C H A R A C T E R A R R AY S -

STRINGS
Objectives

To learn and appreciate the following concepts

• Strings definition, declaration, initialization
• Reading Strings
• String Handling Functions
• Programs using strings
• Array of Strings
• Operations on array of strings

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 2

Session outcome

At the end of session student will be able to

• Declare and initialize strings and array of strings

• Write programs using strings

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 3

Strings
Definition
▪ A string is an array of characters.
▪ Any group of characters (except double quote sign) defined between double quotation
marks is a constant string.
▪ Character strings are often used to build meaningful and readable programs.
The common operations performed on strings are
✓Reading and writing strings
✓Combining strings together
✓Copying one string to another
✓Comparing strings to another
✓Extracting a portion of a string (substring) ..etc.

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 4

Strings
Declaration and initialization
char string_name[size];
The size determines the number of characters in the string_name.

For example, consider the following array:

char name [20];
is an array that can store up to 20 elements of type char.
It can be represented as:

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Strings
✓The character sequences "Hello" and "Merry Christmas" represented in an array
name respectively are shown as follows :

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Initialization of null-terminated character sequences
▪ array of characters or strings are ordinary arrays that follow the same
rules of arrays.

For example

To initialize an array of characters with some predetermined sequence of

characters, one can initialize like any other array:

char myWord[ ] = { 'H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', '\0' };

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 7

Initialization of null-terminated character sequences
▪ Arrays of character elements have additional methods to initialize their
values: using string literals
▪ “Manipal ” is a constant string literal.
For example,
char result[14] =“Manipal”;
▪ Double quoted (") strings are literal constants whose type is in fact a null-
terminated array of characters.
So string literals enclosed between double quotes always have a null
character ('\0') automatically appended at the end.
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Initialization
char myWord [ ] = { 'H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', '\0' };

char myWord [ ] = "Hello";

▪ In both cases the array of characters myword is declared with a size of 6

elements of type char:

✓The 5 characters that compose the word "Hello" plus a final null character
('\0') which specifies the end of the sequence and that,

✓In the second case, when using double quotes (") null character ('\0') is
appended automatically.

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Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

char question[ ] = "Please, enter your first name: ";

char greeting[ ] = "Hello, ";

char yourname [ 80];

scanf(“%s”,yourname); //format specifier: %s

printf(“%s, %s\n”,greeting , yourname );

return 0;

}
5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 10
Example
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
const int MAX = 80;//max characters in string
char str[MAX]; //string variable str

printf( “Enter a string: \n”);

scanf(“%s”,str); //put string in str

printf(“%s”,str); //display string from str

return 0;
}

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 11

 Reading Embedded Blanks

To read everything that you enter from the keyboard until the ENTER
key is pressed (including space).
Syntax:
gets(stringname) ;
To write/display that you entered.

Syntax:
puts(stringname) ;
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Example
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
const int MAX = 80; //max characters in string

char str[MAX]; //string variable str

printf(“\nEnter a string: ”);

gets(str); //put string in str

printf(“ the string is \n“);

puts(str);
return 0;
}

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 13

Count the number of characters in a string
#include <stdio.h> while(sent[i]!='\0') {
int main() {
count++;
const int Max = 100;
i++;
char sent[Max];
}
int i=0, count=0;
printf(“No of chars = %d“, count);
printf("enter sentence \n“); return 0;
gets(sent); }

puts(sent);
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Count the number of words in a sentence
#include <stdio.h> while(sent[i]!='\0')
int main() { {
const int MAX = 100; if(sent[i]==' '&& sent[i+1]!=' ')
char sent[MAX];
count++;
int i=0,count=1;
i++;
}
printf("enter sentence \n“);
printf(“No.of words = %d“, count);
gets(sent);
return 0;
printf("\n“);
}
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Reading multiple lines: Example
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
const int MAX = 2000; //max characters in string
char str[MAX]; //string variable str
printf("\nEnter a string:\n“);
scanf("%[^#]",str); //read characters to str until a # character is encountered
printf("You entered:\n“);
printf(“%s”,str);
return 0;
} The function will continue to accept characters until termination key (#) is pressed.
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Library functions: String Handling functions (built-in)
• Used to manipulate a given string.
• These functions are part of string.h header file.
▪strlen ()
✓ gives the length of the string. E.g. strlen(string)
▪strcpy ()
✓ copies one string to other. E.g. strcpy(Dstr1, Sstr2)
▪strcmp ()
✓ compares the two strings. E.g. strcmp(str1, str2)
▪strcat ()
✓Concatinate the two strings. E.g. strcat(str1, str2)

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Library function: strlen()
• String length can be obtained by using the following function
n=strlen(string);

• This function counts and returns the number of characters in a string,

where n is an integer variable which receives the value of the length
of the string.

