Function with return type array in C

Question

I have the following function in C:

int[] function(int a){
    int * var = (int*)malloc(sizeof(int)*tags);
    ....
}

*var is it a pointer to an array var?

If yes, how can I return the array (var) in the function?

Answer 1

You can't really return an array from a function, but a pointer:

int * function(int a){
    int * var = malloc(sizeof(int)*tags);
    //....
    return var;
}

Answer 2

This code below could clarify a bit how array and pointers works. The function will allocate memory for "tags" int variables, then it will initialize each element with a number and return the memory segment that points to the array. From the main function we will cycle and print the array element, then we will free the no longer needed memory.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int *function(unsigned int tags) {
        int i;
        int *var = malloc(sizeof(int)*tags);

        for (i=0; i < tags; i++) {
                var[i] = i;
        }

        return var;
}

int main() {
        int *x;
        int i;

        x = function(10);
        for (i=0; i < 10; i++) {
                printf("TEST: %i\n", x[i]);
        }

        free(x); x=NULL;

        return 0;
}