Question

What is the maximum length of a string that can be placed in the string variable declared by the following declaration? Explain. char s [6];

Short answer

Answer: The maximum length of a string that can be placed in a string variable declared with the size of 6 is 5 characters. This is because the null character `\0`, which marks the end of the string, occupies one character space in the array.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the string variable declaration

The given declaration `char s[6]` is a character array that can store up to 6 characters. It is important to note that this array also includes the null character `\0` that is necessary to mark the end of the string.

Calculate the maximum string length

Since the null character `\0` occupies one character space in the array, the maximum number of characters that can be stored as a part of the string is one less than the total size of the array. In this case, the array has a size of 6; hence, the maximum string length would be 5 characters.

Explain the reasoning

The null character `\0` is crucial in strings as it indicates the end of a string. It is automatically added to every string, so when calculating the maximum length of a string that can be stored in the character array, the null character should always be taken into account. As a result, in the given array with size 6, the maximum length of the string that can be stored is 5 characters plus the null character at the end, occupying all six character spaces.