• The argument may be a string constant.

Eg: printf(“%d”,strlen(“Manipal”)); prints out 7.

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 Copies a string using a for loop
#include <stdio.h>
#include<string.h>
int main() {
char str1[ ] = “Manipal Institute of Technology”;
const int MAX = 80; //size of str2 buffer
char str2[MAX]; //empty string
for(int j=0 ; j<strlen(str1); j++) //copy strlen characters
str2[j] = str1[j]; // from str1 to str2
str2[j] = ‘\0’; //insert NULL at end
printf(“%s\n”,str); //display str2
return 0;
}
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Library function: strcpy()
Copying a String the EASY WAY using
strcpy(destination, source)
▪ The strcpy function works almost like a string assignment operator and assigns the
contents of source to destination.

✓destination may be a character array variable or a string constant.

e.g., strcpy(city, ”DELHI”);

will assign the string “DELHI” to the string variable city.

✓Similarly, the statement strcpy(city1, city2);

will assign the contents of the string variable city2 to the string variable city1.

The size of the array city1 should be large enough to receive the contents of city2.
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strcpy(): Example
#include <stdio.h>

int main(){

char str1[ ] = “Tiger, tiger, burning bright\n”

“in the forests of the night”;

const int MAX = 80; //size of str2 buffer

char str2[MAX]; //empty string

strcpy(str2, str1); //copy str1 to str2

printf(“%s”,str2); //display str2

}
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Library function: strcmp()
▪ The strcmp function compares two strings identified by the arguments and has a value 0
if they are equal.

strcmp(string1, string2); string1 and string2 may be string variables

or string constants.
• If they are not equal, it returns the numeric values -1 or 1.

That means, if the value is negative, string1 is alphabetically above string2.

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Library function: strcat()

The strcat function joins two strings together.

It takes the following form:

strcat(string1, string2);
string1 and string2 are character arrays.
✓ When the function strcat is excuted, string2 is appended to string1.
✓ It does so by removing the null character at the end of string1 and placing string2 from
there.
✓ The string at string2 remains unchanged.

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Concatenation of 2 strings
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
int main(){
char s1[40], s2[50];
printf("\nEnter the first string“);
gets(s1);
printf("\nEnter the second string“);
gets(s2);

strcat(s1, s2);
printf("\nConcatenated string is“);
printf(“%s”,s1);
return 0; }
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Strings
Declaration and initialization
char string_name[size];
The size determines the number of characters in the string_name.
For example, consider the following array:
char name [20];
is an array that can store up to 20 elements of type char.
It can be declared, initialized & represented as:

char name[ ] = { 'H', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', '\0' };

char name[ ] =“Hello”;

char name[ ] =“Merry Christmas”;

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Library functions: String Handling functions (built-in)
• Used to manipulate a given string.
• These functions are part of string.h header file.
▪strlen ()
✓ gives the length of the string. E.g. strlen(string)
▪strcpy ()
✓ copies one string to other. E.g. strcpy(Dstr1, Sstr2)
▪strcmp ()
✓ compares the two strings. E.g. strcmp(str1, str2)
▪strcat ()
✓Concatinate the two strings. E.g. strcat(str1, str2)

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 26

Check whether a string is Palindrome or not

int main(){ for(i=0;i<n/2;i++){

char str[30]; if(str[i]!=str[n-i-1])
int i, j, n, flag=1;
{ flag=0;
printf("\nEnter the string:“);
break; }
gets(str);
}
//find the string length
if(flag==1)
for(i=0;str[i]!='\0';i++); printf("\nIts a Palindrome“);
else
n=i; //n=strlen(str); printf("\nNot a Palindrome“);
return 0;
}
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Reversing a string

int main() for(i=0;i<n/2;i++)

