameters num1 and num2 and returns the maximum value between the two −

/* function returning the max between two numbers */

int max(int num1, int num2) {

/* local variable declaration */

int result;

if (num1 > num2)

result = num1;
else
result = num2;

return result;
}

Function Declarations
A function declaration tells the compiler about a function name and how to call the
function. The actual body of the function can be defined separately.

A function declaration has the following parts −

return_type function_name( parameter list );

For the above defined function max(), the function declaration is as follows −

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int max(int num1, int num2);

Parameter names are not important in function declaration only their type is required, so the
following is also a valid declaration −

int max(int, int);

Function declaration is required when you define a function in one source file and you call
that function in another file. In such case, you should declare the function at the top of the
file calling the function.

Calling a Function
While creating a C function, you give a definition of what the function has to do. To use a
function, you will have to call that function to perform the defined task.

When a program calls a function, the program control is transferred to the called function.
A called function performs a defined task and when its return statement is executed or
when its function-ending closing brace is reached, it returns the program control back to the
main program.

To call a function, you simply need to pass the required parameters along with the function
name, and if the function returns a value, then you can store the returned value. For
example −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration */
int max(int num1, int num2);

int main () {

/* local variable definition */

int a = 100;
int b = 200;
int ret;

/* calling a function to get max value */

ret = max(a, b);

printf( "Max value is : %d\n", ret );

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return 0;
}

/* function returning the max between two numbers */

int max(int num1, int num2) {

/* local variable declaration */

int result;

if (num1 > num2)

result = num1;
else
result = num2;

return result;
}

We have kept max() along with main() and compiled the source code. While running the
final executable, it would produce the following result −

Max value is : 200

Function Arguments
If a function is to use arguments, it must declare variables that accept the values of the
arguments. These variables are called the formal parameters of the function.

Formal parameters behave like other local variables inside the function and are created
upon entry into the function and destroyed upon exit.

While calling a function, there are two ways in which arguments can be passed to a
function −

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Sr.No. Call Type & Description

1 Call by value

This method copies the actual value of an argument into the formal parameter of
the function. In this case, changes made to the parameter inside the function
have no effect on the argument.

2 Call by reference

This method copies the address of an argument into the formal parameter. Inside
the function, the address is used to access the actual argument used in the call.
This means that changes made to the parameter affect the argument.

By default, C uses call by value to pass arguments. In general, it means the code within a
function cannot alter the arguments used to call the function.

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<

Function call by Value in C

The call by value method of passing arguments to a function copies the actual value of an
argument into the formal parameter of the function. In this case, changes made to the
parameter inside the function have no effect on the argument.

By default, C programming uses call by value to pass arguments. In general, it means the
code within a function cannot alter the arguments used to call the function. Consider the
function swap() definition as follows.

/* function definition to swap the values */

void swap(int x, int y) {

int temp;

temp = x; /* save the value of x */

x = y; /* put y into x */
y = temp; /* put temp into y */

return;
}

Now, let us call the function swap() by passing actual values as in the following example −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration */
void swap(int x, int y);

int main () {

/* local variable definition */

int a = 100;
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int b = 200;

printf("Before swap, value of a : %d\n", a );

printf("Before swap, value of b : %d\n", b );

/* calling a function to swap the values */

swap(a, b);

printf("After swap, value of a : %d\n", a );

printf("After swap, value of b : %d\n", b );

return 0;
}
void swap(int x, int y) {

int temp;

temp = x; /* save the value of x */

x = y; /* put y into x */
y = temp; /* put temp into y */

return;
}

Let us put the above code in a single C file, compile and execute it, it will produce the
following result −

Before swap, value of a : 100

Before swap, value of b : 200
After swap, value of a : 100
After swap, value of b : 200

It shows that there are no changes in the values, though they had been changed inside the
function.

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05/06/2023 19:02 Function call by reference in C

Function call by reference in C

The call by reference method of passing arguments to a function copies the address of an
argument into the formal parameter. Inside the function, the address is used to access the
actual argument used in the call. It means the changes made to the parameter affect the
passed argument.

