Stack-allocated array of fixed-size strings

Question

I want to build an array of constant, fixed size strings. I could use malloc if I had to, but I am still learning C and I want to understand why my static approach below is not valid:

typedef char Str[4];

const Str a = "abc";
const Str b = "def";

const Str data[2] = {a, b};

GCC gives me

warning: initialization of ‘char’ from ‘const char *’ makes integer from pointer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
   10 | const Str data[2] = {a, b};
      |                      ^```

and

error: initializer element is not computable at load time

Why is the compiler saying that the first element of the array is char instead of const Str alias constant char[4]?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT: I found out that using const char *data[2] = {...} works. I guess it has to do with the several constraints that come with arrays, which I am still grappling with and that can most times be resolved using pointers.

user3758232 Do you want all strings the same size?

chux
– chux

2020-06-20 01:35:42 +00:00
Commented Jun 20, 2020 at 1:35 — chux
– chux, Commented Jun 20, 2020 at 1:35
Yes, that's what I meant by fixed-size.

user3758232
– user3758232

2020-06-22 17:54:30 +00:00
Commented Jun 22, 2020 at 17:54 — user3758232
– user3758232, Commented Jun 22, 2020 at 17:54

stark · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-19 19:03:46Z

2

Simplest is:

char data[2][4] = {"abc", "def"};

answered Jun 19, 2020 at 19:03

stark

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