What is the difference between a character array and a string in C?

In C programming, there is a distinction between a character array and a string, although they are closely related. Let's delve into the difference between the two and provide examples to illustrate their dissimilarity.

Difference between a character array and a string in C

1. Character Array:

A character array in C is a sequence of characters stored in consecutive memory locations. It is an essential data structure used to represent and manipulate sequences of characters. The character array is defined by specifying the array size, and each element of the array holds a single character. However, a character array does not necessarily form a valid string because it may lack a null-terminating character ('\0').

Here's an example of a character array declaration and initialization:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

char name[10]; // Character array declaration with size 10

name[0] = 'J';

name[1] = 'o';

name[2] = 'h';

name[3] = 'n';

name[4] = '\0'; // Null-terminating character

printf("Character array: %s\n", name);

return 0;

}

In this example, a character array named "name" is declared with a size of 10. Individual characters are assigned to specific indices of the array, and the last element is set as the null-terminating character to indicate the end of the string.

2. String:

A string in C is a sequence of characters terminated by a null character ('\0'). It is essentially a character array with the additional requirement of having the null-terminating character to mark the end of the string. Strings in C are commonly represented using character arrays.

Here's an example of a string declaration and initialization:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

char greeting[] = "Hello, World!"; // String declaration and initialization

printf("String: %s\n", greeting);

return 0;

}

In this example, the string "Hello, World!" is assigned to the character array "greeting". The null character is automatically added at the end of the string.

The key difference between a character array and a string is that a character array may or may not be a valid string, depending on the presence of the null-terminating character. On the other hand, a string is always a valid sequence of characters terminated by a null character.

It's important to note that string-related operations and functions in C rely on the presence of the null-terminating character to determine the end of the string.

What is the difference between a character array and a string in C?