C Language: memcpy function
(Copy Memory Block)
In the C Programming Language, the memcpy function copies n characters from the object pointed to by s2 into the object pointed to by s1. It returns a pointer to the destination.
The memcpy function may not work if the objects overlap.
Syntax
The syntax for the memcpy function in the C Language is:
void *memcpy(void *s1, const void *s2, size_t n);
Parameters or Arguments
- s1
- An array where s2 will be copied to.
- s2
- The string to be copied.
- n
- The number of characters to copy.
Returns
The memcpy function returns s1.
Required Header
In the C Language, the required header for the memcpy function is:
#include <string.h>
Applies To
In the C Language, the memcpy function can be used in the following versions:
- ANSI/ISO 9899-1990
memcpy Example
Let's look at an example to see how you would use the memcpy function in C program:
/* Example using memcpy by TechOnTheNet.com */ #include <stdio.h> #include <string.h> int main(int argc, const char * argv[]) { /* Create a place to store our results */ int result; /* Create two arrays to hold our data */ char original[50]; char newcopy[50]; /* Copy a string into the original array */ strcpy(original, "C memcpy at TechOnTheNet.com"); /* Copy the first 24 characters of the original array into the newcopy array */ result = memcpy(newcopy, original, 24); /* Set the character at position 24 to a null (char 0) in the newcopy array to ensure the string is terminated (This is important since memcpy does not initialize memory and printf expects a null at the end of a string) */ newcopy[24] = 0; /* Display the contents of the new copy */ printf("%s\n", newcopy); return 0; }
When compiled and run, this application will output:
C memcpy at TechOnTheNet
Similar Functions
Other C functions that are similar to the memcpy function:
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