STRINGS

The group of characters, digits, and symbols enclosed with in double quotation marks are
called as strings.

Ex: “KMIT” “1234”

Every string terminates with “\0‟ (NULL) character. The decimal equivalent value of null
is zero. We use strings generally to manipulate text such as words and sentences. The
common operations that we can perform on strings are:

1. Reading and writing strings.

2. Combining strings together.
3. Coping one string to another.
4. Extracting a portion of a string.
5. Comparing string for equality.

Declaration and Initialization:

Every string is always declared as character array.

Syntax: char string_name [size];

Ex: char name[20];

We can initialize string as follows:
1. Char name[ ]={“H‟,‟E‟,‟L‟,‟L‟,‟O‟,‟\0‟};

The last character of string is always “\0‟ (NULL). But it is not necessary to write “\0‟
character at the end of the string. The compiler automatically puts “\0” at the end of the
string / character array.

The characters or elements of the string are stored in contiguous memory locations.

Memory map for above example:

H E L L O \0

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

2. Char name [ ] = ”HELLO”.

In this type also C compiler automatically inserts NULL character at the end of the string.
 3. Char name[9]={“H‟},{‟E‟},{‟L‟},{‟L‟},{‟O‟}};
In the above three formats we can initialize character arrays. We can also initialize
character array by using standard input functions like scanf( ), gets ( ) etc and we can
display strings by using puts ( ), printf ( ) functions.

The size of the character array: The argument / size of the character array or string =
Number of characters in the string + NULL character.

Note:

1. If NULL character is not taken into account then the successive string followed by the
first string will be displayed.
2. If we declare size of a string equal to the number of characters. i.e., without taking the
NULL character in to account and print will display some garbage value followed by the
string.

READING STRINGS FROM TERMINAL:

1. Using scanf ( ) function

To read strings from terminal we can use scanf ( ) function with “%s‟ format specifier.

Ex: char name [20];

scanf(“%s”, name);

Limitation: If we use scanf ( ) function for reading string in runtime it terminates its
input on the first white space it finds. The scanf ( ) function automatically appends NULL
character at the end of the input string, so we have to declare a (size of) character array which
can accommodate input string and NULL character.
(White space: blanks, tab space, carriage returns, new lines etc.)

2. By using gets ( ) function

By using gets ( ) function we can read a text which consists of more than one word which is
not possible with scanf ( ) function. This function is available in <stdio.h> header file.

Ex: gets (string);

Here string is a character array.

Ex: gets (“GOOD MORNING”):

We can pass string in double quotes as an argument.
3. By using getchar ( ) function
We know that getchar ( ) function is used to read single character from the terminal. By
using this function repeatedly we can read successive single characters from the input and
place them into a character array (string). The reading is terminated when the user enters new
line character (\n) or press enter key. After reading the new line character this function
automatically appends NULL character at the end of the string in the place of new line
character.
Ex: char ch[20];
int i=0;
while ((ch[i]=getchar ( ) )!= „\n\)
{
i = i+1;
}

WRITING STRINGS TO SCREEN

1. BY USING PRINTF ( ) FUNCTION
Using printf ( ) function we can display the string on output screen with the help of format
specifier “%s”. Ex: printf(“%s”,name);

We can use different format specifications to display strings in various formats according to
requirements.

2. By using puts ( ) and putchar ( ) functions

Using puts ( ) function we can display the string without using any format specifier. This
function is available in the <stdio.h> header file in C library.

Ex: puts (“GOOD MORNING”);

We can use this function to display messages as shown above.

Using putchar ( ) function we can display one character at a time. So, by using this function
repeatedly with the help of a loop statement we can display total string.

Ex: char name [20];

for (i=0;i<5;i++)

putchar (name[i]);
 String standard functions
The following table provides frequently used string handling functions supported by C
compiler.

