C Questions And Answers – 2018B1

There are many commonly asked questions regarding C programming language. Below are some collected such question-answer examples. The questions are usually related with 32-bit system, Turbo C IDE in windows or GCC under Linux environment [not always].

For more such examples, click C_Q&A label.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

What is C language?

 

The C programming language is a standardized programming language developed in the early 1970s by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie for use on the UNIX operating system. It has since spread to many other operating systems, and is one of the most widely used programming languages. C is prized for its efficiency, and is the most popular programming language for writing system software, though it is also used for writing applications.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

printf() Function

What is the output of printf("%d")?

 

1. When we write printf("%d",x); this means compiler will print the value of x. But as here, there is nothing after %d so compiler will show in output window garbage value.

 

2. When we use %d the compiler internally uses it to access the argument in the stack (argument stack). Ideally compiler determines the offset of the data variable depending on the format specification string. Now when we write printf("%d",a) then compiler first accesses the top most element in the argument stack of the printf which is %d and depending on the format string it calculated to offset to the actual data variable in the memory which is to be printed. Now when only %d will be present in the printf then compiler will calculate the correct offset (which will be the offset to access the integer variable) but as the actual data object is to be printed is not present at that memory location so it will print whatever will be the contents of that memory location.

 

3. Some compilers check the format string and will generate an error without the proper number and type of arguments for things like printf(...) and scanf(...).

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

malloc() Function- What is the difference between "calloc(...)" and

"malloc(...)"?

 

1. calloc(...) allocates a block of memory for an array of elements of a certain size. By default the block is initialized to 0. The total number of memory allocated will be (number_of_elements * size).

 

malloc(...) takes in only a single argument which is the memory required in bytes. malloc(...) allocated bytes of memory and not blocks of memory like calloc(...).

 

2. malloc(...) allocates memory blocks and returns a void pointer to the allocated space, or NULL if there is insufficient memory available.

 

calloc(...) allocates an array in memory with elements initialized to 0 and returns a pointer to the allocated space. calloc(...) calls malloc(...) in order to use the C++ _set_new_mode function to set the new handler mode.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

printf() Function- What is the difference between "printf(...)" and "sprintf(...)"?

 

sprintf(...) writes data to the character array whereas printf(...) writes data to the standard output device.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Compilation How to reduce a final size of executable?

 

Size of the final executable can be reduced using dynamic linking for libraries.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

…till next post, bye-bye & take care.