C PROGRAMMING PROGRAM • DECISION MAKING

Check Whether a Character Is a Vowel or Consonant

Learn how to check whether a character is a vowel or consonant using a clear C program.

Beginnertolower()Character testLogical OR

PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING

Input and expected output

Sample input
E
Sample output
Vowel

COMPLETE C PROGRAM

Complete C implementation

vowel-or-consonant.c
Open in compiler
#include <stdio.h>
#include <ctype.h>

int main(void)
{
    char character, lower;

    printf("Enter an alphabet: ");
    scanf(" %c", &character);
    if (!isalpha((unsigned char) character)) {
        printf("The input is not an alphabet.\n");
        return 0;
    }
    lower = (char) tolower((unsigned char) character);
    if (lower == 'a' || lower == 'e' || lower == 'i' || lower == 'o' || lower == 'u')
        printf("Vowel\n");
    else
        printf("Consonant\n");
    return 0;
}

GUIDED CODE TOUR • NOT LIVE EXECUTION

Study the program line by line

Use the real compiler button above to run and debug with different inputs.

CURRENT STEP

Select Start to walk through the important lines.

SELECTED LINE

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EXPECTED OUTPUT FOR THE SAMPLE

Vowel
0%Step 0 of 0

PROGRAM EXPLANATION

Algorithm and explanation

  1. Read the required input values.
  2. Normalize the letter to lowercase and compare it with the five vowels.
  3. Display the computed result.

Normalize the letter to lowercase and compare it with the five vowels.

EFFICIENCY

Time and space complexity

Time complexity

O(1)

Auxiliary space

O(1)

DEBUGGING CHECKLIST

Common mistakes

Check this

Use the correct format specifier for every variable.

Check this

Initialize variables before using their values.

Check this

Check braces, semicolons and input order carefully.

Try it yourself

Practice: Run the program with the sample input, predict its output, and then test one boundary case of your own.