array and pointers confusion

[int80]

I've been trying to figure this out for a few days, when I have time - but I really can't understand parts of this code.

#include <stdio.h>

char *c[] = {
"ENTER",
"NEW",
"POINT",
"FIRST"
};
char **cp[] = { c+3, c+2, c+1, c };
char ***cpp = cp;

main()
{
printf("%s", **++cpp);
printf("%s ", *--*++cpp+3);
printf("%s", *cpp[-2]+3);
printf("%s\n", cpp[-1][-1]+1);
}

I know how the first part printf("%s", **++cpp); points to "POINT", but the second print statement is beyond me completely. I was wondering if anyone could show me how to read this.

By the way, when run, it prints "POINTER STEW".

[vart]

there is a lot of const missing here...

to understand it - split the expression in steps

printf("%s ", *--*++cpp+3);

char *** temp = ++cpp ; /* points to c+1 */
char** temp2 = *temp; /* == c+1 */
char** temp3 = --temp2; /* == c */
char* temp4 = *temp3; /* points to "ENTER" */
char* temp5 = temp4 + 3; /* points to "ER" */
printf("%s",temp5);

[nenpa8lo]

That's really bad coding practice. If you keep writing so obscured code you will find sooner or later that you waste majority of your time to understand own code.

[QuantumPete]

I don't think that the OP wrote this...

QuantumPete

[int80]

That's really bad coding practice. If you keep writing so obscured code you will find sooner or later that you waste majority of your time to understand own code.

I recently bought a book called C puzzles, and I was storming through it until I got to the pointer section. This was a puzzle in the book, and in the explainations section, there wasn't even a good explaination of how it all worked - hence my post here.

vart, nice one dude.

[nenpa8lo]

OK. So .....

printf("%s", *cpp[-2]+3);

is the same as

char **temp1 = cpp[-2];    /* points to c+3 */
char *temp2   = *temp1;    /* points to FIRST */
char *temp3    = temp2 + 3;/* points to ST */
printf("%s", temp3);

and

printf("%s\n", cpp[-1][-1]+1);

is the same as

char **temp1 = cpp[-1];    /* points to c+2 */
char *temp2 = *--temp1;	   /* points to NEW */
++temp2;		   /* points to EW */
printf("%s", temp2);

hope that help and outputs are

POINT, ER, ST, EW