returning 2D arrays

i have a 2D array of ints. its a private member of my class and i want to keep it that way

Code:

---

class Class
{
private:

    int array[10][10];

//...

};

---

the name of a 2D array is nothing more than a pointer to the first element of an array, which is in turn a pointer to the first element in its array.

array is a pointer to array[0] which is a pointer to array[0][0].

so i make a function that returns a 2D pointer.

Code:

---

int ** Class::function()
{
    return array;
}

---

but i always end up with an error like this:

" cannot convert int[10][10] to int ** "

now, if a 2D array is just a double pointer, why wont this work? how can i get to this outside of the class without making it public?

well, i wasnt planning on giving it full access to the pointer, i was going to make it a const... what i was saying was only an example.

but thanks, that worked...

Thanks, Salem, for answering that question so well. I thought one would simply line up asterisks till the cows came home :P