{
{
char str[70];
temp=str[i];
char temp;
int i, n=0; str[i]=str[n-i-1];
printf("\nEnter the string:“); str[n-i-1]=temp;
gets(str); }
for(i=0;str[i]!='\0';i++) printf("\nReversed string is:“);
n++; puts(str);
return 0;

5/7/2022 CSE 1051

} Department of CSE 28
Password reading problem

int main() {
char pw[10],un[10], ch; /*print the entered password*/
int i; printf("\nYour password is : ");
printf("Enter User name: "); puts(pw);
gets(un); return 0;
printf("Enter password <6 char>:"); }
for(i=0;i<6;i++) {
pw[i] = getch();
printf("*");
}
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Print an alphabet in decimal [ASCII] & character form

int main() printf("%c", c);

{ printf("-");
char c; printf("%d", c);
printf("\t");
printf("\n"); }

for(c=65;c<=122;c++) return 0;
}
{
if(c>90 && c<97)
continue;
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Change all lower case letters into uppercase in a sentence
for(i=0;i<n;i++)
int main()
{
{
char string[30];
if(string[i]>=97 && string[i]<=122)

int i,n=0; string[i]=string[i]-32;

printf("\nEnter the string“); }
gets(string);
puts(string);
for(i=0;string[i]!='\0';i++) return 0;
n++; }

5/7/2022 CSE 1051 Department of CSE 31

 Sorting n names in alphabetical order
for(i=0;i<no-1;i++)
int main(){ for(j=i+1;j<no;j++){
char string[30][30],temp[30]; if(strcmp(string[i],string[j])>0)
int no, i, j; {
printf(“Enter the no of strings:“); strcpy(temp,string[i]);
scanf(“%d”,&no); strcpy(string[i],string[j]);
printf("\nEnter the strings:“); strcpy(string[j],temp);
for(i=0;i<no; i++) }
gets(string[i]); }

printf("\nThe sorted array is:“);

for(i=0;i<no;i++)
puts(string[i]);
return 0;
}
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Finding Substring in Main String
Main string: a cat is a cat that is a cat
Sub-String : cat

int main() {
int i=0,j=0,k=0,count=0; Enter main string:- a cat is a cat that is a cat
int l=0,k1=0,cn[10],c=0; Enter sub-string : cat
char a[80],b[80]; Substring is present 3 time(s) at position(s) 3 12 26

printf("\nEnter main string:-\n“);

gets(a);
printf("\nEnter sub-string:-\n“);
gets(b);
l=strlen(b); //length of substring
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Finding Substring in Main String Enter main string:- a cat is a cat that is a cat
Enter sub-string : cat
while (a[i]!='\0’) { //outer loop for MS Substring is present 3 time(s) at position(s) 3 12 26
if (a[i]==b[j]) {
i++; else {
j++; if (k1==1){
k1=1; //character match flag j=0;
if (j==l) { //check for all chars match k1=0; //flag reset
cn[c++]= i – l + 1; //pos array }
else
//with occurrence count in ‘c’ i++;
j=0; }
k=1; //presence flag (SS) } //end of while
}
}
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Finding Substring in Main String Enter main string:- a cat is a cat that is a cat
Enter sub-string : cat
Substring is present 3 time(s) at position(s) 3 12 26
if (k==1) {

printf("\nSubstring is present %d time(s) at position(s)\t“, c);

for(i=0;i<c;i++)
printf(“%d\t”,cn[i]);
}
else {
if (k==0)
printf("\nGiven sub-string is not present in the main string.”);
}
return 0
} //end of program

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Deleting repeated words in a sentence
Enter the string:- a cat is a cat that is a cat
String after deletion of repeated words: a cat is that

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Tutorials on Strings

• Write a simple C program to retrieve first word from a sentence.

• Write a C program to remove blank space from the string

• Write a C program to count the number of vowels and consonants in a

given string.

• Deleting repeated words in a given sentence.

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 Summary
• Strings definition, declaration, initialization
• Reading Strings
• String Handling Functions
• Programs using strings
• Array of Strings
• Operations on array of strings

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