Thread: How to declare and initialize string variables in C?

I remember briefly touching C in school about 4 years ago, and hearing that C cannot print strings directly, but rather only as an array of characters. Is that true? How do I get the following code to work then:

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
//SamsVariables.c

int main(){
    
    int windSpeed = 301;
    printf("The fastest tornado wind speed ever recorded was %d mph.\n",windSpeed); 
    
    int windSpeed2 = 215;
    str hurricaneName = "Hurricane Patricia";
    
    printf("The hurricane with the highest ever wind speeds was %s, with wind speeds of %d mph.\n",hurricaneName,windSpeed2);
}

Originally Posted by UncleBazerko

I remember briefly touching C in school about 4 years ago, and hearing that C cannot print strings directly, but rather only as an array of characters. Is that true? How do I get the following code to work then:

Code:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
//SamsVariables.c

int main(){
    
    int windSpeed = 301;
    printf("The fastest tornado wind speed ever recorded was %d mph.\n",windSpeed); 
    
    int windSpeed2 = 215;
    str hurricaneName = "Hurricane Patricia";
    
    printf("The hurricane with the highest ever wind speeds was %s, with wind speeds of %d mph.\n",hurricaneName,windSpeed2);
}

A C "String" is a "Null terminated array of type char"!

Code:

char *hurricaneName = "Hurricane Patricia";

This creates a pointer to a null terminated constant string. The constant string hurricaneName points to cannot be changed.

Code:

char hurricaneName[] = "Hurricane Patricia";

This creates an array large enough to hold a mutable copy of the constant string plus the null byte, and is initialized to a copy of the constant string.

Code:

char hurricaneName[100] = "Hurricane Patricia";

This creates an array 100 bytes long to hold a mutable copy of the constant string plus the null byte, and is initialized to a copy of the constant string. The remainder of the bytes are set to null bytes.

I hope this clears up your confusion.