The char Data Type

1. What is char?

The char (short for character) data type is used to store a single character, such as a letter, digit, or symbol.
It always takes 1 byte (8 bits) of memory.

Each char value is stored as an ASCII number (American Standard Code for Information Interchange).

🧩 Example 1 – Single Character

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

  char myGrade = ‘A’;   // Single character inside single quotes

  printf(“%c”, myGrade);

  return 0;

}

✅ Output:

A

🔹 2. Characters & ASCII Values

Every character in C is represented internally by an ASCII value (a numeric code).
For example:

‘A’ → 65

‘B’ → 66

‘C’ → 67

You can even store and print them using their ASCII numbers!

🧩 Example 2 – Using ASCII Values

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

  char a = 65;   // ASCII for ‘A’

  char b = 66;   // ASCII for ‘B’

  char c = 67;   // ASCII for ‘C’;

  printf(“%c”, a);

  printf(“%c”, b);

  printf(“%c”, c);

  return 0;

}

✅ Output:

ABC

💡 Tip: You can view all ASCII values in a reference table (0–127 standard characters).

3. What Happens If You Store More Than One Character?

If you try this 👇

char myText = ‘Hello’;

printf(“%c”, myText);

👉 It will only print the last character, ‘o’,
because the char data type can store only one character.

⚠️ Important Note

Don’t use char for storing multiple letters or words — that’s where strings come in.

Example 3 – Using a String Instead

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {

  char myText[] = “Hello”;   // String = multiple characters

  printf(“%s”, myText);

  return 0;

}

✅ Output:

Hello

🧩 Quick Summary

✅ Key Points to Remember

Always use single quotes (‘ ‘) for single characters.

Always use double quotes (” “) for strings.

char variables use ASCII values internally.

%c prints a single character.

%s prints a string.