To pass a value by reference, argument pointers are passed to the functions just like any
other value. So accordingly you need to declare the function parameters as pointer types as
in the following function swap(), which exchanges the values of the two integer variables
pointed to, by their arguments.

/* function definition to swap the values */

void swap(int *x, int *y) {

int temp;
temp = *x; /* save the value at address x */
*x = *y; /* put y into x */
*y = temp; /* put temp into y */

return;
}

Let us now call the function swap() by passing values by reference as in the following
example −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

/* local variable definition */

int a = 100;
int b = 200;

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printf("Before swap, value of a : %d\n", a );

printf("Before swap, value of b : %d\n", b );

/* calling a function to swap the values */

swap(&a, &b);

printf("After swap, value of a : %d\n", a );

printf("After swap, value of b : %d\n", b );

return 0;
}
void swap(int *x, int *y) {

int temp;

temp = *x; /* save the value of x */

*x = *y; /* put y into x */
*y = temp; /* put temp into y */

return;
}

Let us put the above code in a single C file, compile and execute it, to produce the following
result −

Before swap, value of a : 100

Before swap, value of b : 200
After swap, value of a : 200
After swap, value of b : 100

It shows that the change has reflected outside the function as well, unlike call by value
where the changes do not reflect outside the function.

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05/06/2023 18:56 C - Scope Rules

C - Scope Rules

A scope in any programming is a region of the program where a defined variable can have
its existence and beyond that variable it cannot be accessed. There are three places where
variables can be declared in C programming language −

Inside a function or a block which is called local variables.

Outside of all functions which is called global variables.

In the definition of function parameters which are called formal parameters.

Let us understand what are local and global variables, and formal parameters.

Local Variables
Variables that are declared inside a function or block are called local variables. They can be
used only by statements that are inside that function or block of code. Local variables are
not known to functions outside their own. The following example shows how local
variables are used. Here all the variables a, b, and c are local to main() function.

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

/* local variable declaration */

int a, b;
int c;

/* actual initialization */
a = 10;
b = 20;
c = a + b;

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printf ("value of a = %d, b = %d and c = %d\n", a, b, c);

return 0;
}

Global Variables
Global variables are defined outside a function, usually on top of the program. Global
variables hold their values throughout the lifetime of your program and they can be
accessed inside any of the functions defined for the program.

A global variable can be accessed by any function. That is, a global variable is available for
use throughout your entire program after its declaration. The following program show how
global variables are used in a program.

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

/* global variable declaration */

int g;

int main () {

/* local variable declaration */

int a, b;

/* actual initialization */
a = 10;
b = 20;
g = a + b;

printf ("value of a = %d, b = %d and g = %d\n", a, b, g);

return 0;
}

A program can have same name for local and global variables but the value of local
variable inside a function will take preference. Here is an example −

Live Demo

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05/06/2023 18:56 C - Scope Rules

#include <stdio.h>

/* global variable declaration */

int g = 20;

int main () {

/* local variable declaration */

int g = 10;

printf ("value of g = %d\n", g);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

value of g = 10

Formal Parameters
Formal parameters, are treated as local variables with-in a function and they take
precedence over global variables. Following is an example −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

/* global variable declaration */

int a = 20;

int main () {

/* local variable declaration in main function */

int a = 10;
int b = 20;
int c = 0;

printf ("value of a in main() = %d\n", a);

c = sum( a, b);
printf ("value of c in main() = %d\n", c);

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return 0;
}

/* function to add two integers */

int sum(int a, int b) {

printf ("value of a in sum() = %d\n", a);

printf ("value of b in sum() = %d\n", b);

return a + b;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

value of a in main() = 10
value of a in sum() = 10
value of b in sum() = 20
value of c in main() = 30

Initializing Local and Global Variables

When a local variable is defined, it is not initialized by the system, you must initialize it
yourself. Global variables are initialized automatically by the system when you define them
as follows −

Data Type Initial Default Value

int 0

char '\0'

float 0

double 0

pointer NULL

It is a good programming practice to initialize variables properly, otherwise your program

may produce unexpected results, because uninitialized variables will take some garbage
value already available at their memory location.

