Introduction to Computing

Lecture 11
Character Strings

Assist.Prof.Dr. Nükhet ÖZBEK

Ege University
Department of Electrical&Electronics Engineering
[email protected]

1
 Topics
• Strings
– Representation
– Declaration
– Functions
– Common mistakes
– Index of a char in a string

2
 Introduction
• Grouping of characters is called a string
• As C implements the strings using arrays of
type char, we could not explore string
until we had dealt with arrays
• Strings are important, because we also have
to manipulate textual data as well as
numerical data

3
 On the Nature of Strings
• Recall: Main memory
– contiguous array of cells
– each cell has an address

0x1FFE 0x1FFF 0x2000 0x2001 0x2002

etc.

4
 On the Nature of Strings (cont.)
• Recall: Variable declaration
– sets aside a “box” to contain a value

Example: char ch;

ch = „B‟;

0x1FFE 0x1FFF 0x2000 0x2001 0x2002

etc.
„B‟
ch 5
 On the Nature of Strings (cont.)
• String declaration
– sets aside an array of cells
– each cell contains a char
– address of first cell in the array
Example: char name[5];

Specifies number
of cells in the array

6
 On the Nature of Strings (cont.)
• String declaration
– sets aside an array of cells
– each cell contains a char
– address of first cell in the array
Example: char name[5];

name
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2004
7
 Character Strings
Declaration 1:
char name[5];
Declaration 2:
#define MAXLENGTH 5

char name[MAXLENGTH];

name
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2004
8
 String Input/Output
#include <stdio.h>
No ampersand (&)!
#define MAXLENGTH 15

int main()
{
char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

scanf("%s %s", string1, string2);

printf("%s %s\n", string1, string2);

return 0;
}

9
 String Input/Output (Alternate
functions)
#include <stdio.h>

#define MAXLENGTH 15

int main()
{
char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

gets(string1);
gets(string2);

puts(string1);
puts(string2);
return 0; 10
}
 Character Strings
Terminating Character:
Initialization: • Marks the end of string
• Special char: ’\0’
char name[5] = “Ali”;
• aka NUL (single L)

name A l i \0
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2004

11
 Character Strings
Can store
at most 4 letters,
Initialization:
because of `\0‟
char name[5] = “Ali”;

name A l i \0
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2004

12
 Character Strings
Takes up an
Declaration 3:
extra cell for „\0‟
char name[] = “Ali”;

name A l i \0
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2003

13
 Character Strings
Result is
Declaration 4: “undefined”
char *name = “Ali”; if you try to
modify this
string.

0x3000 A l i \0
name

0x3000 0x3003 14
 Character Strings

Declaration 5:

char name[];

String with arbitrary

length?
No! Will cause an
error.

15
 Arrays of Strings
• One string is an array of characters, so an
array of strings is a two-dimensional array
of characters in which each row is a string
• Example
– char days[7][10] = {“Monday”,
“Tuesday”, “Wednesday”,
“Thursday”, “Friday”,
“Saturday”, “Sunday”};

16
 A Char in a String

• The size of a character string is fixed.

• Character at position index:
– string[index]
– first character has index 0

17
 A Char in a String
0x3995 0x399C

name A i s e \0
is 0x3995

index 0 index 4

char name[8] = “Aise”;

int i = 2;

printf(“Char at index %d is %c.\n”, i, name[i]);

output: Char at index 2 is s.

18
 A Char in a String
0x3995 0x399C

name A i s e \0
is 0x3995

index 2

char name[8] = “Aise”;

name[2] = „X‟;
printf(“Name: %s\n”, name);

19
 A Char in a String
0x3995 0x399C

name A i X e \0
is 0x3995

index 2

char name[8] = “Aise”;

name[2] = „X‟;
printf(“Name: %s\n”, name);

output: Name: AiXe

20
 String Operations

• #include <string.h>
• Operations:
– Assignment: strcpy()
– Concatenation: strcat()
– Comparison: strcmp()
– Length: strlen()

21
String Operation: Assignment
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

#define MAXLENGTH 100

int main()
{
char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

strcpy(string1, “Hello World!”);

strcpy(string2, string1);

return 0;
}
string1: <garbage>
string2: <garbage> 22
String Operation: Assignment
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

#define MAXLENGTH 100

int main()
{
char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

strcpy(string1, “Hello World!”);

strcpy(string2, string1);

return 0;
}
string1: “Hello World!”
string2: <garbage> 23
 String Operation: Assignment
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

#define MAXLENGTH 100

int main()
{
char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

strcpy(string1, “Hello World!”);

strcpy(string2, string1);

return 0;
}
string1: “Hello World!”
string2: “Hello World!” 24
 Common Mistake:
Wrong Assignment

Example 1:
char name1[5] = “Ali”;
char name2[5] = “Sami”;

name2 = name1;

Error: “LValue required....”

25
 Common Mistake:
Bad Assignment

Example 2:
char *name1 = “Ali”;
char *name2 = “Sami”;

name2 = name1;
Better avoid
(Usually, no error message.) initialising
strings this way.

