typeof
Another way to refer to the type of an expression is with typeof
.
The syntax of using of this keyword looks like sizeof
, but the
construct acts semantically like a type name defined with typedef
.
There are two ways of writing the argument to typeof
: with an
expression or with a type. Here is an example with an expression:
typeof (x[0](1))
This assumes that x
is an array of functions; the type described
is that of the values of the functions.
Here is an example with a typename as the argument:
typeof (int *)
Here the type described is that of pointers to int
.
If you are writing a header file that must work when included in ANSI C
programs, write __typeof__
instead of typeof
.
See Alternate Keywords.
A typeof
-construct can be used anywhere a typedef name could be
used. For example, you can use it in a declaration, in a cast, or inside
of sizeof
or typeof
.
y
with the type of what x
points to.
typeof (*x) y;
y
as an array of such values.
typeof (*x) y[4];
y
as an array of pointers to characters:
typeof (typeof (char *)[4]) y;
It is equivalent to the following traditional C declaration:
char *y[4];
To see the meaning of the declaration using typeof
, and why it
might be a useful way to write, let's rewrite it with these macros:
#define pointer(T) typeof(T *) #define array(T, N) typeof(T [N])
Now the declaration can be rewritten this way:
array (pointer (char), 4) y;
Thus, array (pointer (char), 4)
is the type of arrays of 4
pointers to char
.