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05/06/2023 18:58 C - Arrays

C - Arrays

Arrays a kind of data structure that can store a fixed-size sequential collection of elements
of the same type. An array is used to store a collection of data, but it is often more useful to
think of an array as a collection of variables of the same type.

Instead of declaring individual variables, such as number0, number1, ..., and number99, you
declare one array variable such as numbers and use numbers[0], numbers[1], and ...,
numbers[99] to represent individual variables. A specific element in an array is accessed by
an index.

All arrays consist of contiguous memory locations. The lowest address corresponds to the
first element and the highest address to the last element.

Declaring Arrays
To declare an array in C, a programmer specifies the type of the elements and the number
of elements required by an array as follows −

type arrayName [ arraySize ];

This is called a single-dimensional array. The arraySize must be an integer constant greater
than zero and type can be any valid C data type. For example, to declare a 10-element array
called balance of type double, use this statement −

double balance[10];

Here balance is a variable array which is sufficient to hold up to 10 double numbers.

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Initializing Arrays
You can initialize an array in C either one by one or using a single statement as follows −

double balance[5] = {1000.0, 2.0, 3.4, 7.0, 50.0};

The number of values between braces { } cannot be larger than the number of elements
that we declare for the array between square brackets [ ].

If you omit the size of the array, an array just big enough to hold the initialization is created.
Therefore, if you write −

double balance[] = {1000.0, 2.0, 3.4, 7.0, 50.0};

You will create exactly the same array as you did in the previous example. Following is an
example to assign a single element of the array −

balance[4] = 50.0;

The above statement assigns the 5th element in the array with a value of 50.0. All arrays
have 0 as the index of their first element which is also called the base index and the last
index of an array will be total size of the array minus 1. Shown below is the pictorial
representation of the array we discussed above −

Accessing Array Elements

An element is accessed by indexing the array name. This is done by placing the index of the
element within square brackets after the name of the array. For example −

double salary = balance[9];

The above statement will take the 10th element from the array and assign the value to
salary variable. The following example Shows how to use all the three above mentioned
concepts viz. declaration, assignment, and accessing arrays −

Live Demo

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#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

int n[ 10 ]; /* n is an array of 10 integers */

int i,j;

/* initialize elements of array n to 0 */

for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) {
n[ i ] = i + 100; /* set element at location i to i + 100 */
}

/* output each array element's value */

for (j = 0; j < 10; j++ ) {
printf("Element[%d] = %d\n", j, n[j] );
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Element[0] = 100
Element[1] = 101
Element[2] = 102
Element[3] = 103
Element[4] = 104
Element[5] = 105
Element[6] = 106
Element[7] = 107
Element[8] = 108
Element[9] = 109

Arrays in Detail
Arrays are important to C and should need a lot more attention. The following important
concepts related to array should be clear to a C programmer −

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Sr.No. Concept & Description

1 Multi-dimensional arrays

C supports multidimensional arrays. The simplest form of the multidimensional

array is the two-dimensional array.

2 Passing arrays to functions

You can pass to the function a pointer to an array by specifying the array's name
without an index.

3 Return array from a function

C allows a function to return an array.

4 Pointer to an array

You can generate a pointer to the first element of an array by simply specifying
the array name, without any index.

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05/06/2023 18:58 C - Pointers

C - Pointers

Pointers in C are easy and fun to learn. Some C programming tasks are performed more
easily with pointers, and other tasks, such as dynamic memory allocation, cannot be
performed without using pointers. So it becomes necessary to learn pointers to become a
perfect C programmer. Let's start learning them in simple and easy steps.

As you know, every variable is a memory location and every memory location has its
address defined which can be accessed using ampersand (&) operator, which denotes an
address in memory. Consider the following example, which prints the address of the
variables defined −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

int var1;
char var2[10];

printf("Address of var1 variable: %x\n", &var1 );

printf("Address of var2 variable: %x\n", &var2 );

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Address of var1 variable: bff5a400

Address of var2 variable: bff5a3f6

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What are Pointers?

