Interactive Computer Science Tutoring
Learn programming concepts interactively
C Strings - The Character Train!
Master C strings through interactive character-by-character exploration
String Constructor
Type a string and see how C stores it in memory
Character Train
Each character is like a train car, click to inspect
String Operations Library
Explore common string functions and their dangers
Key String Concepts
Essential knowledge for C string mastery
Strings Are Arrays
In C, strings are just arrays of characters
char str[] = "Hello"; // Creates array: ['H','e','l','l','o','\0']
Null Terminator
Every string ends with \0 (ASCII value 0)
Without \0, functions don't know where string ends!
String Literals
Text in quotes creates read-only strings in memory
"Hello" is stored in read-only memory section
Character Pointers
char* can point to strings, but be careful with modification
char *ptr = "Hello"; // Points to read-only memory
String Comparison
See how strcmp() works
String Operation: strlen
Interactive C code with memory visualization
String Journey0/5
Recent operations with timestamps
No operations yet
Start by adding or modifying elements
String Safety Guidelines
⚠️ Never trust strcpy() or strcat()
These functions don't check buffer sizes and can cause overflows.
🔒 Use safer alternatives
Use strncpy(), strncat(), and always null-terminate manually.
✅ Always check bounds
Know your buffer size and never exceed it. Strings need space for \\0!
String Memory Facts
🚂 String Length: 5 characters + 1 null terminator
📍 Memory Used: 6 bytes total
🔚 Null Terminator: Essential for functions to know where string ends
⚡ Performance: String operations are O(n) because they scan for \\0