Question

This is my code:

typedef struct{
  char name[64];
} Cat;

Cat createCat(char name[64]) {
  Cat newCat;

  newCat.name = name;

  return newCat;
}

It compiles with the following error message:

incompatible types when assigning to type ‘char[64]’ from type ‘char
*’

What am I doing wrong here?

Answer 1

Array decay to pointers when passed to functions. So:

Cat createCat(char name[64]) {

is the same as:

Cat createCat(char* name) {

and the line:

newCat.name = name;

is attempting to assign a char* to a char[], as the error states. As Mystical has already commented, you need to use memcpy() or strcpy() (or strncpy()) to copy name to newCat.name. If you use memcpy() you must remember to null terminate newCat.name.