What is the primary purpose of the sizeof operator?

The primary purpose of the sizeof operator in C is to determine the amount of memory allocated to a variable type. When you apply sizeof to a specific data type or variable, it returns the size in bytes that the type or variable occupies in memory. This is particularly useful for dynamic memory allocation and when working with data structures where knowing the size of each element is crucial for allocating the correct amount of memory.

For example, when you declare an integer variable, sizeof(int) would typically return 4 (depending on the implementation and system architecture). Similarly, if you have an array of integers, applying sizeof to the entire array gives you the total size of the array in bytes, which can be divided by the size of the individual element to calculate the number of elements in that array.

In contrast, calculating the length of a string involves different functions such as strlen, which counts the number of characters in a null-terminated string rather than determining memory size. The total number of elements in an array does indeed involve sizeof, but it is typically accessed in conjunction with the size of the element, and the array initialization with a specific size is done through different means such as defining the array with a specific length. Thus, understanding the distinct role of sizeof in measuring memory