C split a char array into different variables

Question

In C how can I separate a char array by a delimiter? Or is it better to manipulate a string? What are some good C char manipulation functions?

Answer 1

In addition, you can use sscanf for some very simple scenarios, for example when you know exactly how many parts the string has and what it consists of. You can also parse the arguments on the fly. Do not use it for user inputs because the function will not report conversion errors.

Example:

char text[] = "1:22:300:4444:-5";
int i1, i2, i3, i4, i5;
sscanf(text, "%d:%d:%d:%d:%d", &i1, &i2, &i3, &i4, &i5);
printf("%d, %d, %d, %d, %d", i1, i2, i3, i4, i5);

Output:

1, 22, 300, 4444, -5

For anything more advanced, strtok() and strtok_r() are your best options, as mentioned in other answers.