A pointer is a variable whose value is the address of another variable, i.e., direct address of
the memory location. Like any variable or constant, you must declare a pointer before using
it to store any variable address. The general form of a pointer variable declaration is −

type *var-name;

Here, type is the pointer's base type; it must be a valid C data type and var-name is the
name of the pointer variable. The asterisk * used to declare a pointer is the same asterisk
used for multiplication. However, in this statement the asterisk is being used to designate a
variable as a pointer. Take a look at some of the valid pointer declarations −

int *ip; /* pointer to an integer */

double *dp; /* pointer to a double */
float *fp; /* pointer to a float */
char *ch /* pointer to a character */

The actual data type of the value of all pointers, whether integer, float, character, or
otherwise, is the same, a long hexadecimal number that represents a memory address. The
only difference between pointers of different data types is the data type of the variable or
constant that the pointer points to.

How to Use Pointers?

There are a few important operations, which we will do with the help of pointers very
frequently. (a) We define a pointer variable, (b) assign the address of a variable to a pointer
and (c) finally access the value at the address available in the pointer variable. This is done
by using unary operator * that returns the value of the variable located at the address
specified by its operand. The following example makes use of these operations −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

int var = 20; /* actual variable declaration */

int *ip; /* pointer variable declaration */

ip = &var; /* store address of var in pointer variable*/

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printf("Address of var variable: %x\n", &var );

/* address stored in pointer variable */

printf("Address stored in ip variable: %x\n", ip );

/* access the value using the pointer */

printf("Value of *ip variable: %d\n", *ip );

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Address of var variable: bffd8b3c

Address stored in ip variable: bffd8b3c
Value of *ip variable: 20

NULL Pointers
It is always a good practice to assign a NULL value to a pointer variable in case you do not
have an exact address to be assigned. This is done at the time of variable declaration. A
pointer that is assigned NULL is called a null pointer.

The NULL pointer is a constant with a value of zero defined in several standard libraries.
Consider the following program −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

int *ptr = NULL;

printf("The value of ptr is : %x\n", ptr );

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

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The value of ptr is 0

In most of the operating systems, programs are not permitted to access memory at address
0 because that memory is reserved by the operating system. However, the memory address
0 has special significance; it signals that the pointer is not intended to point to an accessible
memory location. But by convention, if a pointer contains the null (zero) value, it is assumed
to point to nothing.

To check for a null pointer, you can use an 'if' statement as follows −

if(ptr) /* succeeds if p is not null */

if(!ptr) /* succeeds if p is null */

Pointers in Detail
Pointers have many but easy concepts and they are very important to C programming. The
following important pointer concepts should be clear to any C programmer −

Sr.No. Concept & Description

1 Pointer arithmetic

There are four arithmetic operators that can be used in pointers: ++, --, +, -

2 Array of pointers

You can define arrays to hold a number of pointers.

3 Pointer to pointer

C allows you to have pointer on a pointer and so on.

4 Passing pointers to functions in C

Passing an argument by reference or by address enable the passed argument to

be changed in the calling function by the called function.

5 Return pointer from functions in C

C allows a function to return a pointer to the local variable, static variable, and
dynamically allocated memory as well.

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C - Pointer arithmetic

A pointer in c is an address, which is a numeric value. Therefore, you can perform arithmetic
operations on a pointer just as you can on a numeric value. There are four arithmetic
operators that can be used on pointers: ++, --, +, and -

To understand pointer arithmetic, let us consider that ptr is an integer pointer which points
to the address 1000. Assuming 32-bit integers, let us perform the following arithmetic
operation on the pointer −

ptr++

After the above operation, the ptr will point to the location 1004 because each time ptr is
incremented, it will point to the next integer location which is 4 bytes next to the current
location. This operation will move the pointer to the next memory location without
impacting the actual value at the memory location. If ptr points to a character whose
address is 1000, then the above operation will point to the location 1001 because the next
character will be available at 1001.

