C Programming: Arrays of Structures 🎯

Welcome back to CodeYourCraft! Today, we're diving into a fascinating topic - Arrays of Structures in C programming. This lesson is designed for beginners and intermediates alike, so let's get started! 🎉

What are Structures? 📝

In C programming, a structure is a user-defined data type that allows you to combine data items of different types into a single entity. Structures are useful when you need to work with complex data that cannot be represented with simple data types like int or float.

// Defining a structure called 'Student'
struct Student {
    int roll_number;
    char name[50];
    float marks;
};

In the above example, we've created a structure named Student which consists of three fields: roll_number, name, and marks. Each field represents a different type of data.

Creating an Array of Structures 💡

Now that we understand structures, let's learn how to create an array of structures.

// Creating an array of 10 Students
struct Student students[10];

In the above code, we've created an array of 10 Student structures. Each element of the array can now be accessed like any other array element.

// Accessing a student in the array
students[0].roll_number = 1;
strcpy(students[0].name, "John Doe");
students[0].marks = 90.5;

In the above example, we've accessed the first element of the students array and assigned values to its fields.

Real-world Example: School Records 🎓

Let's create a simple program to manage school records using arrays of structures.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

// Defining the Student structure
struct Student {
    int roll_number;
    char name[50];
    char address[100];
    float marks;
};

// Function to add a student to the array
void add_student(struct Student students[], int size) {
    if (size >= 10) {
        printf("Array is full.\n");
        return;
    }

    printf("Enter student's roll number: ");
    scanf("%d", &students[size].roll_number);

    printf("Enter student's name: ");
    scanf("%s", students[size].name);

    printf("Enter student's address: ");
    scanf("%s", students[size].address);

    printf("Enter student's marks: ");
    scanf("%f", &students[size].marks);
}

// Function to display student details
void display_student(struct Student student) {
    printf("Roll Number: %d\n", student.roll_number);
    printf("Name: %s\n", student.name);
    printf("Address: %s\n", student.address);
    printf("Marks: %.2f\n", student.marks);
}

// Function to display all students
void display_students(struct Student students[], int size) {
    for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
        display_student(students[i]);
    }
}

int main() {
    struct Student students[10];
    int size = 0;

    while (size < 10) {
        add_student(students, size);
        size++;
    }

    printf("Students:\n");
    display_students(students, size);

    return 0;
}

In the above code, we've created a program that allows you to add up to 10 students and their details. It then displays all the student records.

C Programming: Arrays of Structures 🎯

C Programming: Arrays of Structures 🎯

What are Structures? 📝

Creating an Array of Structures 💡

Real-world Example: School Records 🎓

Quiz 📝