Question

What is the difference between

char *a[10];

and

char *(a[10]); 

I’ve always used the first for an array of char pointers, but now I’ve found code used the second.
As I was not sure if it was the same thing, I printed sizeof() both and both return 80 (64bit OS) so I’m inclined to believe both are the same (an array of char pointers).

But as I cannot find any explanation online or anything using *([]) syntax, I was looking for some confirmation.

Thanks

Answer 1

The two are equivalent and stand for a 10-element array of pointers to char.

Contrast with char (*a)[10], which is a pointer to a 10-element array of char.

If in doubt, one could use cdecl to unscramble C declarations. On Unix it’s usually available as a command-line tool. There’s also an online version.