Scope of Variable by G Krishna Chauhan

A scope in any programming is a region of the program where a defined variable can have its existence and beyond that variable it cannot be accessed. There are three places where variables can be declared in C programming language 

• Inside a function or a block which is called local variables.
• Outside of all functions which is called global variables.
• In the definition of function parameters which are called formal parameters.

Local Variables:

Variables that are declared inside a function or block are called local variables. They can be used only by statements that are inside that function or block of code. Local variables are not known to functions outside their own. The following example shows how local variables are used. Here all the variables a, b, and c are local to main() function.

Example Program:

#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
/* local variable declaration */
int a, b;
int c;
/* actual initialization */
a = 10;
b = 20;
c = a + b;
printf ("value of a = %d, b = %d and c = %d\n", a, b, c);
return 0;
}

Global Variables:
Global variables are defined outside a function, usually on top of the program. Global variables hold their values throughout the lifetime of your program and they can be accessed inside any of the functions defined for the program.

A global variable can be accessed by any function. That is, a global variable is available for use throughout your entire program after its declaration. The following program show how global variables are used in a program.

Example Program:

#include <stdio.h>
/* global variable declaration */
int g;
int main () 
{
/* local variable declaration */
int a, b;
/* actual initialization */
a = 10;
b = 20;
g = a + b;
printf ("value of a = %d, b = %d and g = %d\n", a, b, g);
 return 0;
}

Formal Parameters:
Formal parameters, are treated as local variables with-in a function and they take precedence over global variables. Following is an example −

#include <stdio.h>
/* global variable declaration */
int a = 20;
int main () 
{
/* local variable declaration in main function */
int a = 10;
int b = 20;
int c = 0;
printf ("value of a in main() = %d\n",  a);
c = sum( a, b);
rintf ("value of c in main() = %d\n",  c);
return 0;
}
/* function to add two integers */
int sum(int a, int b) {
printf ("value of a in sum() = %d\n",  a);
printf ("value of b in sum() = %d\n",  b);
return a + b;
}

output:
value of a in main() = 10
value of a in sum() = 10
value of b in sum() = 20
value of c in main() = 30

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Scope of Variable