initializing char array inside a struct

hi there!

here's my question. i've been struggling about 2 hours with this but haven't figured it out yet.

suppose we have this string array

Code:

---

char index [INDEXSIZE][STRINGSIZE]={"debug","itterations","population",
                "no fix vehicles","pm","pc"};

---

indexsize is 6, stringsize is 50.

modifying my program required that i will have to implement this array inside a struct. so i did this:

Code:

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struct{
                char index [INDEXSIZE][STRINGSIZE]={"debug","itterations","population",
                                                            "no fix vehicles","pm","pc"};
                       
                int val[INDEXSIZE];               
          }st1;

---

but when i compile it i get the following message

Code:

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teststring.c:20: error: expected ‘:’, ‘,’, ‘;’, ‘}’ or ‘__attribute__’ before ‘=’ token

---

i have faced a somewhat similar problem in another code example and i had to initialize each array element one by one. this concept seems pretty silly to me so please tell me: WHAT AM I DOING WRONG :( ?

i tested many different ways (variable length, character pointer, const specifier, different bracket concept etc) but nothing seems to work...

thanks in advance

You can't initialize a variable inside a struct.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MacGyver

You can't initialize a variable inside a struct.

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agreed but how do i initialize it? i tried

Code:

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char *index[INDEXSIZE];

---

inside the struct body while trying to initialize outside with this:

Code:

---

st1.index[]={"debug","itterations","population",
                "no fix vehicles","pm","pc"};

---

but i get the following message

Code:

---

teststring.c:25: error: expected expression before ‘]’ token

---

i tried several alternatives (changing the array size declaration, leaving it flexible etc) but i get the above message or something alternative with "{" . i know something is wrong with the expression i use but i can't figure out what...

You can't set a variable like that except when you initialize it upon declaration, which you can't do if it's a struct variable.

If you don't need to ever alter the string, then just make it const and global and share it amongst the struct members.

You can do C99 style declarations at declare time,

Code:

---

struct{
    char index [INDEXSIZE][STRINGSIZE]={"debug","itterations","population",
                                                            "no fix vehicles","pm","pc"};
    int val[INDEXSIZE];               
}st1 = {{"debug","itterations","population", "no fix vehicles","pm","pc"}, {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0}};

---

Or whatever it is, google it...

However since it's C99, it's not entirely portable nor is it wise.

No C99 required.

Code:

---

struct
{
  char index [INDEXSIZE][STRINGSIZE];
  int val[INDEXSIZE];   
} st1 =
{
  {
      "debug","itterations","population", "no fix vehicles","pm","pc"
  },
};

---

By the time i was in the middle of trying post #4, i "copy paste" #6 and worked just fine. my deep thanks to all of you guys, you're great.

ps. i just found #6 initialization in "pointers on c" p226. perhaps i should open more frequently this treasure chest... :D

thanks alot...