Identifiers in C

Identifiers in C

Identifiers in C are names given to variables, functions, structures, unions, and other entities within a C program. They serve as labels to uniquely identify these elements.

Rules for Identifiers:

1. Case-sensitive: myVariable and myvariable are considered different identifiers.
2. Start with a letter or underscore: Identifiers cannot start with a digit.
3. Contain only letters, digits, and underscores: No other characters are allowed.
4. Cannot be a keyword: Identifiers cannot be the same as reserved keywords in C (e.g., int, if, while).

Examples of Valid Identifiers:

• variable_name
• myFunction
• MyStruct
• _private_variable

Examples of Invalid Identifiers:

• 123variable (starts with a digit)
• my-variable (contains a hyphen)
• int (a reserved keyword)

Best Practices for Naming Identifiers:

• Meaningful names: Choose names that reflect the purpose of the identifier.
• Use underscores or camelCase: Use consistent naming conventions to improve readability.
• Avoid using reserved keywords: To prevent conflicts and improve clarity.
• Be consistent: Use a consistent naming style throughout your code.

Common Naming Conventions:

• CamelCase: myVariableName
• Underscore: my_variable_name

In C programming, identifiers are the names used to identify variables, functions, arrays, structures, or any other user-defined items. It is a name that uniquely identifies a program element and can be used to refer to it later in the program. In the above code snippet, “val” and “func” are identifiers

Identifier refers to name given to entities such as variables, functions, structures etc. Identifiers must be unique. They are created to give a unique name to an entity to identify it during the execution of the program.