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From: john@caeco.UUCP (John Rigby)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: char (*a)[]  (was: Style [++i vs i++])
Message-ID: <193@caeco.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Aug-87 12:14:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: caeco.193
Posted: Fri Aug 14 12:14:45 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Aug-87 11:52:30 EDT
References: <234@nvpna1.UUCP>
Organization: CAECO Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah
Lines: 51

About the program
	main(a) 
	    char (*a)[];
	{ 
	    a = 0;
	    print("%x\n");
	    a++;
	    print("%x\n");
	}

in article <234@nvpna1.UUCP>, strouckn@nvpna1.UUCP (Louis Stroucken 42720) says:

> 
> K&R appendix A section 10.4 says on array arguments:
> 	...formal parameters declared "array of..." are adjusted to read
> 	"pointer to...".
> 
> The declaration of "a" might as well read "char **a;". "a++;" should
> increment "a" with sizeof( char * ) bytes.
> 
> If I miss something, please let me know.

"a" is NOT an array.  It is a pointer to an array.  As such, your argument 
is invalid.

in article <189@xyzzy.UUCP>, throopw@xyzzy.UUCP (Wayne A. Throop) says:
> 
> But the scariest thing about all this is that *none* *of* *my* *tools*
> *caught* *this* *bug*!!!!  Lint happily passed the program, as did other
> typecheckers.  And the compiler didn't complain (though on our system
> the output is
> 
>         a=0x0
>         a=0x1
> 

On my machine (Sun 3-260 running 3.2) both the compiler and lint give the
same warning:

	warning: zero-length array element

And the output is:

	a=0x0
	a=0x0

Which makes sence since the size is zero.

John Rigby		!utah-cs!caeco!john
CAECO Inc.
Salt Lake City, UT