INPUT-OUTPUT FORMATS
Console simply means screen and keyboard. There are two types of a console I/O functions:
● Formatted input-output function
● Unformatted input-output function
In C programming, input and output operations are often handled using functions from the standard
I/O library (stdio.h). Here is a table that lists the format specifiers for integers, floating-point
numbers, and characters in C:
Format Description Example
Data Type
Specifier
%d Signed decimal integer printf("%d", 10);
%i Signed decimal integer printf("%i", 10);
%u Unsigned decimal integer printf("%u", 10);
Integer
%o Unsigned octal printf("%o", 10);
%x Unsigned hexadecimal (lowercase) printf("%x", 10);
%X Unsigned hexadecimal (uppercase) printf("%X", 10);
%f Decimal floating point (lowercase) printf("%f", 3.14);
%F Decimal floating point (uppercase) printf("%F", 3.14);
%e Scientific notation (lowercase) printf("%e", 3.14);
%E Scientific notation (uppercase) printf("%E", 3.14);
Floating- %g Use %e or %f based on the value printf("%g", 3.14);
point
%G Use %E or %F based on the value printf("%G", 3.14);
%a Hexadecimal floating point printf("%a", 3.14);
(lowercase)
%A Hexadecimal floating point printf("%A", 3.14);
(uppercase)
Character %c Character printf("%c", 'A');
String %s String printf("%s","Hello");
Pointer %p Pointer printf("%p", ptr);
Special %% Percent sign printf("%%");
NOTE: These format specifiers are used with functions like printf for output and scanf for
input to format data appropriately.
Formatted Input and Output statements in C
In C programming, printf and scanf are used for output and input operations, respectively.
1. printf – Output: The printf function is used to print formatted output to the standard
output (usually the terminal).
The syntax is: printf("format string", arguments);
● Format string: Contains text to be printed and format specifiers.
● Arguments: Values to be printed, matching the format specifiers in the format
string.
We can perform following formatting options with the help of printf( ):
● Right and left justification.
● Rounding floating-point values.
● Inserting literal characters.
● Displaying all types of data with appropriate size and precisions.
Formatted Output (printf)
The printf function is used to print formatted output to the standard output (usually the
terminal).
Example 1: Basic printf
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
printf("Hello, World!\n");
return 0;
}
Output:
Hello, World!
Example 2: Printing Integers and Floats
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int a = 10;
float b = 5.25;
printf("Integer: %d\n", a);
printf("Float: %.2f\n", b);
return 0;
}
Output:
Integer: 10
Float: 5.25
Example 3: Printing Characters and Strings
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
char ch = 'A';
char str[] = "Hello";
printf("Character: %c\n", ch);
printf("String: %s\n", str);
return 0;
}
Output:
Character: A
String: Hello
Example 4: Width and Precision
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int num = 12345;
float pi = 3.14159;
printf("Number with width 10: %10d\n", num);
printf("Pi with precision 2: %.2f\n", pi);
return 0;
}
Output:
Number with width 10: 12345
Pi with precision 2: 3.14
Formatted Input (scanf)
scanf – Input: The scanf function is used to read formatted input from the standard input
(usually the keyboard).
The syntax is: scanf("format string", &variables);
● Format string: Contains format specifiers that dictate the type of input to be read.
● Variables: Addresses of the variables where the input data will be stored.
Example 1: Reading an Integer
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int num;
printf("Enter an integer: ");
scanf("%d", &num);
printf("You entered: %d\n", num);
return 0;
}
Output:
Enter an integer: 42
You entered: 42
Example 2: Reading a Float
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
float num;
printf("Enter a float: ");
scanf("%f", &num);
printf("You entered: %.2f\n", num);
return 0;
}
Output:
Enter a float: 3.14
You entered: 3.14
Example 3: Reading Characters and Strings
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
char ch;
char str[50];
printf("Enter a character: ");
scanf(" %c", &ch); // Notice the space before %c
printf("Enter a string: ");
scanf("%s", str);
printf("You entered character: %c\n", ch);
printf("You entered string: %s\n", str);
return 0;
}
Output:
Enter a character: A
Enter a string: Hello
You entered character: A
You entered string: Hello
Combined Example
This example demonstrates using both printf and scanf in a single program.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int a;
float b;
char c;
char str[50];
printf("Enter an integer: ");
scanf("%d", &a);
printf("Enter a float: ");
scanf("%f", &b);
printf("Enter a character: ");
scanf(" %c", &c);
printf("Enter a string: ");
scanf("%s", str);
printf("You entered:\n");
printf("Integer: %d\n", a);
printf("Float: %.2f\n", b);
printf("Character: %c\n", c);
printf("String: %s\n", str);
return 0;
}
Output:
Enter an integer: 25
Enter a float: 3.14
Enter a character: X
Enter a string: Example
You entered:
Integer: 25
Float: 3.14
Character: X
String: Example
Unformatted Input-Output Functions
In C programming, unformatted input-output functions are used to read and write data
without formatting. The most commonly used unformatted input-output functions are
getchar, putchar, gets, and puts.
Example 1: Using getchar and putchar
The getchar function reads a single character from the standard input, and the putchar
function writes a single character to the standard output.
Example 2: Using gets and puts
The gets function reads a string from the standard input, and the puts function writes a string
to the standard output. Note that gets is considered unsafe because it does not perform bounds
checking. Instead, fgets is recommended. However, for simplicity, we'll use gets here.
Example 3: Using fgets and fputs
To avoid the risks associated with gets, we can use fgets for safer string input. The fgets
function reads a string from the specified input stream, including standard input, and fputs
writes a string to the specified output stream, including standard output.
