Does mallocing a space of 3*sizeof(float) and creating an array of floats of size 3 do the basically the same thing in C?

Question

My question is if writing this line: float* array = malloc(3*sizeof(float)); Is equivalent of writing: float array[3]; If not, why?

(i'm reaaally new to C)

I noticed that when i try to manipulate the elements of each case it works well, but i'm skeptic of believing that it is literally the same thing written in another way in a lower-level (or even higher)

Sanjay Charran · Accepted Answer · 2024-08-06 22:36:47Z

1

calloc initializes the memory to 0 as opposed to malloc whose returned block of memory is uninitialized. There could also be a difference in performance (speed here) for which malloc can be faster than calloc. Lastly, you may be concerned over which memory is used for allocation. There is a similar question I saw for which there is a great answer already (I can't comment so I put it in a answer myself instead).

The returned block of memory can be accessed just fine with using either function as you described with your array example in the question.

answered Aug 6, 2024 at 22:36

Sanjay Charran

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