getchar

int getchar( void );

Reads the next character from stdin.

Equivalent to getc(stdin).

Parameters

(none)

Return value

The obtained character on success or EOF on failure.

If the failure has been caused by end-of-file condition, additionally sets the eof indicator (see feof()) on stdin. If the failure has been caused by some other error, sets the error indicator (see ferror()) on stdin.

Example

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
 
int main(void)
{
    for (int ch; (ch = getchar()) != EOF;) // read/print "abcde" from stdin
        printf("%c", ch);
 
    // Test reason for reaching EOF.
    if (feof(stdin)) // if failure caused by end-of-file condition
        puts("End of file reached");
    else if (ferror(stdin)) // if failure caused by some other error
    {
        perror("getchar()");
        fprintf(stderr, "getchar() failed in file %s at line # %d\n",
                __FILE__, __LINE__ - 9);
        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
    }
 
    return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}

abcde
End of file reached

References

• C23 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:2023):
• 7.21.7.6 The getchar function (p: TBD)
• C17 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:2018):
• 7.21.7.6 The getchar function (p: TBD)
• C11 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:2011):
• 7.21.7.6 The getchar function (p: 332)
• C99 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:1999):
• 7.19.7.6 The getchar function (p: 298)
• C89/C90 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:1990):
• 4.9.7.6 The getchar function

See also