Types of User-defined Functions in C Programming

These 4 programs below check whether the integer entered by the user is a prime number or not.

The output of all these programs below is the same, and we have created a user-defined function in each example. However, the approach we have taken in each example is different.

Example 1: No Argument Passed and No Return Value

#include <stdio.h>

void checkPrimeNumber();

int main() {
  checkPrimeNumber();    // argument is not passed
  return 0;
}

// return type is void meaning doesn't return any value
void checkPrimeNumber() {
  int n, i, flag = 0;

  printf("Enter a positive integer: ");
  scanf("%d",&n);

  // 0 and 1 are not prime numbers    
  if (n == 0 || n == 1)
    flag = 1;

  for(i = 2; i <= n/2; ++i) {
    if(n%i == 0) {
      flag = 1;
      break;
    }
  }

  if (flag == 1)
    printf("%d is not a prime number.", n);
  else
    printf("%d is a prime number.", n);
}

The checkPrimeNumber() function takes input from the user, checks whether it is a prime number or not, and displays it on the screen.

The empty parentheses in checkPrimeNumber(); inside the main() function indicates that no argument is passed to the function.

The return type of the function is void. Hence, no value is returned from the function.

Example 2: No Arguments Passed But Returns a Value

#include <stdio.h>
int getInteger();

int main() {

  int n, i, flag = 0;

  // no argument is passed
  n = getInteger();    

  // 0 and 1 are not prime numbers    
  if (n == 0 || n == 1)
    flag = 1;

  for(i = 2; i <= n/2; ++i) {
    if(n%i == 0){
      flag = 1;
      break;
    }
  }

  if (flag == 1)
    printf("%d is not a prime number.", n);
  else
    printf("%d is a prime number.", n);

  return 0;
}

// returns integer entered by the user
int getInteger() {
  int n;

  printf("Enter a positive integer: ");
  scanf("%d",&n);

  return n;
}

The empty parentheses in the n = getInteger(); statement indicates that no argument is passed to the function. And, the value returned from the function is assigned to n.

Here, the getInteger() function takes input from the user and returns it. The code to check whether a number is prime or not is inside the main() function.

Example 3: Argument Passed But No Return Value

#include <stdio.h>
void checkPrimeAndDisplay(int n);

int main() {

  int n;

  printf("Enter a positive integer: ");
  scanf("%d",&n);

  // n is passed to the function
  checkPrimeAndDisplay(n);

  return 0;
}

// return type is void meaning doesn't return any value
void checkPrimeAndDisplay(int n) {
  int i, flag = 0;

  // 0 and 1 are not prime numbers    
  if (n == 0 || n == 1)
    flag = 1;

  for(i = 2; i <= n/2; ++i) {
    if(n%i == 0){
      flag = 1;
      break;
    }
  }

  if(flag == 1)
    printf("%d is not a prime number.",n);
  else
    printf("%d is a prime number.", n);
}

The integer value entered by the user is passed to the checkPrimeAndDisplay() function.

Here, the checkPrimeAndDisplay() function checks whether the argument passed is a prime number or not and displays the appropriate message.

Example 4: Argument Passed and Returns a Value

#include <stdio.h>
int checkPrimeNumber(int n);

int main() {

  int n, flag;

  printf("Enter a positive integer: ");
  scanf("%d",&n);

  // n is passed to the checkPrimeNumber() function
  // the returned value is assigned to the flag variable
  flag = checkPrimeNumber(n);

  if(flag == 1)
    printf("%d is not a prime number",n);
  else
    printf("%d is a prime number",n);

  return 0;
}

// int is returned from the function
int checkPrimeNumber(int n) {

  // 0 and 1 are not prime numbers    
  if (n == 0 || n == 1)
    return 1;

  int i;

  for(i=2; i <= n/2; ++i) {
    if(n%i == 0)
      return 1;
  }

  return 0;
}

The input from the user is passed to the checkPrimeNumber() function.

The checkPrimeNumber() function checks whether the passed argument is prime or not.

If the passed argument is a prime number, the function returns 0. If the passed argument is a non-prime number, the function returns 1. The return value is assigned to the flag variable.

Depending on whether flag is 0 or 1, an appropriate message is printed from the main() function.

Which approach is better?

Well, it depends on the problem you are trying to solve. In this case, passing an argument and returning a value from the function (example 4) is better.

A function should perform a specific task. The checkPrimeNumber() function doesn't take input from the user nor it displays the appropriate message. It only checks whether a number is prime or not.