Program To Print Characters In A String in C

Introduction

In this blog we will learn how to print characters in a string in C++ language. Whenever we want to store a sequence of characters, such as the name of students, etc., then we use a character array of some predefined size in any programming language, such as C or C++. 

Strings

What are the strings?

Strings are the sequence of characters used to convey information in texts, or we can say that a string is a one-dimensional array of characters that must always end with the special character '\0' (NULL). Because each character occupies one byte of memory and because a string always ends with a null character, the size of the character array used to store the string is always one greater than the number of characters in the string/word to be stored.

To take a character as an input or to print a character, we use %c as format specifier in C language, and we use %s as format specifier in case of strings in C language.

You can also read about dynamic array in c and C Static Function.

Format Specifier

The format specifiers in the C language are used for input-output purposes. Using the concept of format specifier, the compiler can determine what sort of data is in a variable when using the scanf() and printf() functions to take input and print it. 

Using some examples, let's understand how to print characters in a string in C language.

You can also read about  Starcat () in C, and Tribonacci Series

Examples

1. C program to print characters in a simple string

Code:

#include <stdio.h> 
int main()
{
   // printf print the argument (a string) passed to it
   printf("This is a simple string.");   
   return 0;
}

You can also try this code with Online C Compiler

Run Code

Output

2. C program to print characters stored in a string as a character array

Code:

#include <stdio.h> 
int main()
{
   char arr[100] = "Hey, I am learning the C language through blogs of Coding Ninjas.";
   printf("%s", arr);   
   // here %s is format specifier for string
   return 0;
}

You can also try this code with Online C Compiler

Run Code

Output

Also read reverse a number.

3. Program to print characters in a string in C

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
    char str[100]="NINJA";
    
    //Printing the characters with their index position of the given string str
    for(int i = 0; str[i] != '\0'; i++)
    {
        printf("The Character at %d Index Position = %c \n", i, str[i]);
    }
    return 0;
}

You can also try this code with Online C Compiler

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Output

The above for loop terminates with '\0' (NULL character), which marks the end of the string.

4. Program to print characters in a string in C using while loop

We can do the same thing as above by using a while loop in place of for loop.

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
    char str[100]="NINJA";
    int c=0;
    printf("Individual characters from the given string:\n"); 
    //Printing the characters of the given string str with spaces between them
    while (str[c] != '\0') {
      printf("%c ", str[c]);
      c++;
   }

    return 0;
}

You can also try this code with Online C Compiler

Run Code

Output

For practice, you can try this code on an online C compiler.

The programs above explain various methods to print characters in a string in C language. Now let's move on to the FAQ section.

Must Read what is storage class in c and Decision Making in C

FAQs

1. What are the strings in the C language?
   Strings are the sequence of characters used to convey information in texts, or we can say that a string is a one-dimensional array of characters that must always end with the special character '0' (NULL).
2. What happens if we don't have a null character at the end of the string?
   A null char is required by several functions that work with strings. Because the pointer tries to access memory that is not owned by the program and in the absence of a null character, the program will terminate with a Segmentation Fault.
3. Are there any built-in functions to manipulate strings in C language?
   Yes, C language offers various in-built functions to manipulate strings, and all these functions are present in the C standard library " string. H".
4. Why does format specifiers are used in the C language?
   The format specifiers in the C language are used for input-output purposes. Using the concept of format specifier, the compiler can determine what sort of data is in a variable when using the scanf() and printf() functions to take input and print it. 
5. What are %c and %s, and why are they used?
   The %c and %s are the format specifiers in C language, and to take a character as an input or to print a character, we use %c, and in the case of strings, we use %s as the format specifier.