What does sizeof() return if array is empty

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I have a double[12] x which has no elements in it. When the user is prompted, he/she enters a number, which is stored in x.

I want the program to first check if x is empty and if it is, put the user's input in x[0] or if it isn't, put the user's input in the next free index.

I had done this:

C++

...

double x[12];

    void AddPayment(double Amount)
    {
        int i = sizeof(x);

        x[i] = Amount;
    }

Is it that sizeof() doesn't work with arrays, is there a better way of doing this?

Posted 20-Oct-15 3:06am

Melvin Mupondori

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4 solutions

Solution 2

double x[12] will allocate memory for 12 doubles regardless if those actually got values or not...so sizeof(x) is a constant here...
You have two options:
1. introduce a global index (next to x) to incrase after every input...

C++

double x[12]
int i = 0;

void AddPayment(double Amount)
{
    x[i] = Amount;

    i++;
}

(You have to take care of i >= 12)

2. Initialize the array with some negative value and check in each round where is the first and update...

Posted 20-Oct-15 3:20am

Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

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nv3 · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-20T03:20:00

Simple arrays don't work that way in C or C++. The array is allocated with the specified size and there is no concept of cells being filled or empty. They all contain something. So the sizeof operator will always return the full size of your array.

Use STL classes like vector instead. They not only allow you to make the array variable size, but also keep track of how many cells you have filled.

Jochen Arndt · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-20T03:24:00

sizeof returns the size of an object in bytes (see here: http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/sizeof[^]).

It can't be used for your purpose. You need an extra variable that stores the index of the next free element:

C++

double x[12];
unsigned nextNdx = 0;

void AddPayment(double Amount)
{
    // Check if array not filled up
    if (nextNdx < sizeof(x) / sizeof(x[0]))
    {
        x[nextNdx++] = Amount;
    }
}

Alternatively you can use std::vector[^] or std::array[^].

KarstenK · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-20T03:19:00

The result of sizeof operator is the byte size of the input.

For getting the element size:

C++

int elSize = sizeof(x)/sizeof(x[0]);

if you want to access an element of you array you must access it this way:

C++

int i = 0;//index of element, must be 0...11 (smaller than 12) 
x[i] = Amount;

Please learn the basics ;-)

What does sizeof() return if array is empty

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