Syntax and example of getche()

getche() reads one character from the keyboard and echoes it on the screen, without waiting for the Enter key. It is declared in <conio.h> (Turbo C / Windows compilers; not in gcc). The "e" stands for echo.

Syntax: ch = getche();

Example (Turbo C):

char ch;
printf("Enter a letter: ");
ch = getche();          /* character is shown as typed */
printf("\nYou typed %c", ch);

Use: to read a single-key response (such as Y/N or a menu choice) immediately, with the typed key visible to the user. In standard C, getchar() does a similar job but waits for Enter:

#include <stdio.h>
int main(void)
{
    char ch;
    printf("Press a key: ");
    ch = getchar();     /* portable counterpart of getch()/getche() */
    printf("You pressed: %c\n", ch);
    return 0;
}

Output for the key k:

Press a key: You pressed: k