C conversion utilities: does a function exist to convert int or float to a string (text)? Answer with the standard-library perspective and common practice.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Yes

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Converting numbers to text is a routine task. This question asks whether C provides ways to express integers or floating-point values as strings.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • We need a string representation (char array) of an int or float/double.
  • Standard C and widely available extensions can be considered.


Concept / Approach:

Yes. Standard C offers formatted I/O functions such as sprintf and snprintf to write formatted numbers into a character buffer. Many platforms also provide non-standard helpers such as itoa, ftoa, or gcvt; however, portable code should prefer snprintf with appropriate format specifiers like %d, %ld, %f, %.2f, etc.


Step-by-Step Solution:

1) Allocate a buffer: char buf[64]; 2) Use snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "%d", x); for an int. 3) Use snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "%f", y); for a float/double. 4) The buffer now contains a NUL-terminated string.


Verification / Alternative check:

Print the buffer or compare with printf output; both use the same formatting rules.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

No: Incorrect; standard formatted output routines exist precisely for this purpose.


Common Pitfalls:

  • Using sprintf without bounds checking; prefer snprintf.
  • Relying on non-portable functions like itoa in cross-platform code.


Final Answer:

Yes

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