Question

Possible Duplicate:
Modifying value of char pointer in c produces segfault

This is a piece of code …

void main()
{
    char *p="Hello";
    *p= 'h';                      // Segmentation fault .
}

I understand the fact that there is a segmentation fault and it gives me a run time error also .But I wonder , why is it a RUN TIME ERROR ?? Why cant the compiler tell me before executing the program ? Why does not it show a COMPILE TIME ERROR ?

PS : I use Visual C++ 2005 Express ..

Answer 1

String literals are really of type char const*. However, for compatibility with older C code that’s not const-correct, C++ allows them to be assigned to a char*. That does not mean you are really allowed to modify them.