I'm trying to read a file into 2 variables, ignoring optional quote (") characters for the first value, while picking up remaining the 2nd variable (which can contain a space). It doesn't seem to be quite right. I can't use a perl script and have to use C. How would I do this? Can anyone help, please? When I use the %*[\"] option to gobble up any quotes ("), it won't read the line if a quote isn't there. I think that's the main problem.

Input File:
Hello bye
"Hi" good bye

Desired Output:
Var 1: [Hello]
Var 2: [bye]
Var 1: [Hi]
Var 2: [good bye]

This is what I have so far:
while (fscanf(fin, "%*[\"]%[^,\" \t]%*[\", \t]%[^,\t\n]%*[,\n]", var1, var2) == 2)
{
printf("Var 1: [%s]\n", var1);
printf("Var 2: [%s]\n", var2);
}

In the long run, you'll get better flexibility, easier debugging, and greater control over invalid input if you forget about the scanf() family of functions. Use fgets() to input one line at a time, and write code by hand in C to parse what you get.

One of the problems with fscanf() is that if you think you're inputting just one line, fcanf() can sometimes go to the next line to continue a given input. It's good practice to retain the power to check the validity of each line yourself. I (and my colleagues) have burned by fscanf() and have ended up doing things by hand (without too much effort).

If you have any difficulty with the C code, show us the code you do write, and ask questions about why it doesn't work.

Hope this helps.