How to fix 'cannot convert char to char*' error in C++?

Question

I'm trying to reverse a string using pointers which is I guess a pretty standard program.

I tried doing this using a single pointer unlike other methods I've seen where people use two pointers for beginning and end.

#include<iostream.h>
#include<conio.h>
#include<stdio.h>
#include<string.h>
void main()
{
 clrscr();
 char x[15];
 cout<<"enter word";
 gets(x);
 int l=strlen(x);
 char* p;
 p=x[15];
 for(int i=l-1;i>=0;i++)
 {
  p*=x[i];
  p--;
 }
 puts(x);
 getch();
}

I expected it to work but it shows a single error that it can't convert char* to char. I'm pretty new to pointers but I thought pointers are just aliases for the memory locations so what's the problem? Or am I missing something fundamental?

[Never use `gets`!!](https://stackoverflow.com/q/1694036/10077) — Fred Larson, Jun 25 '19 at 18:11
Stop using raw `char` arrays with c++, there's `std;;string` for good reasons. — πάντα ῥεῖ, Jun 25 '19 at 18:12
@FrançoisAndrieux I hoped to allocate that memory address the value of element at that position and then decrement it. — Sameer Thakur, Jun 25 '19 at 18:13
"trying to reverse a string using pointers which is I guess a pretty standard program" - Not really. I would say using a `std::string` and [std::reverse](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/algorithm/reverse) would be *the standard thing*.. — Jesper Juhl, Jun 25 '19 at 18:13
Standard header do not have file extensions. For example it's `#include `, not `#include `. Additionally, main must have the return type `int`. What compiler are you using? — François Andrieux, Jun 25 '19 at 18:23
Are you sure you want `p*=x[i];` in your loop? That's a multiplication not a dereference, — jkb, Jun 25 '19 at 18:37
The compiler's error message should tell you the line where the error occurs. Try to trim your program down to just that line so that you are not distracted by other details. (You won't literally end with just that line, but make the example as small as possible.) Then take another look at your code and justify what you wrote. — JaMiT, Jun 25 '19 at 18:42

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 25 '19 at 19:41

3

Put the asterisks before the p to dereference it.

*p=x[i];

Also, when you assign p = x[15], you're dereferencing x (which makes it a char) and assigning it to p (which is a char*).

edited Jun 25 '19 at 19:41

Remy Lebeau

555,201
31
458
770

answered Jun 25 '19 at 18:20

avenmia

2,015
4
25
49

That's *a* problem, but not what is asked here. – François Andrieux Jun 25 '19 at 18:21

How to fix 'cannot convert char to char*' error in C++?

1 Answers1