C Programming Interview Questions
C Programming Interview Questions
C Programming
Interview Questions
A list of top 50 frequently asked C
programming interview questions and
answers are given below.
1) What is C language?
C is known as a mother language because most of the compilers and JVMs are written in C
language. Most of the languages which are developed after C language has borrowed
heavily from it like C++, Python, Rust, javascript, etc. It introduces new core concepts like
arrays, functions, file handling which are used in these languages. More details.
C is called a mid-level programming language because it binds the low level and high -level
programming language. We can use C language as a System programming to develop the
operating system as well as an Application programming to generate menu driven customer
driven billing system. More details.
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Portable: C is highly portable means that once the program is written can be run on
any machine with little or no modifications.
Fast Speed: C language is very fast as it uses a powerful set of data types and
operators.
More details.
printf(): The printf() function is used to print the integer, character, float and string values
on to the screen.
scanf(): The scanf() function is used to take input from the user.
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More details.
Following are the differences between a local variable and global variable:
Life Life of a variable is created when the Life of a variable exists until the
function block is entered and program is executing.
destroyed on its exit.
Storage Variables are stored in a stack unless The compiler decides the
specified. storage location of a variable.
More details.
Static variables are used because the scope of the static variable is available in the
entire program. So, we can access a static variable anywhere in the program.
The static variable is initially initialized to zero. If we update the value of a variable,
then the updated value is assigned.
The static variable is used as a common value which is shared by all the methods.
The static variable is initialized only once in the memory heap to reduce the memory
usage. ⇧
More details.
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C functions are used to avoid the rewriting the same code again and again in our
program.
C functions can be called any number of times from any place of our program.
When a program is divided into functions, then any part of our program can easily
be tracked.
C functions provide the reusability concept, i.e., it breaks the big task into smaller
tasks so that it makes the C program more understandable.
More details.
Following are the differences between a call by value and call by reference are:
Description When a copy of the value is passed When a copy of the value is passed
to the function, then the original to the function, then the original
value is not modified. value is modified.
Safety In this case, actual arguments In this case, actual arguments are
remain safe as they cannot be not reliable, as they are modified.
modified.
Arguments The copies of the actual arguments The addresses of actual arguments
are passed to the formal arguments. are passed to their respective
formal arguments.
#include <stdio.h>
void change(int,int);
int main()
{
int a=10,b=20; ⇧
change(a,b); //calling a function by passing the values of variables.
printf("Value of a is: %d",a);
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printf("\n");
printf("Value of b is: %d",b);
return 0;
}
void change(int x,int y)
{
x=13;
y=17;
}
Output:
Value of a is: 10
Value of b is: 20
#include <stdio.h>
void change(int*,int*);
int main()
{
int a=10,b=20;
change(&a,&b); // calling a function by passing references of variables.
printf("Value of a is: %d",a);
printf("\n");
printf("Value of b is: %d",b);
return 0;
}
void change(int *x,int *y)
{
*x=13;
*y=17;
}
Output:
Value of a is: 13
Value of b is: 17
More details.
⇧
12) What is recursion in C?
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When a function calls itself, and this process is known as recursion. The function that calls
itself is known as a recursive function.
1. Winding phase
2. Unwinding phase
Winding phase: When the recursive function calls itself, and this phase ends when the
condition is reached.
Unwinding phase: Unwinding phase starts when the condition is reached, and the control
returns to the original call.
Example of recursion
#include <stdio.h>
int calculate_fact(int);
int main()
{
int n=5,f;
f=calculate_fact(n); // calling a function
printf("factorial of a number is %d",f);
return 0;
}
int calculate_fact(int a)
{
if(a==1)
{
return 1;
}
else
return a*calculate_fact(a-1); //calling a function recursively.
}
Output:
More details.
Syntax:
data_type array_name[size];
Syntax:
data_type array_name[size];
Example of an array:
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
int arr[5]={1,2,3,4,5}; //an array consists of five integer values.
for(int i=0;i<5;i++)
{
printf("%d ",arr[i]);
}
return 0;
}
Output:
1 2 3 4 5
More details.
