Thread: Proper casting

  1. #1
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    Proper casting

    I want to cast a chunk of binary data to an array, how do I do that? I come from a C++ background and haven't been doing this in a while. Its the array thats throwing me off. Casting as "uint8_t*" or "uint8_t[6]" give me wrong type and casting an array errors respectively.

    Code:
    void foo(char *rawdata) {
        uint8_t data[6];
    
        data = (???)rawdata;
    }

  2. #2
    Deathray Engineer MacGyver's Avatar
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    Yeah... you can't cast that.

    You can do a strcpy() or a memcpy(), though.

    data is not a pointer. It's a fixed location in memory representing an array of data.

  3. #3
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    I thought data was a pointer to the first element to an array of 6 elements, so you can do this:

    Code:
    int i;
    unsigned int data[6];
    data[0] = 1; data[1] = 2; data[2] = 3; data[3] = 4; data[4] = 5; data[5] = 6;
    unsigned int *ptr = data;
    for(i = 0; i < 6; ++i)
    {
    	printf("&#37;u", *ptr++);
    }
    To solve your problem you should
    1. Know the size of the char array.
    2. copy the memory into the new array. (so data needs to be a pointer indeed!)
    Last edited by Ideswa; 06-27-2007 at 10:50 AM. Reason: sentence improval
    Operating Systems:
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    - XP

    Compiler: gcc

  4. #4
    Deathray Engineer MacGyver's Avatar
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    It is a pointer in a sense, but you can't change what it points to. It points to the first element of the array and is const in that regard.

    You're just doing the opposite and having a pointer assigned to an array. The OP wants an array assigned to a pointer. Can't work that way.

  5. #5
    and the hat of int overfl Salem's Avatar
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    If you want to know how to cast properly, ask a fisherman
    If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
    If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    If you want to know how to cast properly, ask a fisherman
    Should be plenty of those around here, what with all the C's around.
    If I did your homework for you, then you might pass your class without learning how to write a program like this. Then you might graduate and get your degree without learning how to write a program like this. You might become a professional programmer without knowing how to write a program like this. Someday you might work on a project with me without knowing how to write a program like this. Then I would have to do you serious bodily harm. - Jack Klein

  7. #7
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    Thanks guys, that did the trick. Sorry for the simple question (and the more to come I'm sure). In the past I've just fumbled around with code til I got it to worked, but now I like actually getting an explanation. I appreciate it.

  8. #8
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
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    The name of an array decays to a pointer in a non-indexed context. But it's still not an l-value -- you can't assign to it.

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