Thread: Some syntactical question on C language

Hey everyone,
I am tasked with some algorithmic problems in C as we as quizzes regarding the syntax of C.

There are three questions I don't understand.
1 - I was sure it's true because *void is like a generic pointer so we would point to any type of pointer with that.
But I chose True and it's marked as a wrong solution - why?

2-3. I didn't understand at all the syntax of these statements, a lot of braces of two kinds, a lot of de-references... I don't understand what's the role of each.
Can someone explain these statements?

1. In C language, it is always correct to use a variable of type void* to point to a pointer to a function.
True/False

2. Choose the correct description for the following statement: char (* ( *f())[])();

Select one:
declaration of a pointer named f to a function which receives no parameters and returns an array of pointers to functions that receive no parameters and return a char
declaration of a pointer named f to an array of pointers to functions with no arguments returning a char
declaration of the function f which receives no parameters and returns a pointer to an array of pointers to functions that receive no parameters and return a char
declaration of a pointer named f to an array of functions with no arguments returning a char pointer
Incorrect statement
declaration of the function f which returns a pointer to an array of pointers to functions that return a char
declaration of a pointer named f to an array of functions with no arguments returning a char

3. Choose the correct description for the following statement: void(*f)(int, void(*)());

Select one:
f is a pointer to a function which returns nothing and receives as its parameters an integer and a pointer to a function which receives nothing and returns a void pointer
Incorrect statement
f is a function which returns a void pointer and receives as its parameters an integer and a pointer to a function which receives nothing and returns a void pointer
f is a pointer to a function which returns a void pointer and receives as its parameters an integer and a pointer to a function which receives nothing and returns a void pointer
f is a pointer to a function which returns nothing and receives as its parameters an integer and a pointer to a function which receives nothing and returns nothing

Originally Posted by john.c

You need a different book if it's asking you questions without teaching you what you need to know to answer them.

It's a course I'm taking at the university.
There are some lectures and presentations but it doesn't provide us with all the syntactical manipulations...

You should be buying a good, reliable and beginner friendly C/C++ book as john mentions. If that's an issue, these are two older versions that you can refer to as of now. I think there's enough info in there to be able to answer these questions. I've learnt a tonne from C++: The Complete Reference along with trial and error but I didn't initially start programming reading it. It was "Computer Science with C++" by Sumita Arora. Lacks a lot of content, but it's perfect as per the education system guidelines in my country.

https://doc.lagout.org/programmation...mer%20Plus.pdf
http://160592857366.free.fr/joe/eboo...rence%204e.pdf

You do need to practice quite a bit to understand better as simple programs presented in books are useless and sometimes not the best/efficient way of doing certain things. They'll, however, fill in the gaps in your knowledge. Good luck!

Originally Posted by Zeus_

You should be buying a good, reliable and beginner friendly C/C++ book as john mentions. If that's an issue, these are two older versions that you can refer to as of now. I think there's enough info in there to be able to answer these questions. I've learnt a tonne from C++: The Complete Reference along with trial and error but I didn't initially start programming reading it. It was "Computer Science with C++" by Sumita Arora. Lacks a lot of content, but it's perfect as per the education system guidelines in my country.

https://doc.lagout.org/programmation...mer%20Plus.pdf
http://160592857366.free.fr/joe/eboo...rence%204e.pdf

You do need to practice quite a bit to understand better as simple programs presented in books are useless and sometimes not the best/efficient way of doing certain things. They'll, however, fill in the gaps in your knowledge. Good luck!

Thank you all.

Originally Posted by john.c

It's a technical point, but "object" pointers and "function" pointers are not necessarily compatible. So converting a function pointer to void* and back again may not yield the original pointer. It is however legal to convert a function pointer to a function pointer of a different type.

And here's a site that converts C declaration gibberish to English. cdecl: C gibberish ↔ English

Thanks for the info. and reference!