difference between char *prt and char prt

[jeanluca]

Hi All

is there a difference between

char *prt = "hello"

and

char prt[] = "hello"

I noticed because I got a 'Bus error' when I do

#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>

main(){
  char *prt = "abc=def" ;
  char *out = strtok(prt, "=") ;
}

but it works when I use ptr[]!

thnx
LuCa

[MK27]

The first one (char *ptr) is a "const" string literal, which means it cannot (or should not) be changed.

The second one (char ptr[]) is a character array, initialized with a value, but the value *can* be changed.

The reason you get an error using strtok() on a const is because strtok() actually destroys the string you are processing in the process. You will see what happens if you add a printf() after strtok() to show the string. Other functions, like sscanf, strcmp, and strstr do not alter the string analysed, so it is not a problem. strtok() is fine with "normal" strings, ie, character arrays.

[jeanluca]

ok, thnx a lot!!