Learn C union declaration, initilization, array of unions, typedef, size of union, passing union or union pointer to function, function returning union or union pointer with examples, demonstrations. Subscribe here to enable complete access to all technical articles, online tests and projects.
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Difference between struct,union
Like structure, union is another derived data type in C and consists of one or more members.
Structs allocate enough space to store all of the members in the struct. The first member is stored at the beginning of the struct, the second is stored after that, and so on.
To demonstrate abobe feature let's write a small program as shown below
#include "stdio.h"
struct S{
char c;
int i;
};
union U{
char c;
int i;
};
void main()
{
printf("sizeof struct S:%d,sizeof union U:%d\n", sizeof(struct S),sizeof(union U));
}
Program output:
===============
$ gcc prog,c
$ ./a.out
sizeof struct S:8,sizeof union U:4
$
Endianness using union
The members of an union share the same storage. So union can store only one of its members at a time, but not all members simultaneously. During union initialization, the compiler allocates only enough space for the largest of the members which overlay each other within this space. As a result, assigning a new value in the member alters the values of the other members as well.
Let's look at the below program to demonstrate this feature.
#include "stdio.h"
union U{
char c;
int i;
};
void main()
{
union U one;
printf("Char started at Address %x and integer started at Address %x\n",&one.c,&one.i);
one.i = 0x11223344;
printf("Add:%x,value:%x\nAdd:%x,value:%x\nAdd:%x,value:%x\nAdd:%x,value:%x\n",&one.c,one.c,(&one.c)+1,*((&one.c)+1),(&one.c)+2,*((&one.c)+2),(&one.c)+3,*((&one.c)+3));
if(one.c == 0x44){
printf("Little Endian\n");
}else{
printf("Big Endian\n");
}
}
Program output:
===============
$ gcc prog.c
$ ./a.out
Char started at Address 7ef7b20c and integer started at Address 7ef7b20c
Add:7ef7b20c,value:44
Add:7ef7b20d,value:33
Add:7ef7b20e,value:22
Add:7ef7b20f,value:11
Little Endian
$
Let's analyze the above program
We have created one an instance of union U and using that instance we have printed the address of char variable c and int variable i. Notice in the program output that they are same. What does it mean? If you change one member the other member will change automatically because they are stored in the same starting address. The difference is that int will occupy 4 bytes compared to char which will occupy only 1 byte.
We wrote hex number 0x11223344 into int i with 0x44 as LSB byte and 0x11 as MSB byte. Then, we have printed the address of char member c and its content. You will notice that char c content has changed along with the content of next bytes as well.
A machine is Little Endian if LSB byte is written at the lower address in memory and Big Endian if MSB byte is written at the lower memory location in memory. As we could check the content of character variable to know the endianness of the machine.
Break up larger data items
Let's write a small program to break up all bytes from an integer given by user.
#include "stdio.h"
union {
unsigned int n;
unsigned char c[4];
} data;
void main(){
int nRead = 0x11223344;
data.n = nRead;
for( int i = 0; i < 4; i++ )
{
printf( "Byte number %d of %ud in decimal %d in hex:%x\n", i, nRead, data.c[i], data.c[i] );
}
}
Program output:
===============
$ gcc prog.c
$ ./a.out
Byte number 0 of 287454020d in decimal 68 in hex:44
Byte number 1 of 287454020d in decimal 51 in hex:33
Byte number 2 of 287454020d in decimal 34 in hex:22
Byte number 3 of 287454020d in decimal 17 in hex:11
$
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Exercises, Solutions
| High |
Write a C program function to enter different book information(pages, author, search id) in a school library and search any book using search id and structure pointers.
|
| High |
Write a C program function to enter different book information(pages, author, search id) in a school library and display the existing books using structure pointers.
|
| High |
Write a C program function to enter different book information(pages, author, search id) in a school library and display the existing books using structure arrays.
|
| High |
Write a C program function to enter different book information(pages, author, search id) in a school library and search any book using search id and structure arrays.
|
| Medium |
Write a C program function to enter different book information(pages, author, search id) in a school library.
|
| Medium |
Write a function to determine whether the machine is Little Endian or Big Endian.
|
| High |
Write a program to swap the 4bytes of an integer. If input is provided as 0x12345678 output is generated as 0x78563412.
|
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