A pointer is a variable that refers to the address of a value. It makes the code optimized
and makes the performance fast. Whenever a variable is declared inside a program, then
the system allocates some memory to a variable. The memory contains some address
number. The variables that hold this address number is known as the pointer variable.
For example:
Data_type *p;
⇧
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The above syntax tells that p is a pointer variable that holds the address number of a given
data type value.
Example of pointer
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
int *p; //pointer of type integer.
int a=5;
p=&a;
printf("Address value of 'a' variable is %u",p);
return 0;
}
Output:
More details.
Call by Reference: The pointers are used to pass a reference of a variable to other
function.
Data Structures like a tree, graph, linked list, etc.: The pointers are used to
construct different data structures like tree, graph, linked list, etc.
A pointer that doesn't refer to any address of value but NULL is known as a NULL pointer.
When we assign a '0' value to a pointer of any type, then it becomes a Null pointer.
More details.
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A pointer which can access all the 16 segments (whole residence memory) of RAM is known
as far pointer. A far pointer is a 32-bit pointer that obtains information outside the memory
in a given section.
If a pointer is pointing any memory location, but meanwhile another pointer deletes
the memory occupied by the first pointer while the first pointer still points to that
memory location, the first pointer will be known as a dangling pointer. This problem
is known as a dangling pointer problem.
Dangling pointer arises when an object is deleted without modifying the value of the
pointer. The pointer points to the deallocated memory.
#include<stdio.h>
void main()
{
int *ptr = malloc(constant value); //allocating a memory space.
free(ptr); //ptr becomes a dangling pointer.
}
In the above example, initially memory is allocated to the pointer variable ptr, and then the
memory is deallocated from the pointer variable. Now, pointer variable, i.e., ptr becomes a
dangling pointer.
The problem of a dangling pointer can be overcome by assigning a NULL value to the
dangling pointer. Let's understand this through an example:
#include<stdio.h>
void main()
{
int *ptr = malloc(constant value); //allocating a memory space.
free(ptr); //ptr becomes a dangling pointer.
ptr=NULL; //Now, ptr is no longer a dangling pointer.
}
In the above example, after deallocating the memory from a pointer variable, ptr is
assigned to a NULL value. This means that ptr does not point to any memory location.
Therefore, it is no longer a dangling pointer.
⇧
19) What is pointer to pointer in C?
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In case of a pointer to pointer concept, one pointer refers to the address of another pointer.
The pointer to pointer is a chain of pointers. Generally, the pointer contains the address of
a variable. The pointer to pointer contains the address of a first pointer. Let's understand
this concept through an example:
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
int a=10;
int *ptr,**pptr; // *ptr is a pointer and **pptr is a double pointer.
ptr=&a;
pptr=&ptr;
printf("value of a is:%d",a);
printf("\n");
printf("value of *ptr is : %d",*ptr);
printf("\n");
printf("value of **pptr is : %d",**pptr);
return 0;
}
In the above example, pptr is a double pointer pointing to the address of the ptr variable
and ptr points to the address of 'a' variable.
More details.
The pointer is required to access the variable present in the static memory.
For example:
int a[10];
The above example creates an array of integer type, and the size of an array is fixed, i.e.,
10. ⇧
More details.
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The malloc() or calloc() function is required to allocate the memory at the runtime.
For example
int *p= malloc(sizeof(int)*10);
More details.
1. malloc()
The malloc() function is used to allocate the memory during the execution of
the program.
It does not initialize the memory but carries the garbage value.
It returns a null pointer if it could not be able to allocate the requested space.
Syntax
2. calloc()
The calloc() is same as malloc() function, but the difference only is that it
initializes the memory with zero value.
Syntax
3. realloc()
⇧
The realloc() function is used to reallocate the memory to the new size.
If sufficient space is not available in the memory, then the new block is
allocated to accommodate the existing data.
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Syntax
ptr = realloc(ptr, newsize); // updating the memory size using realloc() function.
Syntax
The above syntax releases the memory from a pointer variable ptr.
More details.
calloc() malloc()
Initialization It initializes the content of the It does not initialize the content of
memory to zero. memory, so it carries the garbage
value.
More details.
