Definition |
Reads a single character from the standard input stream. |
Writes a single character to the standard output stream. |
Input |
Reads input from the keyboard or a file. |
Writes output to the screen or a file. |
Output |
Does not output anything. |
Outputs a single character to the screen or a file. |
Return value |
Returns the ASCII value of the character read from input. |
Does not return anything. |
Syntax |
int getchar(void) |
int putchar(int character) |
Parameters |
Does not take any parameters. |
Takes a single parameter, which is the character to be written to output. |
Looping |
Often used in a loop to read multiple characters from input. |
Often used in a loop to write multiple characters to output. |
Buffering |
Uses buffering; characters are read into a buffer before being processed. |
Uses buffering; characters are written to a buffer before being displayed on the screen or written to a file. |
Error handling |
Returns EOF (End of File) when it encounters an error or reaches the end of a file. |
Does not have any error handling mechanism. |
Examples |
Read input from the keyboard: char c = getchar(); |
Output a single character to the screen: putchar('A'); |