What is a Structure in C?
A structure in the C programming language is a custom data type. They are used to hold the different data types. The elements stored in the structure can be accessed and retrieved instantly. The struct statement is used to define the structure.
The syntax to declare the structure is shown below:
struct [structure name]
{
type member_1;
type member_2;
.
.
.
type member_n;
};
What is Union in C?
A union is the C programming language is also a custom data type. They are also known as user-defined data types. Various union members could be defined at once but only one will hold a value. The union statement is used to define the union.
The syntax to declare the union is shown below:
union [union name]
{
type member_1;
type member_2;
.
.
.
type member_n;
};
What is the Difference Between Structure and Union in C?
Apart from various similarities between structure and union such as both are custom data types and solve the same purpose of storing different types of data in a single entity. There are a few differences between the two. The difference between structure and union in the C programming language is explained in the table provided below:
| Difference Between Structure and Union in C | |
| Structure | Union |
| The struct statement is used to define it. | Union keyword is used to define it. |
| A separate memory location is assigned | Single memory is allotted to all. |
| Change in one does not affect another. | Change in one affects other entities. |
| They are used to store multiple values. | Stores on value at a time. |
| The size of the structure is the sum of all entities. | The size of the union is the size of the largest entity. |
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