scanf Type Field Characters (Windows CE 5.0)
Developing an Application > Microsoft C Run-time Library for Windows CE > Run-time Library Reference > scanf, wscanf
The type character is the only required format field; it appears after optional format fields.
The type character determines whether the associated argument is interpreted as a character, string, or number.
Type Characters for scanf functions
| Character | Type of Input Expected | Type of Argument |
|---|---|---|
| c | When used with scanf functions, specifies single-byte character; when used with wscanf functions, specifies wide character.
White-space characters that are ordinarily skipped are read when c is specified. To read next non–white-space single-byte character, use %1s; to read next non–white-space wide character, use %1ws. |
Pointer to char when used with scanf functions, pointer to wchar_t when used with wscanf functions. |
| C | When used with scanf functions, specifies wide character; when used with wscanf functions, specifies single-byte character.
White-space characters that are ordinarily skipped are read when C is specified. To read next non–white-space single-byte character, use %1s; to read next non–white-space wide character, use %1ws. |
Pointer to wchar_t when used with scanf functions, pointer to char when used with wscanf functions. |
| d | Decimal integer. | Pointer to int. |
| i | Decimal, hexadecimal, or octal integer. | Pointer to int. |
| o | Octal integer. | Pointer to int. |
| u | Unsigned decimal integer. | Pointer to unsigned int. |
| x | Hexadecimal integer. | Pointer to int. |
| e, E, f, g, G | Floating-point value consisting of optional sign (+ or –), series of one or more decimal digits containing decimal point, and optional exponent ("e" or "E") followed by an optionally signed integer value. | Pointer to float. |
| n | No input read from stream or buffer. | Pointer to int, into which is stored number of characters successfully read from stream or buffer up to that point in current call to scanf functions or wscanf functions. |
| s | String, up to first white-space character (space, tab or newline).
To read strings not delimited by space characters, use set of square brackets ([ ]), as discussed following Size Prefixes for scanf and wscanf Format-Type Specifiers in scanf Width Specification. |
When used with scanf functions, signifies single-byte character array; when used with wscanf functions, signifies wide-character array.
In either case, character array must be large enough for input field plus terminating null character, which is automatically appended. |
| S | String, up to first white-space character (space, tab or newline).
To read strings not delimited by space characters, use set of square brackets ([ ]), as discussed preceding this table. |
When used with scanf functions, signifies wide-character array; when used with wscanf functions, signifies single-byte–character array.
In either case, character array must be large enough for input field plus terminating null character, which is automatically appended. |
The types c, C, s, and S are Microsoft extensions and are not ANSI-compatible.
Thus, to read single-byte or wide characters with scanf functions and wscanf functions, use format specifiers as follows.
| To Read Character As | Use This Function | With These Format Specifiers |
|---|---|---|
| single byte | scanf functions | c, hc, or hC |
| single byte | wscanf functions | C, hc, or hC |
| wide | wscanf functions | c, lc, or lC |
| wide | scanf functions | C, lc, or lC |
To scan strings with scanf functions, and wscanf functions, use the prefixes h and l analogously with format type-specifiers s and S.
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