Question

This is my code:

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

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

  int i;

  for(i = 0; i < 64; i += 1) {
    newCat.name[i] = name[i];
  }

  return newCat;
}

Cat exampleCat = createCat("Bob");

It compiles with the following error:

initializer element is not constant

What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Cat exampleCat = createCat("Bob");

You can’t do a method call here. Initialize exampleCat somewhere else.

This is explained in the spec, section 6.7.8/4:

All the expressions in an initializer for an object that has static storage duration shall be constant expressions or string literals.