Chapter 8 - Strings

Strings

Strings in C are arrays of characters that are used to store and manipulate text. In C, strings are not a built-in data type, but rather a combination of an array of characters and a set of functions that manipulate those arrays.

One of the most common ways to create a string in C is to use an array of characters. For example:

char string1[] = "Hello, World!";

This creates an array of characters called "string1" and initializes it with the string "Hello, World!". The size of the array is determined by the number of characters in the string, including the null character (\0) that marks the end of the string.

Another way to create a string in C is to use a pointer to a char. For example:

char *string2 = "Hello, World!";

This creates a pointer to a char called "string2" and initializes it with the address of the string "Hello, World!".

There are many functions in C that can be used to manipulate strings, including strlen(), strcpy(), strcat(), and strcmp(). For example, the strlen() function can be used to find the length of a string:

int length = strlen(string1);

The strcpy() function can be used to copy one string to another:

char string3[100];
strcpy(string3, string1);

The strcat() function can be used to concatenate two strings:

char string4[100] = "Hello, ";
strcat(string4, "World!");

The strcmp() function can be used to compare two strings:

int result = strcmp(string1, string2);

It's important to note that string in C are null-terminated, which means they end with a special character called the null character (\0). This character is used to indicate the end of the string and is automatically added to the end of any string created in C.

In conclusion, strings in C are a combination of arrays of characters and functions that manipulate those arrays. They are not a built-in data type, but are commonly used in C programming. Understanding how to create and manipulate strings in C is an essential part of programming in C.