What is **int[3][5] | alt Hacker News

dnautics • yesterday at 10:20 PM • 4 replies • view on HN

What is **int[3][5]

Replies

In C declaration syntax, there is a "stem" called declaration specifiers consisting of specifiers and qualifiers. That's where int can appear. After that, there is a declarator. In some cases, multiple declarators separated by a comma, which share the same "stem".

  int a, b, *c; // one stem consisting of "int", three declarators.

The * is declarator syntax for deriving a pointer type. It never appears such that a type specifier would come after it somewhere to the right.

Some languages have extended the C declaration syntax such that the type derivators can be moved from the declarator part to the "stem". For instance, as an alternative to:

  int a[10];

you can write

  int[10] a;

This is how we could get

   **int[3]

as a declarator stem indicating an array of 3 pointers to pointers to int. But it's not in C.

arcfour • today at 11:38 AM

The work of the mythical four star programmer? https://wiki.c2.com/?ThreeStarProgrammer

ori_b • yesterday at 10:51 PM

A syntax error. You need a variable name, not a type name, in the middle.

➕ show 2 replies

thrance • yesterday at 11:46 PM

A pointer to a pointer to a pointer to a pointer of integers.