C Library - puts() function

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The C library puts() function is used to write a string to the standard output (usually the console) followed by a newline character. This function simplifies the process of outputting strings, as it automatically appends a newline at the end, unlike printf() which requires explicit inclusion of the newline character.

Syntax

Following is the C library syntax of the puts() function −

int puts(const char *str);

Parameters

This function accepts only a single parameter −

• str: A pointer to a null-terminated string that you want to print.

Return Value

On success, the puts() function returns a non-negative integer and on failure, it returns EOF (End Of File).

Example 1: Basic Usage

This example shows the basic usage of puts() to print the string "Hello, World!" followed by a newline.

Below is the illustration of the C library puts() function.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
   puts("Hello, World!");
   return 0;
}

Output

The above code produces the following result−

Hello, World!

Example 2: Handling Empty Strings

This example shows that puts() can handle empty strings and will output just a newline when given an empty string.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
   // Prints a newline
   puts(""); 
   puts("Non-empty string after an empty line");
   return 0;
}

Output

After execution of above code, we get the following result −

Non-empty string after an empty line