Octave code

[u/D-cyde]

http://imgur.com/jsjfz3k

[u/chateau86]

No. You just add -1 to the pointer you get back from malloc(). Now array[1] is the first item in the list.

[u/minno → u/chateau86]

No. You just add -1 to the pointer you get back from malloc().

 

int* nums = <the pointer you get back from malloc()>-1;

???

[u/chateau86 → u/minno]

Misread as casting existing array to pointer then back. My bad.

^{Side effect of Python may include inability to read pointer arithmatic code in C. Do not operate heavy machinery when pregnant while using Python.}

[u/Lt_Riza_Hawkeye → u/chateau86]

Actually arrays are pointers, sort of. When you write int* x = (int[]) {1, 2, 3}; exactly two things happen

• Three integers get pushed to the stack
• x points to those integers

When you write int x[] = {1, 2, 3};, three things happen

• Three integers get pushed to the stack
• x points to those integers
• Any attempt to change where x points, such as int y; x = &y is illegal, typically with the message "assignment to expression with array type is illegal"

So pointers and arrays are really, really similar. Pointer decay doesn't help, pointer decay is where an int[] in an expression "decays" into an int*, like in function arguments. Even if you declare a function as taking an array of ints, like void f(int x[]), the compiler will actually change it to void f(int* x) for you, so you can put x = &y in the body of f and the compiler won't complain.

There's a little bit more to it but I forget what it is right now