Structures and Functions

Introduction

In C programming, one of the most powerful features is the ability to group different types of data into a single data type, which can be more conveniently handled and manipulated. This is done through 'Structures' and 'Unions'. In this tutorial, we will be focusing on 'Structures' and their interaction with 'Functions'.

Structures in C

A 'Structure' is a user-defined data type in C which allows you to combine data items of different kinds. Structures are used to represent a record, providing a more meaningful way of handling a group of related data.

Defining a Structure

You can define a structure using the struct keyword. Here is an example of how to define a structure:

struct Student {
    char name[50];
    int roll;
    float marks;
};

In the above code, Student is a structure with three members: name of type array, roll of type integer, and marks of type float.

Declaring Structure Variables

Once you've defined your structure, you can declare structure variables. Here's how:

struct Student s1, s2, s3;

In this case, s1, s2, and s3 are variables of the structure type Student.

Accessing Structure Members

You can access the members of a structure using a dot (.) operator. Here is an example:

strcpy(s1.name, "John");
s1.roll = 12;
s1.marks = 86.5;

Functions and Structures

Functions are blocks of code that perform specific tasks. You can pass structures as arguments to functions, just like any other data type.

Passing Structures to Functions

Here is an example of how you can pass a structure to a function:

void display(struct Student s) {
    printf("Name: %s\n", s.name);
    printf("Roll: %d\n", s.roll);
    printf("Marks: %.2f\n", s.marks);
}

int main() {
    struct Student s1;
    
    strcpy(s1.name, "John");
    s1.roll = 12;
    s1.marks = 86.5;

    display(s1);  // Passing structure as an argument

    return 0;
}

In this example, the structure s1 is passed to the function display. The function then prints the members of the structure.

Conclusion

Structures provide a powerful way to group different types of data into a single data type. While this tutorial provided a basic overview of structures and how they interact with functions, keep practicing and experimenting with more complex uses to get a better understanding. Happy coding!