FUNCTIONS DESCRIPTION
strlen ( ) Determines Length of a string
strcpy ( ) Copies a string from source to destination
strncpy ( ) Copies specified number of characters of a string to another string
strcmp ( ) Compares two strings (Discriminates between small and capital letters)
Compares two strings (Doesn‟t Discriminates between small and capital
stricmp ( )
letters)
strncmp ( ) Compares characters of two strings upto the specified length
Compares characters of two strings upto the specified length. Ignores
strnicmp ( )
case.
strlwr ( ) Converts upper case characters of a string to lower case
strupr ( ) Converts lower case characters of a string to upper case
strdup ( ) Duplicates a string
Determines first occurrence of a given character
strchr ( )
in a string
Determines last occurrence of a given character
strrchr ( )
in a string
strstr ( ) Determines first occurrence of a given string in another string
strcat ( ) Appends source string to destination string
strncat ( ) Appends source string to destination string upto specified length
strrev ( ) Reverses all characters of a string
strset ( ) Sets all characters of string with a given argument or symbol
Sets specified number of characters of string with a given argument or
strnset ( )
Symbol
strspn ( ) Finds up to what length two strings are identical
Searches the first occurrence of the character in a given string and then
strpbrk ( )
it display the string from that character.

1. strlen ( ) function: This function counts the number of characters in a given string.
 Syntax:strlen(string); (or) strlen(“ string”);

Example Program: To implement the purpose of strlen():

void main( )
{
char a[80];
int len;
clrscr( );
printf(“enter string:”);
scanf(“%s”,a); // (or) get (a);
len=strlen(a);
printf(“\n Name = %s”, a);
printf(“\n Total no of char‟s = %d”, len);
getch( );
}

(OR )
void main()
{
int s;

clrscr( );
s=strlen(“KMIT”);

printf(“\nTotal no of char‟s =%d”, s);

getch( );
}

Output: Output:

Enter string: KMIT Total no of char‟s = 4

Total no of char‟s = 4
Name = KMIT
PROGRAMMING FOR PROBLEM SOLVING DEPARTMENT OF H&S

2. strcpy ( ) function: This function copies the content of one string to another. Here
string1 is source string and string2 destination string. String1 and string2 are character
arrays. String1 is copied into string2.

Syntax:strcpy(string2, string1); or strcpy(destination, source);

Example Program: To implement the purpose string copy( ).

void main( )

char s1[80]=”sachin”, s2[80];

clrscr( );

printf (“\n\n \t given string =%s”, s1);

strcpy(s2,s1);

printf(“\n\n \t copied string = %s ”, s2);

getch( );

}
Output:-
given string =sachin copied string =sachin

3. strncpy ( ) function: This function performs the same task as strcpy ( ). The
difference between them is that the strcpy( ) function copies the whole string to
destination string. Whereas strncpy( ) function copies specified length of characters from
source to destination string.

Syntax: strncpy(string2, string1,n);

or

strcpy(destination, source,n);

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Example Program: To copy source string to destination string up to a specified length.

Length is to be entered through the keyboard.

void main()

char s1[15], s2[15];

int n;
clrscr( );

printf (“\nEnter Source String:”); gets(s1);

printf (“\nEnter Destination String:”); gets(s2);
printf(“\n Enter no. of characters to replace in Destination string:”); scanf(“%d”,&n);
strncpy(s2,s1,n);

printf(“\n Source string = %s ”, s1); printf(“\n Destination string = %s ”, s2); getch( );

}

Output:

Enter Source String: wonderful

Enter Destination String: beautiful

Enter no. of characters to replace in Destination string: 6

Source string = wonderful

Destination string=wonderful

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4. strcmp ( ) function: This function is used to compare two strings identified by the
arguments and it returns a value “0‟ if they are equal. If they are not equal it will return
numeric difference (ASCII) between the first non-matching characters.

