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Variables in C 1

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aashish
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© © All Rights Reserved
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C Programming

Topperworld.in

Variables in C

• A variable in C language is the name associated with some memory location


to store data of different types.
• There are many types of variables in C depending on the scope, storage class,
lifetime, type of data they store, etc.
• A variable is the basic building block of a C program that can be used in
expressions as a substitute in place of the value it stores.
• A variable in C is a memory location with some name that helps store some
form of data and retrieves it when required.
• We can store different types of data in the variable and reuse the same
variable for storing some other data any number of times.

©Topperworld

C Variable Syntax
The syntax to declare a variable in C specifies the name and the type of the
variable.

data_type variable_name = value; // defining single variable


or
data_type variable_name1, variable_name2; // defining multiple variable

Here,
• data_type: Type of data that a variable can store.
• variable_name: Name of the variable given by the user.
• value: value assigned to the variable by the user.

©Topperworld
C Programming

There are 3 aspects of defining a variable:


1. Variable Declaration
2. Variable Definition
3. Variable Initialization

➔ C Variable Declaration

• Variable declaration in C tells the compiler about the existence of the


variable with the given name and data type.
• No memory is allocated to a variable in the declaration.

➔ C Variable Definition

• In the definition of a C variable, the compiler allocates some memory and


some value to it.
• A defined variable will contain some random garbage value till it is not
initialized.

Example:
int var;
char var2;

➔ C Variable Initialization

• Initialization of a variable is the process where the user assigns some


meaningful value to the variable.

Example:
int var; // variable definition
var = 10; // initialization
or
int var = 10; // variable declaration and
definition

©Topperworld
C Programming

Rules for Naming Variables in C


• A variable name must only contain alphabets, digits, and underscore.
• A variable name must start with an alphabet or an underscore only. It
cannot start with a digit.
• No whitespace is allowed within the variable name.
• A variable name must not be any reserved word or keyword.

Types of Variables
The C variables can be classified into the following types:
➢ Local Variables
➢ Global Variables
➢ Static Variables
➢ Automatic Variables
➢ Extern Variables
➢ Register Variables

➔ Local Variables in C

• A Local variable in C is a variable that is declared inside a function or a


block of code.
• Its scope is limited to the block or function in which it is declared.

➔ Global Variables in C

• A Global variable in C is a variable that is declared outside the function or


a block of code.
• Its scope is the whole program i.e. we can access the global variable
anywhere in the C program after it is declared.

©Topperworld
C Programming

➔ Static Variables in C

• A static variable in C is a variable that is defined using the static keyword.


It can be defined only once in a C program and its scope depends upon
the region where it is declared (can be global or local).
• The default value of static variables is zero.

➔ Automatic Variable in C

• All the local variables are automatic variables by default. They are also
known as auto variables.
• Their scope is local and their lifetime is till the end of the block. If we need,
we can use the auto keyword to define the auto variables.
• The default value of the auto variables is a garbage value.

➔ External Variables in C
• External variables in C can be shared between multiple C files. We can
declare an external variable using the extern keyword.
• Their scope is global and they exist between multiple C files.

➔ Register Variables in C

• Register variables in C are those variables that are stored in the CPU
register instead of the conventional storage place like RAM.
• Their scope is local and exists till the end of the block or a function.
• These variables are declared using the register keyword.
• The default value of register variables is a garbage value.

©Topperworld
C Programming

➔ Example:
// C Program to Demonstrate Various types of variable

#include <stdio.h>

// Global variable
int globalVar = 10;

int main() {
// Automatic (default) variable
int autoVar = 5;

// Local variable
int localVar = 20;

// Static variable
static int staticVar = 15;

// Extern variable (declared in another file)


extern int externVar;

// Register variable (not guaranteed to be stored in memory)


register int regVar = 25;

printf("Global variable: %d\n", globalVar);


printf("Automatic variable: %d\n", autoVar);
printf("Local variable: %d\n", localVar);
printf("Static variable: %d\n", staticVar);
printf("Extern variable: %d\n", externVar);
printf("Register variable: %d\n", regVar);

return 0;
}

Output:
Global variable: 10
Automatic variable: 5
Local variable: 20
Static variable: 15
Register variable: 25 ©Topperworld
C Programming

➔ Constant Variable in C
• Till now we have only seen the variables whose values can be modified
any number of times.
• C language also provides us a way to make the value of a variable
immutable. We can do that by defining the variable as constant.
• A constant variable in C is a read-only variable whose value cannot be
modified once it is defined. We can declare a constant variable using
the const keyword.

Example:

// C Program to Demonstrate constant variable


#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
int not_constant;

const int constant = 20;

// changing values
not_constant = 40;
constant = 22;

return 0;
}

Output:

Constant = 22

©Topperworld

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