Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!husc6!psuvax1!vu-vlsi!swatsun!pomeranz
From: pomeranz@cs.swarthmore.edu (Hal Pomeranz)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Double inderection question
Keywords: is this messed up or am I?
Message-ID: <2001@tulum.cs.swarthmore.edu>
Date: 2 Aug 88 17:23:37 GMT
Organization: Sun Lab, Swarthmore College PA
Lines: 43


Consider the following:

char array[10], **ptr;

main()
{
   ptr = &array;
   .
   .
   .
}

Now, when I try and compile this program with our C compiler (Sun OS 4.0), I
get something like 'warning: & before array or function: ignored'.  I've also
tried '&&array[0]', '&&(array[0])', '&(&array[0])', etc. and none of these
has worked.  From my limited understanding 'array' is a pointer to the first
element (i.e. a pointer to array[0]), so &array should be a pointer to the
pointer.  It is possible that I'm inferring too much from K&R, but this seems
like a reasonable extension of the rules they lay down.  So my question is:
where does the fault lie?  With my understanding?  With the C compiler?  Or
(*gasp*) with K&R for not making consistant rules?  As a side point, the 
following does work:

char array[10], **ptr, *bogus_ptr;

main()
{ 
   bogus_ptr = array;
   ptr = &bogus_ptr;
   .
   .
   .
}

It strikes me that if I can do what I want in this roundabout way, I should
also be able to do it directly.

Hal Pomeranz
-- 
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