C sscanf Function

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sscanf()

This function works the same as the C scanf Function but instead of inserting the input string from the terminal it has to be passed as the first parameter

Syntax:

sscanf(str, format specifiers , variable);

The scanf() function takes two arguments: 1. C Strings: a sting as a variable or a constant (“example of a constant”) 2. the C Format Specifiers of the variable 3. the C Variables where the input will be saved

Single Input

char str[10] = "mamme";
char copy[10];
    
sscanf(str, "%s", copy);
 
printf("Str: %s\n", str);    // Str: mamme
printf("Copy: %s\n", copy);  // copy: mamme

Nota: if the input is not accepted, the variable won’t be saved

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Multiple Input

The sscanf() function also allow multiple inputs (an integer and a character in the following example):

int day, year;
   char weekday[20], month[20], dtm[100];
 
   strcpy( dtm, "Saturday March 25 1989" );
   sscanf( dtm, "%s %s %d  %d", weekday, month, &day, &year );
 
   printf("%s %d, %d = %s\n", month, day, year, weekday );
   // Output: March 25, 1989 = Saturday

oss: you can specify the input text

char str[] = "(12-13)";
int copy, copy2;
 
    
sscanf(str, "(%d-%d)", &copy, &copy2);
 
printf("Str: %s\n", str);      // Str: (12-13)
printf("Copy: %d\n", copy);    // Copy: 12
printf("Copy2: %d\n", copy2);  // Copy: 13

Nota: if the input is not accepted, the variable won’t be saved

[! warning] Note: it’s better to not insert spaces inside the scanf syntax

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