Incrementing a Pointer
We prefer using a pointer in our program instead of an array because the variable pointer
can be incremented, unlike the array name which cannot be incremented because it is a
constant pointer. The following program increments the variable pointer to access each
succeeding element of the array −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX = 3;

int main () {

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int var[] = {10, 100, 200};

int i, *ptr;

/* let us have array address in pointer */

ptr = var;

for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {

printf("Address of var[%d] = %x\n", i, ptr );

printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr );

/* move to the next location */

ptr++;
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Address of var[0] = bf882b30

Value of var[0] = 10
Address of var[1] = bf882b34
Value of var[1] = 100
Address of var[2] = bf882b38
Value of var[2] = 200

Decrementing a Pointer
The same considerations apply to decrementing a pointer, which decreases its value by the
number of bytes of its data type as shown below −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX = 3;

int main () {

int var[] = {10, 100, 200};

int i, *ptr;

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/* let us have array address in pointer */

ptr = &var[MAX-1];

for ( i = MAX; i > 0; i--) {

printf("Address of var[%d] = %x\n", i-1, ptr );

printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i-1, *ptr );

/* move to the previous location */

ptr--;
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Address of var[2] = bfedbcd8

Value of var[2] = 200
Address of var[1] = bfedbcd4
Value of var[1] = 100
Address of var[0] = bfedbcd0
Value of var[0] = 10

Pointer Comparisons
Pointers may be compared by using relational operators, such as ==, <, and >. If p1 and p2
point to variables that are related to each other, such as elements of the same array, then
p1 and p2 can be meaningfully compared.

The following program modifies the previous example − one by incrementing the variable
pointer so long as the address to which it points is either less than or equal to the address
of the last element of the array, which is &var[MAX - 1] −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX = 3;

int main () {

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int var[] = {10, 100, 200};

int i, *ptr;

/* let us have address of the first element in pointer */

ptr = var;
i = 0;

while ( ptr <= &var[MAX - 1] ) {

printf("Address of var[%d] = %x\n", i, ptr );

printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr );

/* point to the next location */

ptr++;
i++;
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Address of var[0] = bfdbcb20

Value of var[0] = 10
Address of var[1] = bfdbcb24
Value of var[1] = 100
Address of var[2] = bfdbcb28
Value of var[2] = 200

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05/06/2023 18:59 C - Array of pointers

C - Array of pointers

Before we understand the concept of arrays of pointers, let us consider the following
example, which uses an array of 3 integers −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX = 3;

int main () {

int var[] = {10, 100, 200};

int i;

for (i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {

printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, var[i] );
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Value of var[0] = 10
Value of var[1] = 100
Value of var[2] = 200

There may be a situation when we want to maintain an array, which can store pointers to an
int or char or any other data type available. Following is the declaration of an array of
pointers to an integer −

int *ptr[MAX];

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It declares ptr as an array of MAX integer pointers. Thus, each element in ptr, holds a
pointer to an int value. The following example uses three integers, which are stored in an
array of pointers, as follows −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX = 3;

int main () {

int var[] = {10, 100, 200};

int i, *ptr[MAX];

for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {

ptr[i] = &var[i]; /* assign the address of integer. */
}

for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {

printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr[i] );
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Value of var[0] = 10
Value of var[1] = 100
Value of var[2] = 200

You can also use an array of pointers to character to store a list of strings as follows −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

const int MAX = 4;

int main () {

char *names[] = {
"Zara Ali",
"Hina Ali",
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"Nuha Ali",
"Sara Ali"
};

int i = 0;

for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {

printf("Value of names[%d] = %s\n", i, names[i] );
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Value of names[0] = Zara Ali

Value of names[1] = Hina Ali
Value of names[2] = Nuha Ali
Value of names[3] = Sara Ali

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05/06/2023 19:00 C - Pointer to Pointer

C - Pointer to Pointer

A pointer to a pointer is a form of multiple indirection, or a chain of pointers. Normally, a

pointer contains the address of a variable. When we define a pointer to a pointer, the first
pointer contains the address of the second pointer, which points to the location that
contains the actual value as shown below.

