Command Line Arguments in C –
What is a Command Line Argument?
• It allows you to pass values (arguments) to your C program from the terminal or command line when
running it.
• Used when you want to give input without writing scanf() or input() in code.
main() Function with Arguments
c
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int main(int argc, char *argv[])
What are these?
Term Meaning
argc Number of command-line arguments passed (argument count)
argv[] Array of strings (char pointers) containing arguments
Example Program
c
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#include <stdio.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
printf("Total Arguments: %d\n", argc);
for(int i = 0; i < argc; i++) {
printf("Argument %d: %s\n", i, argv[i]);
}
return 0;
}
Build and Run (Steps)
1. Write the code and save as a.c
2. Compile it:
bash
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gcc a.c -o a.exe
3. Run with arguments:
bash
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./a.exe hello world 123
Output:
yaml
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Total Arguments: 4
Argument 0: ./a.exe
Argument 1: hello
Argument 2: world
Argument 3: 123
Notice:
• The first argument argv[0] is always the program name.
• Other arguments follow.
Using atoi() to Convert Strings to Integers
c
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#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
if (argc < 3) {
printf("Please provide two numbers.\n");
return 1;
}
int a = atoi(argv[1]);
int b = atoi(argv[2]);
printf("Sum = %d\n", a + b);
return 0;
}
Run like this:
bash
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./a.exe 5 7
Output: Sum = 12
Summary Table
Term Use
argc Tells how many arguments are passed
argv[i] Gets the value of each argument
atoi() Converts string to integer
./a.exe apple banana Example of passing arguments