The structure is a user-defined data type that allows storing multiple types of data in
a single unit. It occupies the sum of the memory of all members.
Structure variables accessing the same structure but the memory allocated for each
variable will be different. ⇧
Syntax of structure
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struct structure_name
{
Member_variable1;
Member_variable2
.
.
}[structure variables];
#include <stdio.h>
struct student
{
char name[10]; // structure members declaration.
int age;
}s1; //structure variable
int main()
{
printf("Enter the name");
scanf("%s",s1.name);
printf("\n");
printf("Enter the age");
scanf("%d",&s1.age);
printf("\n");
printf("Name and age of a student: %s,%d",s1.name,s1.age);
return 0;
}
Output:
More details.
The union is a user-defined data type that allows storing multiple types of data in a
single unit. However, it doesn't occupy the sum of the memory of all members. It
holds the memory of the largest member only.
⇧
In union, we can access only one variable at a time as it allocates one common
space for all the members of a union.
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Syntax of union
union union_name
{
Member_variable1;
Member_variable2;
.
.
Member_variable n;
}[union variables];
#include<stdio.h>
union data
{
int a; //union members declaration.
float b;
char ch;
};
int main()
{
union data d; //union variable.
d.a=3;
d.b=5.6;
d.ch='a';
printf("value of a is %d",d.a);
printf("\n");
printf("value of b is %f",d.b);
printf("\n");
printf("value of ch is %c",d.ch);
return 0;
}
Output:
value of a is 1085485921
value of b is 5.600022
value of ch is a
In the above example, the value of a and b gets corrupted, and only variable ch shows the
⇧
actual output. This is because all the members of a union share the common memory
space. Hence, the variable ch whose value is currently updated.
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More details.
The sprintf() stands for "string print." The sprintf() function does not print the output on
the console screen. It transfers the data to the buffer. It returns the total number of
characters present in the string.
Syntax
#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
char a[20];
int n=sprintf(a,"javaToint");
printf("value of n is %d",n);
return 0;}
Output:
value of n is 9
But, if we use #define, we can compile and run a C program without using the main()
function. For example:
#include<stdio.h> ⇧
#define start main
void start() {
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printf("Hello");
}
More details.
The Token is an identifier. It can be constant, keyword, string literal, etc. A token is the
smallest individual unit in a program. C has the following tokens:
2. Keywords: Keywords are the predefined words that are explained by the compiler.
3. Constants: Constants are the fixed values that cannot be changed during the
execution of a program.
5. Special characters: All the characters except alphabets and digits are treated as
special characters.
The argument passed to the main() function while executing the program is known as
command line argument. For example:
More details.
The ANSI stands for " American National Standard Institute." It is an organization that
maintains the broad range of disciplines including photographic film, computer languages,
data encoding, mechanical parts, safety and more.
The getch() function reads a single character from the keyboard. It doesn't use any buffer,
so entered data will not be displayed on the output screen.
The getche() function reads a single character from the keyword, but data is displayed on
⇧
the output screen. Press Alt+f5 to see the entered character.
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#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
int main()
{
char ch;
printf("Enter a character ");
ch=getch(); // taking an user input without printing the value.
printf("\nvalue of ch is %c",ch);
printf("\nEnter a character again ");
ch=getche(); // taking an user input and then displaying it on the screen.
printf("\nvalue of ch is %c",ch);
return 0;
}
Output:
Enter a character
value of ch is a
Enter a character again a
value of ch is a
In the above example, the value entered through a getch() function is not displayed on the
screen while the value entered through a getche() function is displayed on the screen.
The new line escape sequence is represented by "\n". It inserts a new line on the output
screen.
More details.
Brain Kernighan.
35) What is the difference between near, far and huge pointers?
⇧
A near pointer doesn't have explicit selector whereas far, and huge pointers have explicit
selector. When you perform pointer arithmetic on the far pointer, the selector is not
modified, but in case of a huge pointer, it can be modified.
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These are the non-standard keywords and implementation specific. These are irrelevant in
a modern platform.
The typecasting is a process of converting one data type into another is known as
typecasting. If we want to store the floating type value to an int type, then we will convert
the data type into another data type explicitly.
