Data types that are derived from fundamental data types are called derived data types.
Derived data types do not create new data types. Instead, they add some functionality to the existing data types.
Derived data types are derived from the primitive data types by adding some extra relationships with the various elements of the primary data types. The derived data type can be used to represent a single value or multiple values.
Given below are the various derived data types used in C:
- Arrays: An array is an ordered sequence of finite data items of the same data type that share a common name.
- pointers: A pointer is a special type of variable used to hold the address of another variable.
- Functions: A function is a self-contained block of one or more statements with a name.
- Structures: A structure is a collection of different data type items stored in a contiguous memory allocation.
- Unions: A union is similar to a structure where the memory allocated to the largest data type is reused for other types in the group.
In some situations, structures and unions can also be called the user-defines data types.