To get user input, We can use the scanf() function. The scanf() function takes two arguments: the format specifier of the variable (%d in the example above) and the reference operator (&myNum), which stores the memory address of the variable.
int myNum;
printf("Type a number: \n");
// Get and save the number the user types
scanf("%d", &myNum);
// print the input value on the screen.
printf("Your number is: %d", myNum);
We can also take multiple inputs like char, number, and more.
int myNum;
char myChar;
printf("Type a number AND a character and press enter: \n");
// Get and save the number AND character the user types
scanf("%d %c", &myNum, &myChar);
// Print the number
printf("Your number is: %d\n", myNum);
// Print the character
printf("Your character is: %c\n", myChar);
We can also take a string as input.
// Create a string
char firstName[30];
// Ask the user to input some text
printf("Enter your first name: \n");
// Get and save the text
scanf("%s", firstName);
// Output the text
printf("Hello %s", firstName);
When taking input as a string we must specify the size of the string/array. And we don't have to use the reference operator(&).
However, the scanf() function has some limitations. it considers space (whitespace, tabs, etc) as a terminating character, which means that it can only display a single word (even if you type many words). That's why, when working with strings, we often use the fgets() function to read a line of text. In fgets() we must include the following arguments: the name of the string variable, sizeof(string_name), and stdin:
char fullName[30];
printf("Type your full name: \n");
fgets(fullName, sizeof(fullName), stdin);
printf("Hello %s", fullName);
// Type your full name: John Doe
// Hello John Doe