GNU Info

(libc.info)Numeric Input Conversions

---

Next: String Input Conversions Prev: Table of Input Conversions Up: Formatted Input

---

Enter node , (file) or (file)node

Numeric Input Conversions
-------------------------

   This section describes the `scanf' conversions for reading numeric
values.

   The `%d' conversion matches an optionally signed integer in decimal
radix.  The syntax that is recognized is the same as that for the
`strtol' function (Note: Parsing of Integers) with the value `10' for
the BASE argument.

   The `%i' conversion matches an optionally signed integer in any of
the formats that the C language defines for specifying an integer
constant.  The syntax that is recognized is the same as that for the
`strtol' function (Note: Parsing of Integers) with the value `0' for
the BASE argument.  (You can print integers in this syntax with
`printf' by using the `#' flag character with the `%x', `%o', or `%d'
conversion.  Note: Integer Conversions.)

   For example, any of the strings `10', `0xa', or `012' could be read
in as integers under the `%i' conversion.  Each of these specifies a
number with decimal value `10'.

   The `%o', `%u', and `%x' conversions match unsigned integers in
octal, decimal, and hexadecimal radices, respectively.  The syntax that
is recognized is the same as that for the `strtoul' function (Note:
Parsing of Integers) with the appropriate value (`8', `10', or `16')
for the BASE argument.

   The `%X' conversion is identical to the `%x' conversion.  They both
permit either uppercase or lowercase letters to be used as digits.

   The default type of the corresponding argument for the `%d' and `%i'
conversions is `int *', and `unsigned int *' for the other integer
conversions.  You can use the following type modifiers to specify other
sizes of integer:

`hh'
     Specifies that the argument is a `signed char *' or `unsigned char
     *'.

     This modifier was introduced in ISO C99.

`h'
     Specifies that the argument is a `short int *' or `unsigned short
     int *'.

`j'
     Specifies that the argument is a `intmax_t *' or `uintmax_t *'.

     This modifier was introduced in ISO C99.

`l'
     Specifies that the argument is a `long int *' or `unsigned long
     int *'.  Two `l' characters is like the `L' modifier, below.

     If used with `%c' or `%s' the corresponding parameter is
     considered as a pointer to a wide character or wide character
     string respectively.  This use of `l' was introduced in
     Amendment 1 to ISO C90.

`ll'
`L'
`q'
     Specifies that the argument is a `long long int *' or `unsigned
     long long int *'.  (The `long long' type is an extension supported
     by the GNU C compiler.  For systems that don't provide extra-long
     integers, this is the same as `long int'.)

     The `q' modifier is another name for the same thing, which comes
     from 4.4 BSD; a `long long int' is sometimes called a "quad" `int'.

`t'
     Specifies that the argument is a `ptrdiff_t *'.

     This modifier was introduced in ISO C99.

`z'
     Specifies that the argument is a `size_t *'.

     This modifier was introduced in ISO C99.

   All of the `%e', `%f', `%g', `%E', and `%G' input conversions are
interchangeable.  They all match an optionally signed floating point
number, in the same syntax as for the `strtod' function (Note: Parsing
of Floats).

   For the floating-point input conversions, the default argument type
is `float *'.  (This is different from the corresponding output
conversions, where the default type is `double'; remember that `float'
arguments to `printf' are converted to `double' by the default argument
promotions, but `float *' arguments are not promoted to `double *'.)
You can specify other sizes of float using these type modifiers:

`l'
     Specifies that the argument is of type `double *'.

`L'
     Specifies that the argument is of type `long double *'.

   For all the above number parsing formats there is an additional
optional flag `''.  When this flag is given the `scanf' function
expects the number represented in the input string to be formatted
according to the grouping rules of the currently selected locale (Note:
General Numeric).

   If the `"C"' or `"POSIX"' locale is selected there is no difference.
But for a locale which specifies values for the appropriate fields in
the locale the input must have the correct form in the input.
Otherwise the longest prefix with a correct form is processed.