C Brain Teasers: Exercise Your Mind/

...

/

Discussion: Deciphering scanf()

Discussion: Deciphering scanf()

Execute code to understand the output and gain insights into input pattern matching.

We'll cover the following...

Run the code

Now, it's time to execute the code and observe the output.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
  char buffer[32];
  printf("Type something: ");
  scanf("%[ABC]", buffer);
  printf("You typed: %s\n", buffer);

  return(0);
}
C code for the given puzzle

Understanding the output

The program prompts for input, but only uppercase letters ABC are allowed:

Type something: ALPHA
You typed: A
Code output

Note: Any character input other than ABC returns garbage. The word should also start with the characters given in the string (which in our case is "ABC").

The scanf() function is a formatted input function, so it’s not well suited for reading text input, though it’s often used this way in introductory programming books and ...