How to Initialize Array of Structs in C?

In C, arrays are data structures that store the data in contiguous memory locations. While structs are used to create user-defined data types. In this article, we will learn how to initialize an array of structs in C.

Initializing Array of Structures in C

We can initialize the array of structures using list initialization where each of the nested lists corresponds to the members of a single structure element.

Syntax to Initialize Array of Structs in C

struct Str str[] = {
    {structure1_value1, structure1_value2},
    {structure2_value1, structure2_value2},
    {structure3_value1, structure3_value2}
};

C Program to Initialize an Array of Structs

The below example demonstrates how we can initialize an array of structures in C.

C

// C Program to Initialize an Array of Structs
#include <stdio.h>

// Define the struct
struct Student {
    char name[50];
    int roll;
    float marks;
};

int main()
{
    // Initialize an array of structs
    struct Student students[] = { { "John", 1, 85.5 },
                                  { "Emma", 2, 90.6 },
                                  { "Harry", 3, 92.7 } };

    // Print the array of structs
    printf("Students: \n");
    for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
        printf("Name: %s, Roll: %d, Marks: %.2f\n",
               students[i].name, students[i].roll,
               students[i].marks);
    }

    return 0;
}

Output

Students: 
Name: John, Roll: 1, Marks: 85.50
Name: Emma, Roll: 2, Marks: 90.60
Name: Harry, Roll: 3, Marks: 92.70

Time Complexity: O(N), where N is the size of the array.
Space Complexity: O(1) as no extra space for utilization is required.