Example: Multiple-Player Time Comparison in C

// Multiple-Player Time Comparison
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h> // Required for strcpy

// Structure to hold player name and time
struct Player {
    char name[50];
    float time;
};

int main() {
    int numPlayers, i;

    // Step 1: Get the number of players from the user
    printf("Enter the number of players: ");
    scanf("%d", &numPlayers);

    // Clear the input buffer after scanf for integer
    while (getchar() != '\n');

    // Step 2: Declare an array of Player structures
    struct Player players[numPlayers]; // C99 feature: Variable Length Array

    // Initialize variables for tracking the winner
    float minTime = -1.0; // Use a value that will always be greater than any valid time
    char winnerName[50];

    // Step 3: Loop through each player to get their data
    for (i = 0; i < numPlayers; i++) {
        printf("\nEnter details for Player %d:\n", i + 1);
        printf("Enter player name: ");
        fgets(players[i].name, sizeof(players[i].name), stdin);
        // Remove trailing newline character from fgets
        players[i].name[strcspn(players[i].name, "\n")] = 0;

        printf("Enter player time (in seconds): ");
        scanf("%f", &players[i].time);
        while (getchar() != '\n'); // Clear buffer for next fgets

        // Step 4: Compare current player's time with the minimum time found so far
        if (minTime == -1.0 || players[i].time < minTime) {
            minTime = players[i].time;
            strcpy(winnerName, players[i].name);
        }
    }

    // Step 5: Print the winner
    printf("\n--- Race Results ---\n");
    if (numPlayers > 0) {
        printf("The winner is %s with a time of %.2f seconds!\n", winnerName, minTime);
    } else {
        printf("No players entered to determine a winner.\n");
    }

    return 0;
}