C programming question paper with answers

C programming is a fundamental language that introduces programming concepts. This guide provides questions and answers covering various topics in C programming to help learners and exam aspirants understand its core principles. The content includes multiple types of questions like theoretical, practical, and problem-solving for comprehensive preparation.

Basics of C Programming

Question: What is C programming?

Answer:
C is a high-level and general-purpose programming language that is used for developing system software and applications.

Question: Who developed the C language, and when?

Answer:
C was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972 at Bell Labs.

Question: What is the main structure of a C program?

Answer:
A C program typically includes preprocessor directives, global declarations, the main function, and other functions.

Question: What are keywords in C?

Answer:
Keywords are reserved words in C that have predefined meanings and cannot be used as identifiers, such as int, return, and void.

Question: What are variables in C?

Answer:
Variables are named storage locations in memory used to store data values during program execution.

Question: What are data types in C?

Answer:
Data types define the type of data a variable can hold, such as int, float, char, and double.

Question: What is the use of the main() function in C?

Answer:
The main() function is the entry point of every C program and is executed first when the program runs.

Question: What are operators in C?

Answer:
Operators are symbols used to perform operations on variables and values, such as +, -, *, and /.

Question: What is a constant in C?

Answer:
A constant is a value that cannot be modified during program execution and is defined using the const keyword.

Question: How is a comment written in C?

Answer:
Single-line comments start with //, and multi-line comments are enclosed between /* and */.

Control Structures in C

Question: What are control structures in C?

Answer:
Control structures direct the flow of execution in a program and include if-else, loops, and switch-case.

Question: How is an if statement used in C?

Answer:
The if statement is used to execute a block of code if a specified condition is true.

Question: What is the difference between if-else and switch-case?

Answer:
The if-else statement checks conditions using expressions, while switch-case selects a block of code to execute based on a specific value.

Question: How is a for loop used in C?

Answer:
A for loop is used for iterating over a block of code a specific number of times, with syntax: for(initialization; condition; increment/decrement).

Question: How does a while loop work?

Answer:
A while loop executes a block of code repeatedly as long as the specified condition remains true.

Question: What is a do-while loop?

Answer:
A do-while loop executes a block of code once and then repeatedly as long as the condition is true.

Question: How is the break statement used in C?

Answer:
The break statement is used to exit a loop or switch statement prematurely.

Question: How is the continue statement used in C?

Answer:
The continue statement skips the current iteration of a loop and moves to the next iteration.

Question: What is a goto statement in C?

Answer:
The goto statement transfers control to a labeled statement within a program, but it is generally discouraged for readability.

Question: What is nested if-else in C?

Answer:
Nested if-else is an if-else structure placed within another if-else, allowing multiple levels of condition checking.

Functions in C

Question: What are functions in C?

Answer:
Functions are reusable blocks of code that perform specific tasks and can be called multiple times in a program.

Question: What is the syntax of a function declaration in C?

Answer:
The syntax is: return_type function_name(parameter_list);

Question: What is the difference between call by value and call by reference?

Answer:
Call by value passes a copy of the argument, while call by reference passes the actual address of the argument.

Question: How are parameters passed to functions in C?

Answer:
Parameters can be passed to functions by value or by reference using pointers.

Question: What is a recursive function in C?

Answer:
A recursive function calls itself until a base condition is met to break the recursion.

Question: What is the scope of a variable in C?

Answer:
The scope determines where a variable can be accessed in a program, such as local or global scope.

Question: How is a void function defined in C?

Answer:
A void function does not return any value and is defined using the void return type.

Question: What is the use of the return statement in C?

Answer:
The return statement exits a function and optionally returns a value to the calling function.

Question: Can a function return multiple values in C?

Answer:
No, but it can return multiple values indirectly using pointers or structures.

Question: What is function overloading?

Answer:
Function overloading is not directly supported in C but can be simulated using variable arguments or function pointers.

Pointers in C

Question: What is a pointer in C?

Answer:
A pointer is a variable that stores the memory address of another variable.

Question: How is a pointer declared in C?

Answer:
A pointer is declared using the * symbol, such as int *ptr.

Question: What is the use of the & operator in C?

Answer:
The & operator is used to get the address of a variable.

Question: What is the use of the * operator in C?

Answer:
The * operator is used to access the value at the address stored in a pointer.

Question: What is NULL in C?

Answer:
NULL is a macro representing a null pointer, which points to nothing.

Question: How are pointers and arrays related?

Answer:
Pointers can be used to access array elements, as the array name represents the address of its first element.

Question: What is a dangling pointer?

Answer:
A dangling pointer refers to a memory location that has been freed or deleted.

Question: How is a pointer to a pointer declared in C?

Answer:
A pointer to a pointer is declared using **, such as int **ptr.

Question: What is a function pointer in C?

Answer:
A function pointer is a pointer that stores the address of a function and can be used to call the function.

Question: How can dynamic memory allocation be done in C?

Answer:
Dynamic memory allocation is done using malloc(), calloc(), realloc(), and free() functions.

C programming is a versatile language that forms the foundation for learning other programming languages and concepts. This collection of questions and answers provides an excellent resource for understanding C and excelling in exams or practical applications. Mastering C helps in solving real-world problems and building efficient programs.