Reading a Character Using getchar in C programming

Reading a Character Using getchar in C

The getchar function in C is used to read a single character from the standard input (typically the keyboard). It’s a simple and effective way to handle character input in your programs.

Basic Syntax

The syntax for the getchar function is straightforward:

char getchar(void);

It reads the next available character from the standard input and returns it as an int value. This value is then typically cast to char for use in the program.

Example Code

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char ch;

    printf("Enter a character: ");
    ch = getchar();

    printf("You entered: %c\n", ch);

    return 0;
}

In this example:

• char ch; declares a variable to store the character input from the user.
• printf("Enter a character: "); prompts the user to enter a character.
• ch = getchar(); reads the character entered by the user and stores it in the variable ch.
• printf("You entered: %c\n", ch); displays the character that was entered.

Key Points

• Return Type: getchar returns an int, but the value should be treated as a character.
• Handling Input: getchar reads one character at a time and can be used in a loop for multiple characters.
• End of Input: getchar reads until it encounters an end-of-file (EOF) or newline character.

Note: Unlike scanf, getchar does not require format specifiers and does not skip whitespace characters unless explicitly handled.