Why the Output is the "full" array?

Question

I have this code:

char *array = "test";
cout << &array[0];

The output is test. Why is this working?

Answer 1

array[0] is a single char.

&array[0] is a pointer to that single char. Its type is char*. And that type is used to mean "pointer to first char of null-terminated string". Which is how the stream output operator << treats it.

If you want to print the pointer you need to cast it:

cout << reinterpret_cast<void*>(&array[0)];

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With that said, the definition

char *array = "test";

is wrong. Literal strings like "test" are constant arrays of characters (including the null-terminator).

So pointers needs to be const qualified:

const char *array = "test";

And the cast need to include a const as well.