c++ - assign int[][] to int**

Monday, June 11, 2018

c++ - assign int[][] to int**

Answer

As far as I know, in some contexts, an array is converted into a pointer to its first element:

int a[5];
int * p;


p = a;

Following this approach and considering I can assign an array to a pointer, why can't I assign a bidimensional array to a pointer to a pointer?

int a[5][5];
int ** q;

q = a;

However, I can assign an array of pointers to a pointer to a pointer:

int * p[5];
int ** q;

q = p;

If an array is converted into a pointer to its first element, when q = a happens in the second example, a should be a pointer to a[0] and a[0] should be a pointer to a[0][0], right?

Besides, I don't get an error if I do:

cout << **a;

Thanks in advance and I hope you can help me to understand.

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Monday, June 11, 2018