char type is an unsigned type, and the value stored in a variable of type char can range from 0 to 255.
A character constant can be just a character written between single quotes. Here are some examples:
char letter = 'A'; char digit = '9'; char exclamation = '!';
You can use an escape sequence between a pair of single quotes to specify a character constant, too:
char newline = '\n'; char tab = '\t'; char single_quote = '\'';
You can initialize a variable of type char with an integer value, as long as the value fits into the range for type char with your compiler:
char character = 74;// ASCII code for the letter J
A variable of type char can be integer and character at the same time.
Here's an example of an arithmetic operation with a value of type char:
char letter = 'C'; // letter contains the decimal code value 67 letter = letter + 3; // letter now contains 70, which is 'F'
Thus, you can perform arithmetic on a value of type char and still treat it as a character.
| Characters | What It Represents or Displays |
|---|---|
| \a | Bell ("beep!") |
| \b | Backspace, non-erasing |
| \f | Form feed or clear the screen |
| \n | Newline |
| \r | Carriage return |
| \t | Tab |
| \v | Vertical tab |
| \\ | Backslash character |
| \? | Question mark |
| \' | Single quote |
| \" | Double quote |
| \xnn | Hexadecimal character code nn |
| \onn | Octal character code nn |
| \nn | Octal character code nn |