Format
#include <string.h>
int strcmp(const char *string1, const char *string2);Language Level: ANSI
Threadsafe: Yes.
Description
The strcmp() function compares string1 and string2. The function operates on null-ended strings. The string arguments to the function should contain a null character (\0) that marks the end of the string.
Return Value
The strcmp() function returns a value indicating the relationship between the two strings, as follows:
| Value | Meaning |
| Less than 0 | string1 less than string2 |
| 0 | string1 identical to string2 |
| Greater than 0 | string1 greater than string2 |
Example that uses strcmp()
This example compares the two strings that are passed to main() using strcmp().
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
int main(int argc, char ** argv)
{
int result;
if ( argc != 3 )
{
printf( "Usage: %s string1 string2\n", argv[0] );
}
else
{
result = strcmp( argv[1], argv[2] );
if ( result == 0 )
printf( "\"%s\" is identical to \"%s\"\n", argv[1], argv[2] );
else if ( result < 0 )
printf( "\"%s\" is less than \"%s\"\n", argv[1], argv[2] );
else
printf( "\"%s\" is greater than \"%s\"\n", argv[1], argv[2] );
}
}
/****************** If the input is the strings ***********************
********** "is this first?" and "is this before that one?", ***********
****************** then the expected output is: *********************
"is this first?" is greater than "is this before that one?"
**********************************************************************/Related Information