Syntax
(type_name) expression;
38) What are the functions to open and close the file in C
language?
The fopen() function is used to open file whereas fclose() is used to close file.
Yes, by holding the base address of array into a pointer, we can access the array using a
pointer.
A loop running continuously for an indefinite number of times is called the infinite loop.
for(;;){
//code to be executed
}
while(1){
//code to be executed ⇧
}
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do{
//code to be executed
}while(1);
#include<stdio.h>
void main(){
if(printf("hello world")){} // It prints the ?hello world? on the screen.
}
More details.
42) Write a program to swap two numbers without using the third
variable?
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
main()
{
int a=10, b=20; //declaration of variables.
clrscr(); //It clears the screen.
printf("Before swap a=%d b=%d",a,b);
a=a+b;//a=30 (10+20)
b=a-b;//b=10 (30-20)
a=a-b;//a=20 (30-10)
More details.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
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void main()
{
int n1=0,n2=1,n3,i,number;
clrscr();
printf("Enter the number of elements:");
scanf("%d",&number);
printf("\n%d %d",n1,n2);//printing 0 and 1
More details.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
void printFibonacci(int n) // function to calculate the fibonacci series of a given number.
{
static int n1=0,n2=1,n3; // declaration of static variables.
if(n>0){
n3 = n1 + n2;
n1 = n2;
n2 = n3;
printf("%d ",n3);
printFibonacci(n-1); //calling the function recursively.
}
}
void main(){
int n;
clrscr();
printf("Enter the number of elements: ");
scanf("%d",&n);
⇧
printf("Fibonacci Series: ");
printf("%d %d ",0,1);
printFibonacci(n-2);//n-2 because 2 numbers are already printed
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getch();
}
More details.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
void main()
{
int n,i,m=0,flag=0; //declaration of variables.
clrscr(); //It clears the screen.
printf("Enter the number to check prime:");
scanf("%d",&n);
m=n/2;
for(i=2;i<=m;i++)
{
if(n%i==0)
{
printf("Number is not prime");
flag=1;
break; //break keyword used to terminate from the loop.
}
}
if(flag==0)
printf("Number is prime");
getch(); //It reads a character from the keyword.
}
More details.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
main()
{
int n,r,sum=0,temp;
⇧
clrscr();
printf("enter the number=");
scanf("%d",&n);
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temp=n;
while(n>0)
{
r=n%10;
sum=(sum*10)+r;
n=n/10;
}
if(temp==sum)
printf("palindrome number ");
else
printf("not palindrome");
getch();
}
More details.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
void main(){
int i,fact=1,number;
clrscr();
printf("Enter a number: ");
scanf("%d",&number);
for(i=1;i<=number;i++){
fact=fact*i;
}
printf("Factorial of %d is: %d",number,fact);
getch();
}
More details.
#include<stdio.h>
⇧
#include<conio.h>
long factorial(int n) // function to calculate the factorial of a given number.
{
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if (n == 0)
return 1;
else
return(n * factorial(n-1)); //calling the function recursively.
}
void main()
{
int number; //declaration of variables.
long fact;
clrscr();
printf("Enter a number: ");
scanf("%d", &number);
fact = factorial(number); //calling a function.
printf("Factorial of %d is %ld\n", number, fact);
getch(); //It reads a character from the keyword.
}
More details.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
main()
{
int n,r,sum=0,temp; //declaration of variables.
clrscr(); //It clears the screen.
printf("enter the number=");
scanf("%d",&n);
temp=n;
while(n>0)
{
r=n%10;
sum=sum+(r*r*r);
n=n/10;
}
if(temp==sum)
printf("armstrong number ");
else
printf("not armstrong number");
⇧
getch(); //It reads a character from the keyword.
}
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More details.
#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
main()
{
int n, reverse=0, rem; //declaration of variables.
clrscr(); // It clears the screen.
printf("Enter a number: ");
scanf("%d", &n);
while(n!=0)
{
rem=n%10;
reverse=reverse*10+rem;
n/=10;
}
printf("Reversed Number: %d",reverse);
getch(); // It reads a character from the keyword.
}
More details.
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