Possible Duplicate:
about “int const *p” and “const int *p ”
Difference between
const char *p
and
char * const p?
is that fist one means cannot change char. Later one means cannot change the pointer. Am I right? Thank you!
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Josh Morrison
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Not an exact duplicate, but close enough that it should answer your question. – Matt K Mar 11 '11 at 22:13
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1Just read them backwards: "p is a pointer to a char that is constant", "p is a constant pointer to a char". – Jim Balter Mar 11 '11 at 22:44
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@Jim Balter, That fails for `char const * p`. – ikegami Mar 12 '11 at 06:52
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@ikegami No, it doesn't. "p is a pointer to a constant char" and "p is a pointer to a char that is constant" mean the same thing and so do the declarations. – Jim Balter Mar 12 '11 at 06:57
2 Answers
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const char *p
means the characters cannot be changed. *p = '\0' is illegal. Var p is a pointer to a const char.
char * const p
means the pointer cannot be changed. p = 0 is illegal. Constant p is a pointer to a char.
const char * const p
means neither can be changed. Constant p is a pointer to a const char.
Update: Added third declaration.
ikegami
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In the first you can't edit the pointee and in the second you can't edit the pointer. Have a look at this perhaps.
Morten Kristensen
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