C language ~ what does scanf mean?

scanf function reads data from standard input into variables in the specified format. Format specifiers specify data types, such as %d (integer), %c (character), %f (floating point), %s (string). The function returns the number of variables read, EOF indicates end of file or error.

Introduction to scanf function

The scanf function is used in C language to read from standard input (usually the keyboard) Get formatted data. It reads data from the input stream in the given format and stores it in the specified variable.

Function prototype

int scanf(const char *format, ...);

Parameters

• format: a format string , describes the data type and format to be read.
• ...: A variable number of pointers pointing to variables to store read data.

Return value

The scanf function returns the number of variables successfully read. If an EOF (end of file) or error is encountered, it returns EOF.

Format specifiers

The format string consists of the following format specifiers:

##%cCharacters%c%dDecimal integer%d%fFloating point number%f##%s%x

Specifiers	Data type	Example
String	%s
Hex integer	%x

Use case

int age;
char name[20];

scanf("%d %s", &age, name);

This will read from standard input An integer (for age) and a string (for name) and store them in the age

and name variables.

Note

The format specifier must match the data type to be read.

• The input data must conform to the specified format.
• The scanf function does not automatically discard extra characters in the input stream.
• If there is not enough data in the input stream, the scanf function will return EOF.

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