C Strings

📚 C Strings – Introduction to String Handling in C

A string in C is an array of characters terminated by a special null character \0. Strings are used to store text data in C programs. In this tutorial, we will learn how to declare, initialize, and manipulate strings in C.

🔹 Declaring a String

A string is declared as an array of characters. The size of the array must be large enough to hold the string, including the null terminator \0.

📝 Example 1: Declaring a String

Here’s an example of declaring a string:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char str[6] = "Hello"; // Declaring a string with 5 characters + null terminator
    
    printf("String: %s\n", str); // Printing the string
    return 0;
}
  

🔹 Initializing a String

You can initialize a string at the time of declaration. When initializing, you can either provide the string literal or an array of characters, ensuring there is space for the null terminator.

📝 Example 2: Initializing a String

Here’s an example of initializing a string:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char str[] = "Hello, World!"; // The size is automatically determined based on the string
    
    printf("String: %s\n", str); // Printing the string
    return 0;
}
  

🔹 Accessing Individual Characters

In C, strings are arrays of characters, so you can access individual characters in a string using array indexing.

📝 Example 3: Accessing Individual Characters

In this example, we access and print individual characters of a string:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char str[] = "Hello";
    
    // Accessing and printing individual characters
    for (int i = 0; str[i] != '\0'; i++) {
        printf("Character at position %d: %c\n", i, str[i]);
    }
    
    return 0;
}
  

🎯 Key Points about Strings in C

• A string in C is an array of characters terminated by \0.
• Strings can be declared as arrays of characters, and they can be initialized with string literals.
• You can access individual characters in a string using array indexing.
• In C, strings are treated as arrays, and you must be mindful of the null terminator \0.

💡 Practice Challenge

Try modifying the string by changing its contents or accessing specific characters in the string. Experiment with different string operations and observe how they affect the output!