A token is nothing but a smallest element of a program which is meaningful to the compiler. The compiler that breaks a program into the smallest units is called tokens and these tokens proceed to the different stages of the compilation.
Types
Tokens are classified into different types, which are mentioned below −
- Keywords
- Identifiers
- Constants
- Strings
- Special Symbols
- Operators
Example
Given below is the C program the use of identifiers, keywords, variables etc.
#include <stdio.h>
int main(){
int a,b,c;
printf("enter a and b values: \n");
scanf("%d%d",&a,&b);
c=a*b;
printf("value of c=%d",c);
return 0;
}Output
When the above program is executed, it produces the following result −
enter a and b values:4 5 value of c=20
In the above program,
- main is the identifier.
- int is the keyword.
- { } are the delimiters.
- a,b,c are the variables.
All together are called as tokens.