26
 Common Mistake:
Bad Assignment
char *name1 = “Ali”;
char *name2 = “Sami”;

0x2000 A l i \0
name1

0x2000 0x2003

0x3990 S a m i \0
name2

0x3990 0x3994 27
 Common Mistake:
Bad Assignment
name2 = name1;

0x2000 A l i \0
name1

0x2000 0x2003

0x2000 S a m i \0
name2

0x3990 0x3994 28
 Common Mistake:
Not enough space

char name[] = “Ali”;

strcpy(name, “Samir”);

name A l i \0
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2003 29
 Common Mistake:
Not enough space

Requires caution.
char name[] = “Ali”;

strcpy(name, “Samir”);

name S a m i r \0
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2003 30
String Operation: Concatenation

char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

strcpy(string1, “Goodbye”);
strcpy(string2, “, Cruel ”);

strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, “World!”);

string1: “Goodbye”
string2: “, Cruel “
31
String Operation: Concatenation

char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

strcpy(string1, “Goodbye”);
strcpy(string2, “, Cruel ”);

strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, “World!”);

string1: “Goodbye, Cruel ”

string2: “, Cruel “
32
String Operation: Concatenation

char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

strcpy(string1, “Goodbye”);
strcpy(string2, “, Cruel ”);

strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, “World!”);

string1: “Goodbye, Cruel , Cruel ”

string2: “, Cruel “
33
String Operation: Concatenation

char string1[MAXLENGTH];
char string2[MAXLENGTH];

strcpy(string1, “Goodbye”);
strcpy(string2, “, Cruel ”);

strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, string2);
strcat(string1, “World!”);

string1: “Goodbye, Cruel , Cruel World!”

string2: “, Cruel “
34
 Common Mistake:
Not enough space

char name[5];

strcpy(name, “Ali”);
strcat(name, “ Osman”);

name A l i \0
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2004 35
 Common Mistake:
Not enough space

char name[5];

strcpy(name, “Ali”);
strcat(name, “ Osman”);

name A l i O s m a n \0
is 0x2000

0x2000 0x2004 36
String Operation: Comparison
strcpy(string1, “Apple”);
strcpy(string2, “Wax”);

if (strcmp(string1, string2) < 0)

{
printf(“%s %s\n”, string1, string2);
}
else
{
printf(“%s %s\n”, string2, string1);
}

output: Apple Wax

37
String Operation: Comparison
strcpy(string1, “Apple”);
strcpy(string2, “Wax”);

if (strcmp(string1, string2) < 0)

{
printf(“%s %s\n”, string1, string2);
}
else
{ Returns:
negative
printf(“%s %s\n”, string2,ifstring1);
string1 <string2
}
zero if string1 == string2
positive if string1 > string2

38
 Common Mistake:
Wrong Comparison

strcpy(string1, “Apple”);
strcpy(string2, “Wax”);

if (string1 < string2)

{
printf(“%s %s\n”, string1, string2);
}
else
{
printf(“%s %s\n”, string2, string1);
}

39
 String Operation: Length

char string1[100];

strcpy(string1, “Apple”);

printf(“%d\n”, strlen(string1));

output: 5

Number of char‟s
before the `\0‟.
40
 Common Mistake:
Not enough space

char name[5];

strcpy(name, “Osman”); Don‟t forget

the „\0‟.

name O s m a n \0
is 0x3990

0x3990 0x3994 41
 Character Strings as Parameters
• Strings as formal parameters are declared as
char* or char[]
– Examples:
void Greet ( char* name )
void Greet ( char name[] )

• As pointer to the first element of the string (array

of chars).
• Changes to the string inside the function affect the
actual string.
42
Example: hello3.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h> int main()
#define NAMELEN 50 {
char user[NAMELEN];
/* Print a simple greeting to
the user. */ printf("Who are you? ");
scanf("%s", user);
void Greet ( char * name ) Greet(user);
{ printf("%s\n", user);
strcat(name,"! How are you?");
} return 0;
}

user

Ali
43
Example: hello3.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h> int main()
#define NAMELEN 50 {
char user[NAMELEN];
/* Print a simple greeting to
the user. */ printf("Who are you? ");
scanf("%s", user);
void Greet ( char * name ) Greet(user);
{ printf("%s\n", user);
strcat(name,"! How are you?");
} return 0;
}

name user

Ali\0
44
Example: hello3.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h> int main()
#define NAMELEN 50 {
char user[NAMELEN];
/* Print a simple greeting to
the user. */ printf("Who are you? ");
scanf("%s", user);
void Greet ( char * name ) Greet(user);
{ printf("%s\n", user);
strcat(name,"! How are you?");
} return 0;
}

name user

Ali! How are you?\0

45
Example: hello3.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h> int main()
#define NAMELEN 50 {
char user[NAMELEN];
/* Print a simple greeting to
the user. */ printf("Who are you? ");
scanf("%s", user);
void Greet ( char * name ) Greet(user);
{ printf("%s\n", user);
strcat(name,"! How are you?");
} return 0;
}

user

Ali! How are you?\0

46
More of scanf demystified
No ampersand
(&) in scanf
int main()
with strings! {
char user[NAMELEN];

printf("Who are you? ");

scanf("%s", user);
Greet(user);
printf("%s\n", user);

return 0;
}

47
 sscanf function
• sscanf function works exactly like scanf except
that instead of taking the data values for its output
parameters from the standard input device, it
takes data from the string that is its first argument
• Example
sscanf(“85 96.2 hello”,”%d%lf%s”,&n,&val,
word);

48
 Summary
• A string is a contiguous array of chars
• The string identifier is the address of the first char
in the string
• Individual chars are accessed using the
str[index] notation
• There are C library functions for copying,
concatenating and comparing and finding lengths
of strings

49