Learn

Now that we know how to define structures, let’s take a look at how we can use them in our code.

struct Bottle {
  char* name;
  int maxCapacity;
  int currentCapacity;
};

struct Bottle bottle1 = {"superBottle", 24, 0};

The above example defines the struct Bottle from the last exercise. The last line of the code then initializes a struct using an ordered notation:

The struct keyword - once again
The user-defined struct type, Bottle
The name of the structure variable, bottle1
The member variable value assignments within a set of curly braces, {}

The order of values assigned to the member variables match the order in which the variables were defined in the structure.

If you wish to be more specific with your initialization and not worry about putting elements in the right order you can do it using an unordered notation:

struct Bottle bottle1 = {
  .maxCapacity = 24,
  .name = "superBottle",
  .currentCapacity = 0
};

Once initialized structures allow you to work with complex data types in a more cohesive and efficient manner.

Instructions

Before you initialize your first structure, expand the Person struct.

Inside the Person definition and right after the firstName definition:

Add a lastName string member variable with a length of 40

Instantiate a person using the Person struct.

Inside the main() function and using the ordered notation:

Initialize the Person structure, person1 with the data below
Be sure to place the data in the same order as the member variable definitions

First Name: Ada
Last Name: Lovelace
Age: 28

Instantiate another person using the Person struct.

Inside the main() function and using the ordered notation:

Initialize the Person structure, person2 with the data below
Be sure to place the data in the same order as the member variable definitions

First Name: Marie
Last Name: Curie
Age: 44

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