Standard C (ANSI C, C99, C11, etc.) does not natively support named or optional parameters in the way languages like C# or Python do. However, you can emulate this behavior by using a combination of , designated initializers , and variadic macros . 1. Using Structs and Designated Initializers
To avoid typing the struct name and parentheses every time, you can wrap the function call in a variadic macro. How to use named and optional parameters in C
Struct members not explicitly initialized are automatically set to zero or NULL by the compiler, effectively making them "optional". Example Implementation: Standard C (ANSI C, C99, C11, etc
: Used to retrieve an indefinite number of arguments. Using Structs and Designated Initializers To avoid typing
You explicitly name the struct members in the function call.
#include // Define a struct to hold "parameters" typedef struct { int width; int height; const char *title; // Optional (defaults to NULL) } WindowArgs; void create_window(WindowArgs args) { printf("Window: %s (%dx%d)\n", args.title ? args.title : "Untitled", args.width, args.height); } int main() { // Named and optional call using a compound literal create_window((WindowArgs){.width = 800, .height = 600}); // Changing order and including all fields create_window((WindowArgs){.title = "Game", .height = 1080, .width = 1920}); return 0; } Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard 2. Enhancing with Macros for Cleaner Syntax
For a more "classic" C approach, you can use variadic functions, though these do not provide true named parameters and are harder to use safely.