Thread: simple cast question

Hello,

Code:

ex1
-----------------------------------
char *name[] = "brian";

printf("Hello %s.\n", name);


ex2
-----------------------------------

char *name[] = "brian";

printf("Hello %s.\n", (const char*) name);

----------------------------------

Since printf specifies that the char pointer passed to it is of type const char, is it
a good idea to explicilty cast (I never see anyone do this) or am I correct in assuming
that it is automagically cast to const when handed to printf()?

Also, In alot of code I see this:

Code:

(void) printf("Hello\n");

or

(void) fprintf(stderr, "error\n");

most people don't put the (void) in front of printf's, etc. What is the purpose of
people writing code in this way? Does is make the program any safer?

thanks

Well in your first two examples, both are wrong in that it should be char *name = "brian";
And the cast is redundant.

> What is the purpose of people writing code in this way?
Some tools (like lint) will report that the return value is being ignored.
One way round this is to litter the code with void casts.
Another way would be to RTFM for the tool in question and figure out how to use it properly.

I mean, if you're going to be that anal to cast all printf returns to void, why not go all the way and actually put checks in there?

Yeah, I forgot. printf() takes const char* argument for the %s conversion specifier and
isn't name[0] a const char* ptr (meaning that name[0] ALWAYS points to name array)?
So I'm casting name[0] (which is already a const char* pointer) to const char*. Am I right?

and char *name[] was a typo, I meant char name[]. char *name[] would be an array
of pointers.

Thanks also on the (void). I was just wondering about it. I see it in alot of code I read.

Thanks.

When a function is prototyped as "const char *", it doesn't mean that the thing being passed has to be const, it's a promise (on the part of the function) that the thing being passed will not be modified.

It means that you can pass either const or non-const things into the function without any problems.