declaring a variable and allocating

hello, im trying to declare a pointer pointing to an array of structures ¨struct¨, that array has 200 elements so i need to allocate memory for those 200 elements but i dont seem to get it right:

Code:

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typedef struct str{
      int nbits;
      }codification;

codification **hello;

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where do i use malloc?
for example this how i would use it, i think:

Code:

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(*hello)[0].nbits=4;

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If you know for sure that you're dealing with an array of 200 objects, then choose the simplest approach:

Code:

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#define NUM_CODIFICATIONS 200

codification codifications[NUM_CODIFICATIONS];

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If you don't know at compile time what the number will be, so 200 is just a concrete example or initial number, then:

Code:

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size_t num_codifications = 200;
codification *codifications = malloc(sizeof(*codifications) * num_codifications);

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But remember to check that codifications is not a null pointer before using it.

Either way, you would use it like this:

Code:

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codifications[0].nbits = 4;

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thank you, but it needs to be a double pointer, thats what they are telling me to use, thats what confuse me

Since you want "a pointer pointing to an array of structures", I'm afraid that they are wrong, whoever they may be. In the most literal interpretation of what you asked for, you would write:

Code:

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codification (*codifications)[200];

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i.e., a pointer to an entire array of 200 struct objects, but this is unlikely to be what you need unless you're traversing over an array of arrays of 200 objects. So, my suggestions are more likely the way to go.

On the other hand, if you want an array of pointers, then a pointer to a pointer would be an option.

> but it needs to be a double pointer
Why?

> hello, im trying to declare a pointer pointing to an array of structures ¨struct¨, that array has 200 elements
A pointer to an array does not make it a double pointer.

honestly i need to use it for a proyect in class, i know its declared like this "codification **hello" because they give us the head of the functions we have to make in some of them it appears like this "codification **hello" and in other functions like this "codification *hello", in both cases i need to be able to modify the array, i dont really get the concept behind it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stanley1234

i know its declared like this "codification **hello" because they give us the head of the functions we have to make in some of them it appears like this "codification **hello" and in other functions like this "codification *hello", in both cases i need to be able to modify the array

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Ah, now that's different. If hello is a parameter, then you do need it to be a pointer to a pointer even when allocating for a dynamic array of codification objects because you want the pointer from the caller to be modified. But that doesn't mean that you have to use it all the way. For example:

Code:

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void init_codifications(codification **hello, size_t num_codifications)
{
    codification *codifications = malloc(sizeof(*codifications) * num_codifications);
    // do other stuff, e.g., set initial values for codifications[i] in a loop
    *hello = codifications;
}

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If you only have it as a pointer to codification parameter, then you can modify the content of the dynamic array, but you cannot modify the pointer to the dynamic array from the caller.

thank you, that was it.