C++ arrays as pointers question

Question

Why this is possible:

char buf[10], *pbuf = buf, **ppbuf = &pbuf;

and this isn't:

char buf[10], **ppbuf = &buf;

As I understand, the second line is just a shorthand of the first one.

Answer 1

They're not equivalent.

*pbuf = buf

That means, "pbuf is a pointer to type char, whose value is the address of buf." Since buf is an array of chars, this works.

**ppbuf = &pbuf

That means, "ppbuf is a pointer to a pointer to type char, whose value is the address of pbuf." Since pbuf is a pointer to type char, this works.

**ppbuf = &buf

This means, "ppbuf is a pointer to a pointer to type char, whose value is the address of buf." Since buf is an array of chars, this fails.