Difference between “pointer to int” and “pointer to array of ints”

by

Firstly, your code will not compile. The array has type int[6] (6 elements), while the pointer has type int (*)[5]. You can’t make this pointer to point to that array because the types are different.

Secondly, when you initialize (assign to) such a pointer, you have to use the & on the array: x = &y, not just a plain x = y as in your code.

I assume that you simply typed the code up, instead of copy-pasting the real code.

Thirdly, about the internal representation. Generally, in practice, you should expect all data pointers to use the same internal representation. Moreover, after the above assignments (if written correctly), the pointers will have the same numerical value. The difference between int (*)[5] and int * exists only on the conceptual level, i.e. at the level of the language: the types are different. It has some consequences. For example, if you increment your z it will jump to the next member of the array, but if you increment y, it will jump over the whole array etc. So, these pointers do not really “do the same thing”.

More Related Contents:

  1. Storing value of unsigned int variable in char array in C [closed]
  2. Simple C scanf does not work? [duplicate]
  3. Pointers in C: when to use the ampersand and the asterisk?
  4. Creating a daemon in Linux
  5. printf format specifiers for uint32_t and size_t
  6. strtok function thread safety
  7. Behaviour of printf when printing a %d without supplying variable name
  8. Is void a data type in C?
  9. Getting terminal size in c for windows?
  10. Checking the stdin buffer if it’s empty
  11. C : typedef struct name {…}; VS typedef struct{…} name;
  12. atoi vs atol vs strtol vs strtoul vs sscanf
  13. Stabilizing the standard library qsort?
  14. Given an audio stream, find when a door slams (sound pressure level calculation?)
  15. Linked list recursive reverse
  16. Enabling strict floating point mode in GCC
  17. Trouble reading a line using fscanf()
  18. note: previous implicit declaration of ‘point_forward’ was here
  19. My floating point number has extra digits when I print it
  20. How does the CPU cache affect the performance of a C program
  21. Inconsistent gcc diagnostic for string initialization
  22. Finding out if a message over tcp was delivered
  23. calling assembly function from c
  24. What is the use of typedef?
  25. Dereference void pointer
  26. cross-platform printing of 64-bit integers with printf
  27. Creating C formatted strings (not printing them)
  28. Variable declaration vs definition
  29. C split a char array into different variables
  30. scanf not working. need to read double from console

Leave a Comment