C library function - strncmp()

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Description

The C library function int strncmp(const char *str1, const char *str2, size_t n) compares at most the first n bytes of str1 and str2.

Declaration

Following is the declaration for strncmp() function.

int strncmp(const char *str1, const char *str2, size_t n)

Parameters

str1 − This is the first string to be compared.

str2 − This is the second string to be compared.

n − The maximum number of characters to be compared.

Return Value

This function return values that are as follows −

if Return value < 0 then it indicates str1 is less than str2.

if Return value > 0 then it indicates str2 is less than str1.

if Return value = 0 then it indicates str1 is equal to str2.

Example

The following example shows the usage of strncmp() function.

#include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> int main () { char str1[15]; char str2[15]; int ret; strcpy(str1, "abcdef"); strcpy(str2, "ABCDEF"); ret = strncmp(str1, str2, 4); if(ret < 0) { printf("str1 is less than str2"); } else if(ret > 0) { printf("str2 is less than str1"); } else { printf("str1 is equal to str2"); } return(0); }

Let us compile and run the above program that will produce the following result −

str2 is less than str1

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