HOWTO: sscanf() Example Using a Comma (,) as Delimiter

• The C Run-Time (CRT), included with:
  • Microsoft C for MS-DOS, versions 5.1, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0ax
  • Microsoft C for OS/2, versions 5.1, 6.0, 6.0a
  • Microsoft C/C++ for MS-DOS, version 7.0
  • Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, 16-bit edition, versions 1.0, 1.5
  • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, versions 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0

SUMMARY

The example below shows how to use the sscanf() C run-time function to read from an internal buffer delimiting fields with a comma (,). The key is to use the brackets in the format of sscanf() function. The format will be %[^','], which tells the function to read from the buffer until a comma (,) is reached.

Sample Code

/* The following sample illustrates the use of brackets and the
   caret (^) with sscanf().
   Compile options needed: none
*/ 

#include <math.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

char *tokenstring = "first,25.5,second,15";
int result, i;
double fp;
char o[10], f[10], s[10], t[10];

void main()
{
   result = sscanf(tokenstring, "%[^','],%[^','],%[^','],%s", o, s, t, f);
   fp = atof(s);
   i  = atoi(f);
   printf("%s\n %lf\n %s\n %d\n", o, fp, t, i);
} 

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbcode kbCRT kbVC600
Version : MS-DOS:6.0,6.00a,6.00ax,7.0; OS/2:6.0,6.00a; WINDOWS:1.0,1.5; WINDOWS NT:1.0,2.0,4.0,5.0
Platform : MS-DOS NT OS/2 WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto