In C, sscanf() function stands for “String Scan Formatted”. This function is used for parsing the formatted strings, unlike scanf() that reads from the input stream, the sscanf() function extracts data from a string. In this article, we will learn how to read data using sscanf() function in C.

Example:

Input: 
char *str = "Ram Manager 30";

Output:
Name: Ram
Designation: Manager     //parsed string
Age: 30

Read Data Using sscanf Function in C

In C, the sscanf() function can be used to read formatted data from a string rather than a standard input or keyboard. Pass the string to be parsed, a format specifier that defines the expected data types and structure of the input string (like %d, %f, %c, etc), and the list of variables where we want to store the formatted data as a parameter to the sscanf() functions to get the parsed string.

Syntax of sscanf() in C

sscanf(input_str, format, store1, store2, ...);

Here,

• input_str is the string from which data needs to be read.
• format tells the type and format of data to be read
• store1, store2, … represents the variables where the read data will be stored.

C Program to Read Data Using sscanf()

The below program demonstrates how we can read data using sscanf() function in C.

// C program to Read Data Using sscanf()

#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

int main()
{
    // Define a string containing the data to be parsed.
    char* str = "Ram Manager 30";

    // Define variables to hold the parsed data.
    char name[10], designation[10];
    int age, ret;

    // Use sscanf to parse the string into the variables.
    ret = sscanf(str, "%s %s %d", name, designation, &age);

    // Print the parsed data.
    printf("Name: %s\n", name);
    printf("Designation: %s\n", designation);
    printf("Age: %d\n", age);

    return 0;
}

Name: Ram
Designation: Manager
Age: 30

Time complexity: O(n), where n is the length of the input string.
Auxilliary Space: O(1)

Explanation: In this program, sscanf() reads three items from the string str, so 3 will be assigned to ret. The printf() function is then used to display name, designation, and age.

Note: If the input string does not match the specified format, sscanf() might fail to extract data correctly and may lead to parsing errors.