What is the difference between array and string in C?

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Accepted Answer

Array can hold any of the data types. But, string can hold only char data type.
 Array size must be a constant value. So, array size can&rsquo;t be changed once declared. But, string size can be modified using char pointer.
 Array is not ended with null character by default. But, string is ended with null (&lsquo;\0&rsquo;) character by default.
 



Here's a comparison between arrays and strings in C:



Aspect
Array
String




Definition
A collection of elements of the same data type.
A sequence of characters terminated by a null character ('\0').


Data Type
Can store elements of any data type (e.g., int, char, etc.).
Specifically stores characters (char type) or an array of characters.


Initialization
Can be initialized with default values or specific elements.
Can be initialized using string literals or an array of characters.


Termination
No specific termination character.
Terminated by a null character ('\0') to indicate the end of the string.


Size
Size is determined by the number of elements in the array.
Size is determined by the length of the string, excluding the null terminator.


Access
Elements accessed using array indexing.
Individual characters can be accessed using array indexing or string manipulation functions.


Modification
Elements can be modified individually.
Characters within a string can be modified, but the length of the string cannot be changed directly.


Functions
Array-specific functions can be used for manipulation.
String-specific functions from the C standard library (<string.h>) can be used for manipulation.



In summary, an array in C is a collection of elements of the same data type, while a string is a sequence of characters terminated by a null character. Arrays can store elements of any data type, whereas strings specifically store characters or arrays of characters. Strings have a special termination character ('\0') to indicate the end of the string. Arrays are accessed and modified using array indexing, while strings can be manipulated using string-specific functions from the C standard library.

What is the difference between array and string in C?

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Aspect	Array	String
Definition	A collection of elements of the same data type.	A sequence of characters terminated by a null character (`'\0'`).
Data Type	Can store elements of any data type (e.g., int, char, etc.).	Specifically stores characters (`char` type) or an array of characters.
Initialization	Can be initialized with default values or specific elements.	Can be initialized using string literals or an array of characters.
Termination	No specific termination character.	Terminated by a null character (`'\0'`) to indicate the end of the string.
Size	Size is determined by the number of elements in the array.	Size is determined by the length of the string, excluding the null terminator.
Access	Elements accessed using array indexing.	Individual characters can be accessed using array indexing or string manipulation functions.
Modification	Elements can be modified individually.	Characters within a string can be modified, but the length of the string cannot be changed directly.
Functions	Array-specific functions can be used for manipulation.	String-specific functions from the C standard library () can be used for manipulation.