cppreference.com > Standard C String and Character > strncmp strncmp Syntax:
      #include <string.h>
      int strncmp( const char *str1, const char *str2, size_t count );
The strncmp() function compares at most count characters of str1 and str2. The return value is as follows:
Return value | Explanation
--- | ---
less than 0 | ''str1'' is less than ''str2''
equal to 0 | ''str1'' is equal to ''str2''
greater than 0 | ''str1'' is greater than str2''
If there are less than count characters in either string, then the comparison will stop after the first null termination is encountered. Related topics: strchr strcmp strcpy strlen strncat strncpy