Why Are String Literals L-Values in C/C ?

String Literals as L-Values in C/C

The distinction between string literals as l-values and other literals as r-values in C/C has sparked curiosity among developers. According to the language standards, string literals are primary expressions and have an l-value status, while all other literals are r-values. This apparent inconsistency raises the question of why this discrepancy exists.

To understand this rationale, it's crucial to delve into the nature of these literals. String literals in C and C are considered objects. The reasoning behind this lies in the hardware architecture where strings are represented as arrays of characters. Unlike other literals, such as integer or floating-point constants, which represent primitive values, string literals naturally exhibit array-like behavior.

Array types in C inherently possess l-value properties. L-values, in the context of C/C , denote objects that can be both referenced and modified. Arrays, with their mutable elements, fit this definition perfectly. String literals, being arrays of characters, inherit these l-value characteristics.

Moreover, C99 introduced compound literals, further blurring the line between literals and objects. Compound literals, which represent initialized objects directly in expressions, are also classified as l-values. This development suggests that the concept of literals being exclusively r-values is no longer universally true in C/C .

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