Segmentation fault while taking string from user

Question

Code:

int main()
{
  char *name=NULL;
  int n;
  printf(\"\\nenter the string\\n\");
  scanf(\"%s\",name);
  n=strlen(name);
  printf(\"%d\",n);
  return 0;
}
         


        

Answer 1

C is not a managed language, so you need to tell your string (char *) wihch lenght of memory are you giving it. Here comes the malloc function.

By the way, there is no GarbageCollector, so you'll need to free your char * when you'll have finish to use it.

But be careful, malloc can return null, so your char * would be unable to store any char !

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    char *name = null;
    // Malloc your char *
    if ((name = malloc(sizeof( char ) * LENGTH_OF_YOUR_LARGER_INPUT)) == null)
    return;
    int n;
    printf("\nenter the string\n");
    scanf("%s",name);
    n=strlen(name);
    printf("%d",n);
    // Free the allocated memory to your char *
    free(name);
}