_fgetchar, _fgetwchar

Reads a character from stdin.

Syntax

int _fgetchar( void );
wint_t _fgetwchar( void );

Return value

_fgetchar returns the character read as an int or returns EOF to indicate an error or end of file. _fgetwchar returns, as a wint_t, the wide character that corresponds to the character read or returns WEOF to indicate an error or end of file. For both functions, use feof or ferror to distinguish between an error and an end-of-file condition.

Remarks

These functions read a single character from stdin. The function then increments the associated file pointer (if defined) to point to the next character. If the stream is at end of file, the end-of-file indicator for the stream is set.

_fgetchar is equivalent to fgetc( stdin ). It's also equivalent to getchar, but implemented only as a function, rather than as a function and a macro. _fgetwchar is the wide-character version of _fgetchar.

These functions aren't compatible with the ANSI standard.

By default, this function's global state is scoped to the application. To change this behavior, see Global state in the CRT.

Generic-text routine mappings

Tchar.h routine _UNICODE and _MBCS not defined _MBCS defined _UNICODE defined
_fgettchar _fgetchar _fgetchar _fgetwchar

Requirements

Function Required header
_fgetchar <stdio.h>
_fgetwchar <stdio.h> or <wchar.h>

The console isn't supported in Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps. The standard stream handles that are associated with the console—stdin, stdout, and stderr—must be redirected before C run-time functions can use them in UWP apps. For more compatibility information, see Compatibility.

Example

// crt_fgetchar.c
// This program uses _fgetchar to read the first
// 80 input characters (or until the end of input)
// and place them into a string named buffer.
//

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main( void )
{
   char buffer[81];
   int  i, ch;

   // Read in first 80 characters and place them in "buffer":
   ch = _fgetchar();
   for( i=0; (i < 80 ) && ( feof( stdin ) == 0 ); i++ )
   {
      buffer[i] = (char)ch;
      ch = _fgetchar();
   }

   // Add null to end string
   buffer[i] = '\0';
   printf( "%s\n", buffer );
}

      Line one.
Line two.Line one.
Line two.

See also

Stream I/O
fputc, fputwc
getc, getwc