C Strings

What is a String?

In C, a string is a sequence of characters stored in an array.

Strings must end with a special character called the null terminator (\\0).

String Initialization

You can initialize strings using double quotes.

The compiler automatically adds the null terminator.

Printing Strings

Use printf with %s to print strings.

Accessing Characters

Strings can be accessed like arrays using indexes.

Indexing starts at 0.

Looping Through a String

You can loop through a string until you reach the null terminator.

String Functions

The string.h library provides useful functions for working with strings.

Common String Functions

Some important string functions include:

• strlen() – get length
• strcpy() – copy string
• strcat() – concatenate strings
• strcmp() – compare strings

Modifying Strings

You can modify characters in a string if it is stored in an array.

Strings and Pointers

Strings can also be represented using pointers.

However, modifying them may not always be allowed.

Common Mistakes

Be careful with these:

• Forgetting the null terminator
• Buffer overflow (array too small)
• Modifying string literals

Why Strings are Important

Strings are used in almost every program for handling text.

• User input/output
• File processing
• Data manipulation

Practice

Create a string and print each character using a loop.

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