5 Computer -- Programming II

Differentiate between structure and union.

Differentiate between structure and union.

Structures in C is a user-defined data type available in C that allows to combining of data items of different kinds. Structures are used to represent a record. 

Defining a structure: To define a structure, you must use the struct statement. The struct statement defines a new data type, with more than or equal to one member. The format of the struct statement is as follows:

struct [structure name] { member definition; member definition; ... member definition; }; (OR) struct [structure name] { member definition; member definition; ... member definition; }structure variable declaration;

Union in C is a special data type available in C that allows storing different data types in the same memory location. You can define a union with many members, but only one member can contain a value at any given time. Unions provide an efficient way of using the same memory location for multiple purposes. 

Defining a Union: To define a union, you must use the union statement in the same way as you did while defining a structure. The union statement defines a new data type with more than one member for your program. The format of the union statement is as follows: 

union [union name] { member definition; member definition; ... member definition; }; (OR) union [union name] { member definition; member definition; ... member definition; }union variable declaration;


Differences between Structure and Union are as shown below in tabular format as shown below as follows: 

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