In C programming language, special operators refer to a group of operators that perform specific and unique functions. There are four types of special operators in C: the sizeof operator,
the typecast operator, the pointer operator, and the address operator.
sizeof operator
The sizeof operator is used to determine the size of a variable or a data type in bytes. It returns the size of its operand. For example, the expression sizeof(int)
returns the size of the integer data type in bytes. The sizeof operator can also be used to determine the size of an array or a structure.
Typecast Operator
The typecast operator is used to convert a value from one data type to another. It is denoted by the parentheses symbol "( )". For example, the expression (float) 3/2
converts the integer value 3 to a floating-point value before performing the division operation.
Pointer Operator
The pointer operator is denoted by the asterisk symbol "*". It is used to declare a pointer variable and to dereference a pointer. A pointer is a variable that stores the
memory address of another variable. For example, int *p declares a pointer variable p that points to an integer data type.
Address Operator
The address operator is denoted by the ampersand symbol "&". It is used to obtain the memory address of a variable. For example, the expression &x returns the memory address of the variable x.
Special operators are important in C programming because they allow for complex operations and data manipulation. The sizeof operator is used to allocate memory, the typecast operator is used to convert data types,
the pointer operator is used to work with pointers, and the address operator is used to obtain the memory address of a variable.