C Format Specifiers
Format Specifiers
Format specifiers are used together with the printf()
function to tell the compiler what type of data the variable is storing. It is
basically a placeholder for the variable value.
A format specifier starts
with a percentage sign %, followed by a character.
For example, to output the value of an int variable,
use the format
specifier %d surrounded by double quotes (""),
inside the printf() function:
To print other types, use %c for char and %f for float:
Example
// Create variables
int myNum = 15; // Integer (whole number)
float
myFloatNum = 5.99; // Floating point number
char myLetter = 'D'; //
Character
// Print variables
printf("%d\n", myNum);
printf("%f\n", myFloatNum);
printf("%c\n", myLetter);
Try it Yourself »
To combine both text and a variable, separate them with a comma inside the
printf() function:
To print different types in a single printf() function, you can use the
following:
Example
int myNum = 15;
char myLetter = 'D';
printf("My number is %d and my
letter is %c", myNum, myLetter);
Try it Yourself »
You will learn more about Data Types in a later chapter.
