Difference between const char * and char const *

Question

I just found some code that doesn't compiles because somewhere a type is

const char *

and somewhere else

char const *

It is customary to differentiate between these two forms and the meaning is different ?

I suppose that I could suppose in one case a pointer to a const char and in the other case an unmodifiable pointer to a char, but I am not sure of anything .

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 13 '14 at 18:57

1

The two are completely identical and interchangeable. If the const is before the *, it refers to the pointed-to data type. If the const is after the *, it refers to the pointer itself.

answered Jul 13 '14 at 18:57

Neil Kirk

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May be, but my code doesn't compiles !!! – George Kourtis Jul 13 '14 at 18:57
@GeorgeKourtis What is the errormessage? – Stian Svedenborg Jul 13 '14 at 18:58
/home/gk/Dropbox/workspace01/napl03/napl_allocator.cpp:66: undefined reference to `assert0(bool, char const*)' While the library defines void assert0(bool f,const char *s); void assert0(bool f,const char *s){if(!f){printf("%s\nn",s);exit(1);}} – George Kourtis Jul 13 '14 at 19:00
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@GeorgeKourtis The problem is something to do with not being able to find assert0. It's nothing to do with the pointer. – Neil Kirk Jul 13 '14 at 19:03

Difference between const char * and char const *

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