pointers

Question

char a[]="gateoverflow";

char *p="gateoverflow";

Why even though both are same way if representing string .By second way we cannot change the value???

Comments

beacuse second one char *p="gateoverflow"; is string constant, and is stored in read-only memory section where you can access it but can't modify it.
 

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If you want to assign a new string constant to *p  then it is allowed but if you want to perform changes in existing string constant then it will give SEGFAULT.

So it depends on in what context you want to change the value of *p.

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where does char a[] will be stored

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a[] is stored in read-write area so we can modify that.

Answer 1

1. char a[]="gateoverflow";

• "gateoverflow" is stored in Stack Frame, which is read-write memory, hence you can easily modify the contents of the string.

2. char *p="gateoverflow";

• the location of "gateoverflow" is in the executable, and the location a points to, is in the executable. The data in the executable image is read-only, hence you can't modify it.

ref: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1011455/is-it-possible-to-modify-a-string-of-char-in-c#