scanf() Function in C Programming

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In C programming scanf() function is a standard library function which is used to receive the values of variables from the keyboard.

Let’s take an example of scanf() function, in below example let supply the value of variables a and b from the keyboard.

scanf("%d %d", &a, &b);

Explanation

On the above example:

• Both %d %d are format specifier, which indicates two int type input.
• &a is address of variable a, which recieves first input.
• &b is address of variable b, which recieves second input.

Must Remember

• Within the double quotes, there should be only format specifications like %c, %d, %f etc.
• Variable names must be preceded by the address of operator &.
• To use scanf() function must include stdio.h header file in the program.
• In the scanf() function, 3 things are very important i.e. format specifier, address operator, and variable.

Examples based on scanf() function.

Example 1

Write a program that takes two numbers as input and print their sum as output.

#include<stdio.h> void main() { int a,b,sum; printf("Enter Two Number \n"); scanf("%d %d", &a, &b); sum=a+b; printf("\n"); printf("Sum of both numbers is %d", sum); getch(); }

Output

Enter Two Number 12 44 Sum of both numbers is 56

Example 2

Take inputs employee name, age, and salary and print employee details as a story.

#include<stdio.h> void main() { char emp; int age, sal; printf("Enter Employee Name \n"); scanf("%c", &emp); printf("\n Enter Employee Age \n"); scanf("%d", &age); printf("\n Enter Employee Salary \n"); scanf("%d", &sal); printf("\n Story is ------ \n"); printf("There was an employee Mr. %c \n", emp); printf("He was %d year old \n", age); printf("He was earning $%d in a month\n", sal); printf("He was very happy in his life"); getch(); }

Output

Enter Employee Name A Enter Employee Age 28 Enter Employee Salary 2500 Story is ------ There was an employee Mr. A He was 28 year old He was earning $2500 in a month He was very happy in his life

Important points about scanf() function

• Number of format specifiers and number of variable’s address must be same.
• Order of format specifiers and data type of variable’s address must be same.

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