Making a switch statement in C with an array?

Question

I am trying to make a switch statement that takes in a word into an array and then throws each letter through a switch statement and allocates a point to each letter depending on which letter it is and giving a final point value for the word, and I can't seem to get the array part right. Any help would be appreciated!

int main(){
int letter_points = 0;
char word[7];
int word_length = 7;
int i;
printf("Enter a Word\n");
scanf("%s", word);
for(i = 0; i < word_length; i++){

switch(word){
    //1 point
    case 'A':
    case 'E':
    case 'I':
    case 'L':
    case 'N':
    case 'O':
    case 'R':
    case 'S':
    case 'T':
    case 'U':
        letter_points++;
        break;
    //2 points
    case 'D':
    case 'G':
        letter_points += 2;
        break;
    //3 points
    case 'B':
    case 'C':
    case 'M':
    case 'P':
        letter_points += 3;
        break;
    //4 points
    case 'F':
    case 'H':
    case 'V':
    case 'W':
    case 'Y':
        letter_points += 4;
        break;
    //5 points
    case 'K':
        letter_points += 5;
        break;
    //8 points
    case 'J':
    case 'X':
        letter_points += 8;
        break;
    //10 points
    case 'Q':
    case 'Z':
        letter_points += 10;
        break;
}
}
printf("%d\n", letter_points);
return;
}

As an aside, your word array can hold a maximum of 6 letters plus a terminating null. There's nothing to keep a user from entering 7 or more letters and getting a buffer overflow. — Phil Perry
– Phil Perry, Commented Feb 28, 2014 at 16:44

Kerrek SB · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-14 15:33:24Z

7

It would probably be faster to have a lookup array:

int const letter_score[26] = { 1, 2, 1, 3, ..., 10 };
/*                      key:   A  B  C  D        Z    */

score += letter_score[c - 'A'];   // or "toupper(word[i]) - 'A'"

Caveat: this requires an encoding in which the upper-case letters are arranged contiguously, such as Unicode or ASCII.

answered Sep 14, 2012 at 15:33

Kerrek SB

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Comments

mathematician1975 · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-14 15:33:19Z

3

Try using this

 switch(word[i]){

in the switch statement. As it stands, you are not testing each element in your array even though you are iterating over the range of the array. Having said that I would go for the approach suggested by Kerrek SB in the other answer. This is much neater and more compact.

answered Sep 14, 2012 at 15:33

mathematician1975

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unwind · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-14 15:33:28Z

3

The variable word is an array, but you want to switch on each character. Thus, you need:

switch(word[i])

answered Sep 14, 2012 at 15:33

unwind

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user405725 · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-14 15:36:13Z

0

In C, you cannot use arrays in switch (and expressions for case). Also, the type passed to switch() and types specified in each case must match. So the most you can do is switch on a character. You almost got it right though, except that you are passing the whole array into switch. Use index to reference a character instead. For example:

switch (word[i]) {
 ...
}

answered Sep 14, 2012 at 15:36

user405725

Comments

shreya · Accepted Answer · 2013-03-25 11:26:20Z

0

You have word as an array of size7, you cannot switch on the array, you have to swicth on each character of the array so use: switch(word[i])

answered Mar 25, 2013 at 11:26

shreya

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