C printf and scanf Examples

In this source code example, you will learn to use scanf() function to take input from the user, and the printf() function to display output to the user.

1. printf() function

The printf() is a standard output library function used to display the value of a variable or a message on the screen.

Syntax:

printf("<message>");
printf("<control string>", argument list separated with commas);

Example: To print a message "Hello World" on the screen

/*Program to print a message "Hello World" */
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
     printf("Hello World");
}

Output:

Hello World

Example 2: To Display Multiple Statements

/*Program to print Name and Address*/
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
   printf("Name: Sachin Tendulkar");
   printf("\nQualification: Degree");
   printf("\nAddress: Mumbai");
   printf("\nWork: Cricket Player");
}

Output:

Name: Sachin Tendulkar
Qualification: Degree
Address: Mumbai
Work: Cricket Player

scanf() function

The scanf() is a standard library function for input operation. This allows a program to get user input from the keyboard. This means that the program gets input values for variables from users.

Syntax:

scanf("<format code>",list of address of variables separated by commas)

Example: To accept the values of int, float, and char data types and display them

/*Program to accept values of int, char, float data types
Display them in the order of reading*/
#include<stdio.h>
main() {
   char x;
   int num;
   float j;
   /*Accept the values for data types from user*/
   printf("Enter Character: ");
   scanf("%c",&x);
   printf("Enter Integer Value: ");
   scanf("%d",&num);
   printf("Enter Float Value: ");
   scanf("%f",&j);
   /*Display the accepted values*/
   printf("Integer=%d\tFloat Value=%f\tCharacter=%c",num,j,x);
}

Output:

Enter Character: R
Enter Integer Value: 10
Enter Float Value: 12.25
Integer=10	Float Value=12.250000	Character=R

Find the Sum and Average of Three Numbers - Read input from user using scanf() and print the result using printf() function

#include<stdio.h>
 int main( )
 {
     int a,b,c;
     int sum,average;
     printf("Enter any three integers: ");
     scanf("%d%d %d",&a,&b,&c);
     sum = a+b+c;
     average=sum/3;
     printf("Sum and average of three integers: %d %d",sum,average);
     return 0;
} 

SAMPLE INPUT:

Enter any three integers:2 4 5

EXPECTED OUTPUT:

Sum and average of three integers: 11 3