Struct Initialization

Good Old Struct Initialization

struct person
{
  char fn[16];
  char ln[16];
  int age;
  int height;
};
struct person me = { "Joerg", "Faschingbauer", 50, 172 };

As always: Ambiguity

• One can only guess as to what the initializer means

  • Imagine somebody’s name is “Beman Dawes”

  • age? height? Or is it weight?

• Have to lookup the definition of struct person

C99 Designated Initializer

struct person me = {
  .fn = "Joerg",
  .ln = "Faschingbauer",
  .age = 50,
  .height = 172
};

Consequences:

• A couple more characters of typing

• Safety: when member names (semantics?) change, the compiler forces checking

• Clarity