how to take multiple strings as input and store them in a 2d array using c?

Question

The following is my code written in c language where I am trying to take strings as input and store them in a 2d array.

#include<stdio.h>
#include<stdlib.h>
#include<string.h>
int main(){
    int i,j,n;
    scanf("%d",&n);
    char a[n][n];
    for(i=0;i<n;i++){
        scanf(" %[^\n]",a[i]);
    }
    for(i=0;i<n;i++){
        printf("%s\n",a[i]);
    }
}

below is my input
4
1112
1912
1892
1234

my excepted output should look like below
1112
1912
1892
1234

the output which I am getting is below
1112191218921234
191218921234
18921234
1234

can anyone explain what is wrong in my code? any help would be appreciated! thanks:)

Hint: an array of length 4 cannot hold a string of length 4, the space for nul-terminator is not there. — Sourav Ghosh, Jun 29 '20 at 15:18
Also, beware while using array as strings, they need null-termination to work. — Sourav Ghosh, Jun 29 '20 at 15:20
`scanf(" %[^\n]",a[i]);` is worse than [`gets()`](https://stackoverflow.com/q/1694036/2410359). — chux - Reinstate Monica, Jun 29 '20 at 15:53

Rohan Bari · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-30T17:02:56.803

1

You need to change:

char a[n][n];

Into:

char a[n][n + 1];

For a null-terminator. Without that, the char array won't be terminated and keep printing.

You'll get the correct output afterwards:

$ gcc -o prog prog.c; ./prog
4
1112
1912
1892
1234

edited Jun 30 '20 at 17:02

answered Jun 29 '20 at 15:20

Rohan Bari

7,482
3
14
34

1

and the outer dimension can very well stay as `n`. – Sourav Ghosh Jun 29 '20 at 15:23
@RohanBari, then better to delete these comments. Mine already erased. – Luis Colorado Jul 01 '20 at 22:12

how to take multiple strings as input and store them in a 2d array using c?

1 Answers1