Syntax: strcmp(string1, string2);

Example Program1: To compare any strings using strcmp( ).

void main( )

char m1[30]=”amar”, m2[30] = “balu”; int s;

clrscr( ); s=strcmp(m1, m2);

printf(“ %d ”, s); getch( );

}

Output:-

-1

Example Program2: To compare any strings using strcmp( ).

void main( )
{
int m;

char s1[30], s2[30];

clrscr( );
printf(“enter 2 string \n”);
scanf(“%s%s”, &s1, &S2);
printf(“\n\n\n\t %s \t %s”, s1, s2);
m = strcmp(s1, s2);

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printf(“\n\n \t %d”, m);
if(m==0)

printf(“\n\n both the strings are equal”);

else if(m<0)
printf(“\n\n first string is less than second string \n”);
else

printf(“\n\n first string is greater than second string \n”);

getch( );
}

Output:-

enter 2 strings KMIT

computers KMIT computers 1
First string is less than second string
5. stricmp ( ) function: This function is used to compare two strings. The characters of the strings ma
This function returns zero when two strings are same and it returns non-zero value if they are not equal

Syntax: stricmp(string1, string2);

Example Program: To compare two strings using stricmp( ).

void main( )

char sr[30], tr[30];

int s;
clrscr( );
printf (“\nEnter Source String:”);
KMIT Page 80
 gets(sr);

printf (“\nEnter Target String:”);

gets(tr);
s=stricmp(sr,tr);
if(s==0)
puts(“The two strings are Identical.”);
else

}
puts(“The two strings are Different”);
}
Output:-
Enter Source String: HELLO
Enter Target String: hello
The two strings are Identical.

6. strncmp ( ) function: This function is used to compare two strings. This function is same as strcmp( )
but it compares the character of the string to a specified length.

Syntax: strncmp(string1, string2,n);

Example program:
void main( )

{
char sr[30], tr[30];
int s,n;
clrscr( );
printf (“\nEnter Source String:”);
gets(sr);
printf (“\nEnter Target String:”);
gets(tr);

printf(“\n Enter length up to which comparison is to be made:”); scanf(“%d”,&n);

s=strncmp(sr,tr,n);
if(s==0)
puts(“The two strings are Identical up to %d characters.”,n); else
puts(“The two strings are Different”);getche( );}

Output:-

Enter
KMITSource String: goodmorning Enter Target String: goODNIGHT Page 81
Enter length up to which comparison is to be made:2 The two strings are Identical up to 2 characters.
7. strnicmp ( ) function: This function is used to compare two strings. This function is
same as strcmp( ) but it compares the character of the string to a specified length.
{

char sr[30], tr[30];

int s,n;

clrscr( );

printf (“\nEnter Source String:”);

gets(sr);

printf (“\nEnter Target String:”);

gets(tr);

printf(“\n Enter length up to which comparison is to be made:”);

scanf(“%d”,&n);

s=strnicmp(sr,tr,n);

if(s==0)

puts(“The two strings are Identical up to %d characters.”,n); else

puts(“The two strings are Different”); getche( );
KMIT
} Page 82

Output:-

Enter Source String: goodmorning Enter Target String: GOODNIGHT

Enter length upto which comparison is to be made4

The two strings are identical up to 4 characters.

8. strlwr ( ) function: This function can be used to convert any string to a lower
case. When you are passing any uppercase string to this function it converts into lower

Syntax: strlwr(string);
case.

strupr ( ) function: This function is the same as strlwr( ) but the difference is that
strupr( ) converts lower case strings to upper case.

