Pointer assignment not working

**coderCPP1981** · 06-20-2008

Hi,

I am new to C programming and understanding the concept of pointers.

I have created a demo program of pointer for string operation as follow:

Code:

int main()
{
	char *p = "CODER C++";
	p = p + 2;
	*p = 'X';       // segmentation fault 
        printf("&#37;c",*p); // Prints D
	printf("%s",p);
}

But this is giving segmentation fault.
if *p represents a character ( as it prints 'D' )value then I should be able to replace the value of *p with a "character" ..... but this is giving segmentation fault.
Can anybody explain the reason and solution to this.

Thanks

**laserlight** · 06-20-2008

p points to (the first character, then third character, of) a string literal, so you are not allowed to assign to what it points to.

More accurately, p should declared as a const char*, not a char*.

**Elysia** · 06-20-2008

Make it
char str[] = "CODER C++";
char* p = str + 2;

But, why is it "Coder C++" and not "Coder C"?

**coderCPP1981** · 06-20-2008

But, why is it "Coder C++" and not "Coder C"?

Actually earlier I decide to be C++ programmer but for C++ I should be good C programmer first.

Thanks for explanation and will come back with more queries........

I hope u will never mind it

Thanks

**laserlight** · 06-20-2008

Actually earlier I decide to be C++ programmer but for C++ I should be good C programmer first.

If you want to learn C++, then learn C++, not C.

**C_ntua** · 06-20-2008

Languages like C++, C#, Java are based a lot on C in both style and logic.
You can learn the basics of C, which will be useful on C++.
BUT, pointers assignment is NOT basic stuff. So it is better to learn C++. If you know C it is much easier to learn C++. But you will also learn to do things that in C++ you would do differently. So why bother if you are going to program on C++?

**Elysia** · 06-20-2008

I concur with Laserlight. There's absolutely no need to learn C before C++.
A good C++ course will explain the low-level workings of machines (aka how you work in C), but in C you're stuck with low-level tools where in C++, you will learn high level tools with knowledge of how they work in low level.

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