A variable that is a pointer to a pointer must be declared as such. This is done by placing an
additional asterisk in front of its name. For example, the following declaration declares a
pointer to a pointer of type int −

int **var;

When a target value is indirectly pointed to by a pointer to a pointer, accessing that value
requires that the asterisk operator be applied twice, as is shown below in the example −

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>

int main () {

int var;
int *ptr;
int **pptr;

var = 3000;

/* take the address of var */

ptr = &var;

/* take the address of ptr using address of operator & */

pptr = &ptr;
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/* take the value using pptr */

printf("Value of var = %d\n", var );
printf("Value available at *ptr = %d\n", *ptr );
printf("Value available at **pptr = %d\n", **pptr);

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Value of var = 3000

Value available at *ptr = 3000
Value available at **pptr = 3000

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05/06/2023 19:00 Passing pointers to functions in C

Passing pointers to functions in C

C programming allows passing a pointer to a function. To do so, simply declare the function
parameter as a pointer type.

Following is a simple example where we pass an unsigned long pointer to a function and
change the value inside the function which reflects back in the calling function −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

void getSeconds(unsigned long *par);

int main () {

unsigned long sec;

getSeconds( &sec );

/* print the actual value */

printf("Number of seconds: %ld\n", sec );

return 0;
}

void getSeconds(unsigned long *par) {

/* get the current number of seconds */
*par = time( NULL );
return;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Number of seconds :1294450468

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05/06/2023 19:00 Passing pointers to functions in C

The function, which can accept a pointer, can also accept an array as shown in the following
example −

Live Demo


#include <stdio.h>

/* function declaration */
double getAverage(int *arr, int size);

int main () {

/* an int array with 5 elements */

int balance[5] = {1000, 2, 3, 17, 50};
double avg;

/* pass pointer to the array as an argument */

avg = getAverage( balance, 5 ) ;

/* output the returned value */

printf("Average value is: %f\n", avg );
return 0;
}

double getAverage(int *arr, int size) {

int i, sum = 0;
double avg;

for (i = 0; i < size; ++i) {

sum += arr[i];
}

avg = (double)sum / size;

return avg;
}

When the above code is compiled together and executed, it produces the following result −

Average value is: 214.40000

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05/06/2023 19:01 Return pointer from functions in C

Return pointer from functions in C

We have seen in the last chapter how C programming allows to return an array from a
function. Similarly, C also allows to return a pointer from a function. To do so, you would
have to declare a function returning a pointer as in the following example −

int * myFunction() {
.
.
.
}

Second point to remember is that, it is not a good idea to return the address of a local
variable outside the function, so you would have to define the local variable as static
variable.

Now, consider the following function which will generate 10 random numbers and return
them using an array name which represents a pointer, i.e., address of first array element.

Live Demo

#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>

/* function to generate and return random numbers. */

int * getRandom( ) {

static int r[10];

int i;

/* set the seed */

srand( (unsigned)time( NULL ) );

for ( i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {

r[i] = rand();

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05/06/2023 19:01 Return pointer from functions in C

printf("%d\n", r[i] );
}

return r;
}

/* main function to call above defined function */

int main () {

/* a pointer to an int */
int *p;
int i;

p = getRandom();

for ( i = 0; i < 10; i++ ) {

printf("*(p + [%d]) : %d\n", i, *(p + i) );
}

return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled together and executed, it produces the following result −

1523198053
1187214107
1108300978
430494959
1421301276
930971084
123250484
106932140
1604461820
149169022
*(p + [0]) : 1523198053
*(p + [1]) : 1187214107
*(p + [2]) : 1108300978
*(p + [3]) : 430494959
*(p + [4]) : 1421301276
*(p + [5]) : 930971084
*(p + [6]) : 123250484
*(p + [7]) : 106932140
*(p + [8]) : 1604461820
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05/06/2023 19:01 Return pointer from functions in C

*(p + [9]) : 149169022

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