Syntax of command line arguments - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What are command line arguments in C?

Command line arguments are inputs passed to a C program when it starts. They allow users to provide data or options to the program from the terminal or command prompt.

beginner

What is the syntax of the main function to accept command line arguments in C?

The main function should be declared as int main(int argc, char *argv[]) or int main(int argc, char **argv). Here, argc counts the arguments, and argv is an array of strings holding each argument.

beginner

What does argc represent in the main function?

argc stands for 'argument count'. It tells how many command line arguments were passed, including the program's name itself.

beginner

What is stored in argv[0]?

argv[0] stores the name or path of the program being executed. It is always the first argument.

beginner

How can you access the third command line argument in a C program?

You can access it using argv[3]. Remember, argv[0] is the program name, so the first user argument is argv[1].

What is the correct declaration of main to accept command line arguments?

A void main()

B int main(int argc, char *argv[])

C int main()

D void main(int argc)

Only int main(int argc, char *argv[]) correctly accepts command line arguments.

What does argc count?

A Number of user arguments excluding program name

B Number of characters in the first argument

C Number of bytes in argv array

D Number of command line arguments including program name

argc counts all arguments including the program name.

What is stored in argv[0]?

A Program name or path

B First user argument

C Last argument

D Null pointer

argv[0] always holds the program's name or path.

If a program is run as ./app hello world, what is argv[2]?

A NULL

B hello

C world

D ./app

argv[0] is './app', argv[1] is 'hello', and argv[2] is 'world'.

Which data type is argv in int main(int argc, char *argv[])?

A Array of pointers to char

B Pointer to int

C Array of integers

D Pointer to float

argv is an array of pointers to characters (strings).

Explain the purpose and syntax of command line arguments in C programs.

Think about how you run programs from the terminal with extra words.

Describe how to access the first and second user-provided command line arguments in C.

Remember the program name is always the first argument.