C Language: What is the difference between char array and char pointer in C language with example?

Last update on October 14 2023 12:44:56 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

C - Difference between char array and char pointer.

In C language, a char array and a char pointer are two different data types with some fundamental differences.

Char array: A char array is a fixed-size block of contiguous memory locations, each of which holds a single character value. At the time of its declaration, the array's size is fixed and cannot be changed.

Here is an example of a char array:

char my_array[10] = "Hello";

char pointer: A char pointer is a variable that holds the memory address of a char value or a sequence of char values. It points to a memory location where the character value or the string is stored. String literals and dynamically allocated blocks of memory can be used to initialize char pointers.

Here is an example of a char pointer:

char *my_pointer = "Hello";

Here are some key differences between char arrays and char pointers:

	Char array	char pointer
Size	Char arrays have a fixed size.	char pointers can point to strings of any size.
Initialization	Char arrays must be initialized at the time of declaration.	char pointers can be initialized later.
Assignment	Char arrays can be assigned to other char arrays of the same size.	char pointers can be assigned to other char pointers or to the memory address of a string literal or a dynamically allocated block of memory.
Modification	Char arrays can be modified directly using array indexing. For example, we can modify the first character of a char array as follows: my_array[0] = 'h';	char pointers require pointer arithmetic to modify the string they point to. To modify the first character of a char pointer, we would need to use pointer arithmetic as follows: *(my_pointer + 0) = 'h';