getchar Function in C

The getchar() function in C is a standard library function used to read a single character from the standard input device (keyboard). It is commonly used for simple character-based input operations.

• Reads one character at a time from the standard input stream (stdin).
• Defined in the <stdio.h> header file.

#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    char ch;

    printf("Enter a character: ");
    ch = getchar();

    printf("You entered: %c", ch);

    return 0;
}

Enter a character: You entered: �

Syntax

int getchar(void);

getchar() function does not take any parameters.

Return Value

• Returns the entered character as an integer (int) representing its ASCII value.
• Returns EOF (End Of File) if the end of the input stream is reached or an input error occurs.

Examples of C getchar Function

The following C programs demonstrate the use of getchar() function

Example 1: Read a single character using getchar() function.

#include <stdio.h>

// Driver code
int main()
{
    int character;
    character = getchar();

    printf("The entered character is : %c", character);
    return 0;
}

Input

f

Output

The entered character is : f

Example 2: Program to implement putchar to print the character entered by the user:

#include <stdio.h>

// Driver code
int main()
{
    int character;
    printf("Enter any random character between a-z: ");
    character = getchar();

    printf("The entered character is : ");
    putchar(character);
    return 0;
}

Input

Enter any random character between a-z: k

Output

The entered character is : k

Example 3: Reading multiple characters using getchar()

#include <stdio.h>

// Driver code
int main()
{
    int s = 13;
    int x;
    while (s--) {
        x = getchar();
        putchar(x);
    }
    return 0;
}

Input

geeksforgeeks

Output

geeksforgeeks

Example 4: Read sentences using getchar() function and do-while loop.

#include <stdio.h> 
// Driver code 
int main() { 
    int ch, i = 0; 
    char str[150]; 
    
    printf("Enter the characters\n"); 
    
    do { 
        // Read character from input 
        ch = getchar(); 
        // Store character in array 
        str[i] = ch; 
        // Increment index 
        i++; 
        
    } while (i < 149 && ch != '\n'); 
    // Add null character at end 
    str[i] = '\0'; 
    
    printf("Entered characters are %s", str); 
    
    return 0; 
    
}

Input

Enter the characters
Welcome to GeeksforGeeks

Output

Entered characters are Welcome to GeeksforGeeks