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Groups > comp.lang.c++ > #85644

Is a char array initializer a "string literal"?

From Juha Nieminen <nospam@thanks.invalid>
Newsgroups comp.lang.c++
Subject Is a char array initializer a "string literal"?
Date 2022-07-26 07:57 +0000
Organization Aioe.org NNTP Server
Message-ID <tbo6pa$cdd$1@gioia.aioe.org> (permalink)

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In another forum I was discussing string literals and char arrays.
During the conversation this question occurred to me:
In an array initialization like this:

    char str[] = "hello";

can that "hello" even be considered a "string literal", or should it
be classified as something else?

The question arose because an (actual) string literal has a type of
array-of-const-char (of a size needed to store the contents of the
string literal). So for example the type of "hello" is const char[6].

However, you can't initialize an array with another array. Given that
fact, that would mean that the "hello" in

    char str[] = "hello";

is not a const char[6] (because you can't initialize 'str' with one).
It's something else. In fact, the above is essentially just syntactic
sugar for:

    char str[] = { 'h', 'e', 'l', 'l', 'o', '\0' };

Thus, should that "hello", in this context, be considered an initializer
list rather than a "string literal"?

(Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if the standard still calls it a "string
literal". But even standards are flawed and ambiguous sometimes. No
standard is absolutely perfect.)

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Thread

Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Juha Nieminen <nospam@thanks.invalid> - 2022-07-26 07:57 +0000
  Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Muttley@dastardlyhq.com - 2022-07-26 08:03 +0000
  Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2022-07-26 01:51 -0700
    Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Juha Nieminen <nospam@thanks.invalid> - 2022-07-26 10:07 +0000
      Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2022-07-26 05:10 -0700
        Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2022-07-26 06:18 -0700
        Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Juha Nieminen <nospam@thanks.invalid> - 2022-07-26 16:03 +0000
          Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? "Alf P. Steinbach" <alf.p.steinbach@gmail.com> - 2022-07-26 18:18 +0200
            Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Juha Nieminen <nospam@thanks.invalid> - 2022-07-27 07:40 +0000
              Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2022-07-27 01:17 -0700
  Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Bo Persson <bo@bo-persson.se> - 2022-07-26 11:11 +0200
  Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.arthur.mclean@gmail.com> - 2022-07-26 02:30 -0700
    Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Juha Nieminen <nospam@thanks.invalid> - 2022-07-26 10:19 +0000
    Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2022-07-26 12:03 -0700
      Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.arthur.mclean@gmail.com> - 2022-07-27 01:56 -0700
        Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2022-07-27 11:02 -0700
  Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? "Alf P. Steinbach" <alf.p.steinbach@gmail.com> - 2022-07-26 11:36 +0200
    Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Juha Nieminen <nospam@thanks.invalid> - 2022-07-26 10:22 +0000
      Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? "Alf P. Steinbach" <alf.p.steinbach@gmail.com> - 2022-07-26 16:50 +0200
  Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2022-07-26 12:13 -0700
  Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Andrey Tarasevich <andreytarasevich@hotmail.com> - 2022-07-26 17:56 -0700
    Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2022-07-26 19:24 -0700
      Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Andrey Tarasevich <andreytarasevich@hotmail.com> - 2022-07-27 13:05 -0700
        Re: Is a char array initializer a "string literal"? Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2022-07-27 15:38 -0700

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