Syntax: strupr(string);

Example Program: To implement the purpose of string upper()& string lower().

void main ( )

char a[80]=”SACHIN”, b[80] = “Karan”;

clrscr( );

printf(“\n\n %s \t %s”, a,b); strlwr(a);

strupr(b);

printf (“\n\n %s \t %s ”,a,b); getch( );

}

Output:-

SACHIN Karan

sachin KARAN

9. strdup( ) function: This function is used for duplicating a given string at the allocated
memory which is pointed by a pointer variable.
KMIT Page 83
 Syntax: string2 = strdup(string1);

Example Program: To enter the string and get it‟s duplicate.

void main( )

char s1[10], *s2;

clrscr( );

printf(“Enter text:”);

gets(s1);

s2 = strdup(s1);

printf(“\n original string = %s \n duplicate string = %s”,s1,s2);

getch();

Output:

Enter text: Engineering original string = Engineering duplicate string = Engineering

10. strchr( ) function: This function returns the pointer to a position in the first occurrence of the ch
Where, string is character array, ch is character variable & chp is a pointer which collects address returned
Example Program: To find first occurrence of a given character in a given string.

void main( )

char s[30], ch, *chp;

KMIT Page 84
clrscr( );

printf(“Enter text:”);

gets(s);

printf(“\n Character to find:”);

ch = getchar( );

chp = strchr(string,ch);

if(chp)

printf(“\n character %c found in string.”,ch);

else

printf(“\n character %c not found in string.”,ch);

getch( );}

Output:

Enter text: Hello how are you

Character to find: r

Character r found in string.

11. strrchr( ) function: In place of strchr( ) one can use strrchr( ). The difference
between them is that the strchr( ) searches occurrence of character from the beginning of
the string where as strrchr( ) searches occurrence of character from the end (reverse).
Syntax: chp = strrchr(string, ch);

12. strstr( ) function: This function finds second string in the first string. It returns the
pointer location from where the second string starts in the first string. In case the first
occurrence in the string is not observed, the function returns a NULL character.

Syntax: strstr(string1,string2);

Example Program: To implement strstr( ) function for occurrence of second string in

the first string.

KMIT Page 85
void main( )

char s1[30], s2[30], *chp;

clrscr( );

printf(“Enter text:”);

gets(s1); printf(“\

nEnter text:”);

gets(s2);

chp = strstr(s1,s2);

if(chp)

printf(“\n „%s‟ string is present in given string.”,s2); else

printf(“\n „%s‟ string is not present in given string.”,s2); getch( );}
Output:

Enter text: INDIA IS MY COUNTRY Enter text: INDIA

„INDIA‟ string is present in given string.
13. strcat ( ) function: This function appends the target string to the source string. Concatenation of

Syntax: strcat(string1, string2);

Example Program: To implement the purpose of string concat().

#include<string.h>

KMIT Page 86
 void main ( )

char s[80]=”Hello”, a[80] = “KMIT”;

clrscr( );

printf(“\n %s \t %s”, s,a);

strcat(s,a); // strcat (s, “KMIT”);

printf (“\n %s ”,s);

getch( ); }

Output:- Hello KMIT

HelloKMIT

14. strncat( ) function: This function is the same as that of strcat( ) function. The difference between
them is that the former does the concatenation of two strings with another up to the specified length.
Here, n is the number of characters to append.

Syntax: strncat(string1, string2, n);

Example Program: To append 2nd string with specified no. of characters at the end of the string using
strncat( ) function.
#include<string.h>

void main ( )
{

char s[80]="Hello", a[80] = "KMIT";

int n;

clrscr( );

printf("\n s=%s \t a=%s", s,a);

printf("\n Enter no. of characters to add:");

scanf("%d",&n);

strcat(s," ");

KMIT Page 87
strncat(s,a,n);

printf ("\n %s ",s);

getch( );

}
Output:-

s= Hello a = KMIT

Enter no. of characters to add: 2 Hello Mr

15. Strrev ( ) function: This function simply reverses the given string.

Syntax:strrev(string);

Example Program1: To implement the purpose of string reverse().

#include<string.h>

{
char s[30]=”hello”; clrscr( );

printf("\n\n original text = %s",s);

strrev(s);

printf ("\n\n reverse of text = %s",s);

getch( );

}
Output:-

s1=hello

s2=olleh

Example Program2: To implement the purpose of string reverse().

