Expert C Programming

4. The Shocking Truth: C Arrays and Pointers Are NOT the Same!

Should array indices start at 0 or 1? My compromise of 0.5 was rejected without, I thought, proper consideration.

—Stan Kelly-Bootle

arrays are NOT pointers...why doesn’t my code work?...what’s a declaration? what’s a definition?...match your declarations to thedefinition...array and pointer differences...some light relief—fun with palindromes!

Arrays Are NOT Pointers!

One of the first things that novice C programmers often hear is that “arrays are the same as pointers.” Unfortunately, this is a dangerous half-truth. The ANSI C Standard paragraph 6.5.4.2 recommends that you

Note the distinction between the declarations:

extern int *x;extern int y[];

The first declares x to be ...