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From: esg@mtx5a.UUCP (ed gokhman)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: Simple c question - pointer to array
Message-ID: <1338@mtx5a.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-May-86 17:29:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: mtx5a.1338
Posted: Fri May 30 17:29:00 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 1-Jun-86 10:17:59 EDT
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> Ok if i have a struct which is named in a typedef as T, I 
> know how to get an array of pointers to T:   T *a[20];
> what I want is a pointer to an array of T's.

Kurt,

All you need is to express the declaration in English
and then to convert it token by token. If precedence
of the i-th token is higher then (i-1)-th the result
of translation of first i-1 tokens must be parenthesized.

In order of decreasing precedence "valid" English tokens
and their C-conversions are (S stands for the string resulting
from the previous step in English-C conversion (possibly,
parenthesised)):

English					C
--------------------------------------------------
<name> is                               <name>

function returning                      S ()

array of  N                             S [ N ]

pointer to                              *S
===================================================

For example,

English                                 C
--------------------------------------------------
X is a pointer to an array of 20 Ts	...

a pointer to an array of 20 Ts          X

an array of 20 Ts                       *X

	> precedence of [] is higher then *, so
	>*X should be parenthesizied.

an array of 20 Ts                         (*X)

Ts                                      (*X)[]

...                                     T  (*X)[]
===================================================

Similarly,
 "X is a pointer to an array of 10 pointers
to functions returning pointers to arrays of 11 int"

would be    int (*(*(*X)[10])())[11]