How can two strings be compared in C?

To compare two strings in C, the most effective and standard method is by utilizing the strcmp() function from the string.h library. This function lexicographically compares two strings character by character.

When you call strcmp(), it takes two strings as arguments and returns an integer value indicating their relationship. If the strings are identical, strcmp() returns 0. If the first string is greater than the second, it returns a positive value, and if the first string is less than the second, it returns a negative value. This function is part of the C standard library, making it reliable and widely adopted in C programming.

The other options mentioned do not exist in standard C libraries. There is no compare() function for strings in the string.h library, nor is there equal() or match() function. Therefore, only strcmp() is the correct and commonly used function for string comparison in C.