Subj : Re: how to initialize this?
To   : borland.public.cpp.borlandcpp
From : Eric <nospam@email.com>
Date : Wed Oct 15 2003 08:02 pm

Thomas Maeder [TeamB] wrote:

> Eric <nospam@email.com> writes:
> 
> Your description is far too complicated for me to understand it. So just
> a side note, which is unrelated to your question:
> 
>> typedef struct {
>>   char *Name;
>>   int  Value;
>> }TAnimal;
>> 
>> TAnimal Farm0[] = {{"dog", 0}, {"horse", 4}, {"cow", 6}};
> 
> This initializes the Name members of the Farm0 elements with the addresses
> string literals. An implicit conversion from 'array of N char const' to
> 'pointer to char' (non-const) is performed each time. Such a conversion is
> conforming to the ISO C++ Standard, but that standard also says that it is
> deprecated.
> 
> The reason is that it's very easy for the inadvertent programmer to
> accidentally modify a string literal through such a pointer to non-const.
> Such a modification would cause your program to have undefined behavior.
> 
> So better define your struct like this:
> 
> typedef struct
> {
>   char const *Name;
>   int Value;
> } TAnimal;
> 
> If this type is only used from C++ code (and not from C code), the usual
> way to define it would be
> 
> struct TAnimal
> {
>   char const *Name;
>   int Value;
> };

I was afraid of that (that i might not be very clear). What i am basically 
trying to do is to have an array of Farm structures each containing the 
same Animals. I want to intialize the animal names at compile time.

At run time then i can read each farm from a section of a file and for each
animal I will update the Value field. all the allowed animals are known at 
compile time so the file must only have those animals under each farm.
If i can declare an initialized array of farms only once, then if i have to 
later add an animal i only have to do it once.
Right now i am doing it this way and i hate it.

TAnimal Farm0[] = {{"dog", 0}, {"horse", 4}, {"cow", 6}};
TAnimal Farm1[] = {{"dog", 0}, {"horse", 4}, {"cow", 6}};
TAnimal Farm2[] = {{"dog", 0}, {"horse", 4}, {"cow", 6}};
etc etc
so if i add an animal i have to modify each declaration whereas if i could 
do it in one array like this

TAnimal Farm[8][] = {{"dog", 0}, {"horse", 4}, {"cow", 6}};

I would only have to moidify it in one place to add a new animal

Hopefully I have explained it better this time
Thanks
Eric

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