#include static char const * parse_ranged (char const *s, int digits) { fprintf(stderr, "%p\n", s); int n = 0; char const *lim = s + digits; while (s < lim) { unsigned d = *s++ - '0'; if (9 < d) return 0; n = 10 * n + d; } return s && 0 <= n && n <= 59 ? s : 0; } int main() { const char *s = "10092240"; s = parse_ranged (s, 2); s = parse_ranged (s, 2); s = parse_ranged (s, 2); s = parse_ranged (s, 2); return 0; }