C - TypeCasting

Syntax

In C, type casting is the process of converting a value from one data type to another. The general syntax for type casting in C is as follows:

Here:

new_data_type represents the desired data type to which you want to cast the expression. expression is the value or variable that you want to cast.

For example:

Types of Type Casting in C:

1. Implicit Type Casting (Type Coercion): Implicit type casting in C, also known as type coercion, occurs automatically by the compiler when a value of one data type is assigned to a variable of another data type. This typically happens when a "smaller" data type is assigned to a "larger" data type, preserving data integrity.

For example:

2. Explicit Type Casting: Explicit type casting in C involves manually converting a value from one data type to another using the casting operator (new_data_type).

For example:

Explicit Type Casting

Let's take an example to demonstrate explicit type casting in c:

Program 1:

Output:

Explanation:

In this program, we explicitly cast the pi variable (which is a double) to an integer using (int) to remove the decimal part. The original value of pi is printed with %lf (long float) format specifier, and the rounded value is printed with %d (integer) format specifier.

Program 2:

Output:

Explanation:

Here, we explicitly cast the num variable (which is an int) to a char using (char). The original value of num is printed as an integer, and the character representation of the casted value is printed with %c.

5 Built-in Type Casting Functions in C Programming

C provides several built-in type casting functions to perform type casting in C. Here are five commonly used ones:

1. atof(): Converts a string to a double.
2. atoi(): Converts a string to an integer.
3. itoa(): Converts an integer to a string.
4. itoba(): Converts an integer to a binary string.
5. atoi(): Converts a binary string to an integer. These functions are particularly useful when dealing with string-to-number or number-to-string conversions.

Advantages of Type Casting:

Data Integrity: Type casting allows you to ensure that data is properly converted when moving between different data types, preventing data loss or unexpected behavior.

Compatibility: It helps in making different data types compatible with each other, allowing operations and assignments that might otherwise be incompatible.

Flexibility: Type casting gives programmers flexibility in how they use and manipulate data, enabling them to adapt to various situations and requirements.

Precision Control: It allows you to control the precision of numeric values, such as truncating decimal places when converting from a float to an integer.

String Manipulation: Type casting functions (e.g., atoi() and itoa()) facilitate easy conversion between strings and numeric types, making string manipulation more straightforward.