Comparion of Union vs Structures in C
Union vs Structures
Below is a detailed comparison table of the differences between union and structure in C:
Union | Structure | |
---|---|---|
Memory allocation | Allocates memory space for the largest member. | Allocates memory space for each member. |
Data storage | Can hold only one member at a time. | Can hold multiple members at a time. |
Size of the data structure | Size is equal to the largest member. | Size is the sum of the sizes of all the members. |
Accessing members | Members can be accessed only one at a time. | Members can be accessed individually or together. |
Overwriting values | Writing a value to one member will overwrite the values of other members. | Writing a value to one member does not affect the values of other members. |
Uses of Union
- Storing multiple types of data in a single variable.
- Reducing memory usage in certain cases.
- Type punning (e.g., accessing the same memory as different types).
- Implementing variant types or tagged unions.
Uses of Structure
- Organizing related data.
- Storing a collection of data of different types.
- Defining complex data structures.
- Implementing classes in C using function pointers.