C Programming: Strings and String Library Functions

Character Array vs String in C

• A character array is a collection of characters stored in contiguous memory locations, whereas a string is a character array that is terminated by a null character ('\0').
• A string is a special type of character array that is used to represent a sequence of characters.

String Literal Representation in C

• String literal values are represented in C as an array of characters, with each character stored in a single byte.
• The string literal is stored in the read-only memory area of the program.

Compiler's Handling of Double Quotes

• When the compiler encounters a sequence of characters enclosed in double quotes, it treats it as a string literal and stores it in memory.
• The compiler automatically appends a null character ('\0') to the end of the string literal.

Declaring a String in C

• A string can be declared in C using a character array, such as char str[10];.
• The size of the array should be large enough to hold the string, including the null character.

Purpose of the Null Character ('\0')

• The null character ('\0') is used to mark the end of a string in C.
• It is used by string functions to determine the length of the string.
• It is automatically appended to the end of a string literal by the compiler.