C Program to Swap Two Numbers

In this example, you will learn to swap two numbers in C programming using two different techniques.

Adobe Creative Cloud for Teams starting at $33.99 per month.ADS VIA CARBON

To understand this example, you should have the knowledge of the following C programming topics:

Swap Numbers Using Temporary Variable

#include
int main() {
      double first, second, temp;
      printf("Enter first number: ");
      scanf("%lf", &first);
      printf("Enter second number: ");
      scanf("%lf", &second);

      // Value of first is assigned to temp
      temp = first;

      // Value of second is assigned to first
      first = second;

      // Value of temp (initial value of first) is assigned to second
      second = temp;

      printf("\nAfter swapping, firstNumber = %.2lf\n", first);
      printf("After swapping, secondNumber = %.2lf", second);
      return 0;
}

Output

Enter first number: 1.20
Enter second number: 2.45

After swapping, firstNumber = 2.45
After swapping, secondNumber = 1.20

In the above program, the temp variable is assigned the value of the first variable.

Then, the value of the first variable is assigned to the second variable.

Finally, the temp (which holds the initial value of first) is assigned to second. This completes the swapping process.

Swap Numbers Without Using Temporary Variables

#include 
int main() {
    double a, b;
    printf("Enter a: ");
    scanf("%lf", &a);
    printf("Enter b: ");
    scanf("%lf", &b);

    // Swapping

    // a = (initial_a - initial_b)
    a = a - b;   
 
    // b = (initial_a - initial_b) + initial_b = initial_a
    b = a + b;

    // a = initial_a - (initial_a - initial_b) = initial_b
    a = b - a;

    printf("After swapping, a = %.2lf\n", a);
    printf("After swapping, b = %.2lf", b);
    return 0;
}

Output

Enter a: 10.25
Enter b: -12.5
After swapping, a = -12.50
After swapping, b = 10.25