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C Program to convert a decimal number to a hexadecimal number

Last updated on September 24, 2020

The following is a C program to convert a decimal number to a binary number:

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/************************************************************
 Program to convert a decimal number to a hexadecimal number
 ************************************************************/

#include<stdio.h> // include stdio.h library

int main(void)
{   
    int num, bin = 0;    
    int i = 0, rem;
    char hex_arr[50];

    printf("Enter a decimal number: ");
    scanf("%d", &num);      

    while(num != 0)
    {
        rem = num % 16;  // get the right most digit

        if (rem < 10)
        {
            hex_arr[i++] = 48 + rem;
        }
        else
        {
            hex_arr[i++] = 55 + rem;
        }

        num /= 16;  // get the quotient
    }

    printf("0x");

    for(int j = i - 1; j >= 0 ; j--)  // print the hex_arr in reverse order
    {
        printf("%c", hex_arr[j]);
    }    

    return 0; // return 0 to operating system
}

Try it now

Expected Output: 1st run:

1
2
Enter a decimal number: 198
0xC6

2nd run:

1
2
Enter a decimal number: 123456
0x1E240

How it works #

To convert a decimal number to a hexadecimal number, we follow these steps:

Step 1: Divide the decimal number continuously by 16 and write the remainder on the right-hand side of the dividend. We repeat this process until we get the quotient 0.

Step 2: If the remainder is greater than 10, then replace it with a hexadecimal character given in the table below:

Decimal Hexadecimal
10 A
11 B
12 C
13 D
14 E
15 F

Step 3: Write the remainders from bottom to top.

Let's take some examples:

Example 1: Convert decimal 210 to hexadecimal number.

Step 1:

Quotient Remainder
210/16 13 2
13/16 0 13

Step 2:

Quotient Remainder Hexadecimal
210/16 13 2 2
13/16 0 13 D

Step 3:

\(\mathtt{210_{10} = 0xD2_{16}}\)

Example 2:

Convert decimal 100 to a hexadecimal number.

Step 1:

Quotient Remainder
100/16 6 4
6/16 0 6

Step 2: In this case, both the remainders are smaller than 10, so we don't need to replace them with the hexadecimal characters.

Step 3:

\(\mathtt{100_{10} = 0x64_{16}}\)

The following table shows what happens at each iteration of the loop (assuming num = 198):

Iteration rem hex_arr num i
After 1st iteration rem=198%16=6 hex_arr[0]=48+6=54 num=198/16=12 i=1
After 2nd iteration rem=12%16=12 hex_arr[1]=55+12=67 num=12/16=0 i=2

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