Introduction to Input/Output Functions in C

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Unit 4
Input/Output Functions
Introduction to Input/Output
Input refers to accepting data while output refers to presenting data. Normally the data is accepted from
keyboard and is outputted onto the screen.
C language has a series of standard input-output (I/O) functions. Such I/O functions together form a library
named stdio.h. Irrespective of the version of C language, user will have access to all such library functions.
These library functions are classified into three broad categories.
a) Console I/O functions : Functions which accept input from keyboard and produce
output on the screen.
b) Disk I/O functions : Functions which perform I/O operations on secondary
storage devices like floppy disks or hard disks.
c) Port I/O functions : Functions which perform I/O operations on various ports
like printer port, mouse port, etc.
Console I/O Functions
Console I/O refers to the operations that occur at the keyboard and the screen of your computer. Console
I/O functions can be further classified as: 
 Formatted Console I/O
 Unformatted Console I/O
The basic difference between formatted and unformatted I/O functions is that the formatted I/O functions
allow input and output to be formatted as per the requirements of the user.

Formatted Functions Unformatted Functions
Type Input Output Type Input Output
char scanf( ) printf( )
int scanf( ) printf( )
float scanf( ) printf( )
string scanf( ) printf( )
char getch( )
getche( )
getchar( )
putch( )
putchar( )
int - -
float - -
string gets( ) puts( )
Formatted Functions Unformatted Functions
Type Input Output Type Input Output
char scanf( ) printf( )
int scanf( ) printf( )
float scanf( ) printf( )
string scanf( ) printf( )
char getch( )
getche( )
getchar( )
putch( )
putchar( )
int - -
float - -
string gets( ) puts( )
Formatted Console I/O Functions
Formatted I/O functions accept or present the data in a particular format. The standard C library consists of
two functions that perform output and input, viz., printf( ) and scanf( ). These functions can format the
information under the user's directions.
Formatted Output
It is highly desirable that the outputs are presented in such a way that they are understandable and are in a
form easy to use.
The printf( ) statement provides certain features through which the screen output is effectively controlled.
The general form of printf( ) function is:
printf ("Control String", arg1, arg2. . . );
Control string may contain:
 Characters that are simply printed as they are.
 Conversion specifications that begin with a % sign.
 Escape sequences that begin with sign.

The control string indicates how many arguments follow and what their types are. The arguments arg1,
arg2. . . are the variables whose values are formatted and printed according to specifications of the control
string. The arguments must match in number, order, and type with the format specifications.
e.g.: main( )
{
int arg = 346;
float per = 69.2;
printf ("Average = % d n percentage = % f", arg, per);
}
output: Average = 346
Percentage = 69.2
Conversion Specifications
The conversion specifications are used to provide the type and size of the data. Each conversion
specification must begin with %.
In the above example %d and %f are the conversion characters. The general form of conversion specifier is
% fws fx
where fws = field width specifier
fx = format specifier
The field width specifier tells printf( ) how many columns on the screen should be used while printing a
value.
e.g.: %7d tells to print the variable as a decimal integer in the field of 7 columns.
If we include a minus sign in conversion specification (e.g., % - 7d), this means left justification is desired
and the value will be padded with blanks on the right.
Given below is a list of conversion characters that can be used with the printf( ) function.
Data Type Conversion Character
short signed %d or % i
Integer
short unsigned % u
Long signed % ld
Long unsigned % lu
unsigned hexadecimal % x
unsigned octal % 0
float % f
Real
double % lf
signed character % c
character
unsigned character % c
String % s

Escape Sequences
The backslash symbol () is considered as escape character because it causes an escape from the normal
interpretation of a string, so that the next character is recognized as the one having special meaning.
Escape sequence Purpose Escape sequence Purpose
n New line t Tab
b Backspace r Carriage return
f formfeed a Alert
' single quote " Double Quote
Backslash
Output of Integer Numbers
The format specification for printing an integer number is %wd where 'w' specifies minimum width for the
output. The number is written right justified in the given field width.
e.g.: printf ("%d", 12345); 12345
printf ("%10d", 12345); 12345
printf ("% 010d", 12345); 0000012345
printf ("% -10d", 12345); 12345
Output of Real Numbers
The real number is displayed in decimal notation with format specification % w.pf where'w' is the integer
which represents the minimum number of positions that are to be used and 'p' indicates that in the total
width, how many numbers will be placed after the decimal point.
e.g.: printf ("%7.4f", 98.7654); 98.7654
printf ("%7.2", 98.7654); 98.77
printf ("%f", 98.7654); 98.7654
Printing of Single Character
A single character can be displayed in a desired position using format %wc. By default, the character will
be displayed right justified in a field of 'w' columns. To make it left justified, place a minus sign in format
specification.
Formatted Input
Formatted input refers to an input data that has been arranged in a particular format. For the formatted input
we use the function scanf( ).

scanf( ) Function
scanf( ) function, allows us to read formatted data and automatically convert numeric information into
integers and float. The general from of scanf( ) is
scanf ("control string", arg1, arg2, . . . . . );
Control string specifies the field format in which data is to be entered and the arguments arg1, arg2 - - - - -
specify the ADDRESS OF LOCATION where value is to be stored. Control string and arguments are
separated by commas.
Given below is a list of format specifier used to read the inputs:
Code Meaning Code Meaning
% c Read a single character % d Read a decimal integer
% ld Read a long integer % i Read a decimal, or hexadecimal or octal
integer
% e Read a floating point number % f Read a floating point number
% h Read a short integer % o Read an octal number
% s Read a string % x Read a hexadecimal number
% p Read a pointer % n Read an integer value equal to the number
of
characters read so far.
Input of Integer Numbers
The format specification for reading an integer number is % wd where (%) sign indicates conversion
specification, 'w' is the integer number for field width specification and 'd' indicates that the number is to be
read in integer mode.
e.g.: scanf ("% 2d % 5d", & n1, &n2);
An input field may be skipped by specifying * in place of field width.
e.g.: scanf ("% 2d % * d % 6d", &n1, &n2);

Introduction to Input/Output Functions in C

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