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I know this is a very basic question. I am confused as to why and how are the following different.
char str[] = "Test"; char *str = "Test"; 
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char a[]="string"; // a is an array of characters. char *p="string"; // p is a string literal having static allocation. Any attempt to modify contents of p leads to Undefined Behavior since string literals are stored in read-only section of memory.
The fundamental difference is that in one char* you are assigning it to a pointer, which is a variable. In char[] you are assigning it to an array which is not a variable.
char* means a pointer to a character. In C strings are an array of characters terminated by the null character.
char *A[] is an array, and char **A is a pointer. In C, array and pointer are often interchangeable, but there are some differences: 1. with "char *A[]", you can't assign any value to A, but A[x] only; with "char **A", you can assign value to A, and A[x] as well.
char str[] = "Test"; Is an array of chars, initialized with the contents from "Test", while
char *str = "Test"; is a pointer to the literal (const) string "Test".
The main difference between them is that the first is an array and the other one is a pointer. The array owns its contents, which happen to be a copy of "Test", while the pointer simply refers to the contents of the string (which in this case is immutable).
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The diference is the STACK memory used.
For example when programming for microcontrollers where very little memory for the stack is allocated, makes a big difference.
char a[] = "string"; // the compiler puts {'s','t','r','i','n','g', 0} onto STACK char *a = "string"; // the compiler puts just the pointer onto STACK // and {'s','t','r','i','n','g',0} in static memory area. If you love us? You can donate to us via Paypal or buy me a coffee so we can maintain and grow! Thank you!
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