Does every function in C require a return value?

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Study for the University of Central Florida EGN3211 Final Exam. Practice with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question with hints and explanations. Prepare effectively and boost your engineering analysis and computation skills for success!

In C programming, not every function requires a return value. Specifically, functions that are declared with a return type of void do not return a value. The void keyword indicates that the function performs its operation and does not send any value back to the caller. This is particularly useful for functions that perform actions like printing to the screen or modifying global variables, where a return value is not necessary.

In contrast, functions that are defined with a specific return type (such as int, float, etc.) must return a value of that type. If such a function reaches its end without a return statement, or if it attempts to return an inappropriate value, it can lead to undefined behavior or compiler errors.

Given this understanding, the idea that every function in C requires a return value is not accurate, as the presence of void functions clearly demonstrates that returning a value is not always necessary.