KMIT Page 88
void main( )

char t[30];

clrscr( );

printf(“enter string:”); scanf(“%s”, &t);// gets(t); printf(“\n\n given string = %s”,t); strrev(t);
printf (“\n\n reversed string = %s”,t); getch( );
}

Output:
enter string: abcdefgh given string = abcdefgh

reversed string = hgfedcba

16. strset( ) function: This function replaces every character of a string with the
symbol given by the programmer i.e. the elements of the strings are replaced with the
arguments given by the programmer.

Syntax: strset(string,symbol);

Example:

void main( )

char st[15], symbol;

clrscr( );
KMIT Page 89
puts(“Enter string:”);

gets(st);

puts(“Enter symbol for replacement:”); scanf(“%c”,&symbol);

printf(“\n\n Before strset( ): %s”,st); strset(st,symbol);
printf(“\n After strset( ): %s”,st); getch( );
}

Output:

Enter string: LEARN C

Enter symbol for replacement: Y

Before strset( ): LEARN C

After strset( ): YYYYYY

17. strnset( ) function: This function is the same as that of strset( ). Here the
specified length is provided. Where, n is the no. of characters to be replaced.

Syntax: strnset(string,symbol,n);

Example:

void main( )
{

char st[15], symbol;

int n;

clrscr( );

puts(“Enter string:”);

gets(st);
KMIT Page 90

puts(“\nEnter symbol for replacement:”); scanf(“%c”,&symbol);

puts(“\nHow many string characters to be replaced:”); scanf(“%d”,&n);
printf(“\n\n Before strset( ): %s”,st); strnset(st,symbol,n);
Enter string: ABCDEFGHIJ

Enter symbol for replacement: +

How many string characters to be replaced: 5

Before strset( ): ABCDEFGHIJ

After strset( ): +++++FGHIJ

18. strpbrk( ) function: This function searches the first occurrence of the
character in a given string and then it display the string starting from that character.
Syntax: strpbrk(string1, string2);

Example Program: To print given string from first occurrence of given character.

void main( )

char string1[20], string2[10];

char *ptr;

KMIT Page 91
 clrscr( );

printf(“Enter string:”); gets(string1);

printf(“\n Enter a character:”); gets(string2);
ptr = strpbrk(string1,string2);

puts(“\n String from given character:”); printf(ptr);

getch();

Output:

Enter string1: Good morning

Enter a character: d

String from given character: d morning.

ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS ON CHARACTERS

Observe the following example:

char x = “a‟;

printf (“%d”,x);

KMIT Page 92
 The above statement will display integer value 97 on the screen even
though x is a character variable, because when a character variable or
character constant is used in an expression, it is automatically converted
in to integer value by the system. The integer value is equivalent to
ASCII code.

We can perform arithmetic operations on character constants and variables.

Ex: int x;

x=‟z‟-1;

printf(“%d”,x);

The above statement is valid statement and that will display 121 one as result, because ASCII value of “z‟ is
atoi ( ) function:

This library function converts a string of digits into their integer values.

Syntax: atoi ( string);

Ex: int x;
char no[5] = “2012”; x = atoi(no); printf(“%d”,x);

The above statement will display x value as 2012 (which is an integer).

Array of Strings in C

In C programming String is a 1-D array of characters and is defined as an array of

characters. But an array of strings in C is a two-dimensional array of character types. Each
String is terminated with a null character (\0). It is an application of a 2d array.

Syntax:
Char variable_name[r]={list of strings};

KMIT Page 93
 where
 var_name is the name of the variable in C.
 r is the maximum number of string values that can be stored in a string array.
 c is the maximum number of character values that can be stored in each string array.

Example

// C Program to print Array of strings

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
char arr[3][10] = {"kmit", "college", "narayanguda"};
printf("String array Elements are:\n");

for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++)

{
printf("%s\n", arr[i]);
}
return 0;
}
Output:
kmit
college
narayanguda

KMIT Page 94