How do I read a whole line in C?

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In summary, the scanf() and fgets() functions can both be used to read a whole line in C. To handle whitespace characters, the "%[^\n]s" or "%[^\n]c" format specifier can be used with scanf(). To remove the newline character, strtok() can be used with fgets(). Input errors can be checked using the return value of scanf() and fgets(), as well as the feof() function.
  • #1
Whovian
652
3
Code:
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    char name[256];
    printf("What's your name?\n");
    scanf("%s",name);
    printf("Hello, %s%s",name,"!");
}

This only reads the first word of the name inputted. Is there any way to get a whole line?
 
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  • #2
gets will read a whole line of text.
 

FAQ: How do I read a whole line in C?

1. How do I read a whole line in C using scanf()?

The scanf() function in C can be used to read a whole line by using the "%[^\n]s" format specifier. This will read all characters until a newline character is encountered. For example:

char line[100];
scanf("%[^\n]s", line);

2. Can I use fgets() to read a whole line in C?

Yes, the fgets() function can also be used to read a whole line in C. It takes in the input stream, the maximum number of characters to read, and the destination buffer. For example:

char line[100];
fgets(line, 100, stdin);

3. How do I handle whitespace while reading a whole line in C?

To handle whitespace characters while reading a whole line in C, you can use the "%[^\n]s" or "%[^\n]c" format specifier with the scanf() function. This will read all characters until a newline character is encountered, including whitespace characters. For example:

char line[100];
scanf("%[^\n]s", line);

4. Is there a way to read a whole line in C without including the newline character?

Yes, you can use the fgets() function to read a whole line in C without including the newline character. This function reads until it encounters a newline character or reaches the maximum number of characters specified. To remove the newline character, you can use the strtok() function to split the string at the newline character. For example:

char line[100];
fgets(line, 100, stdin);
strtok(line, "\n");

5. How do I handle input errors while reading a whole line in C?

If there is an input error while reading a whole line in C, the scanf() and fgets() functions will return NULL. You can use this return value to check for errors and handle them accordingly. Additionally, you can use the feof() function to check for the end-of-file indicator. For example:

char line[100];
if (scanf("%[^\n]s", line) == NULL) {
    printf("Input error!");
}

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