Struct initialization with char array outside a function - c

Question

I have following typedef struct:
typedef struct
{
E_Menus Menu; // E_Menus is a typedef enum
char *MenuStr[200];
int CurrentItem;
int ItemAmount;
int ItemGap;
int StartItemGap;
} T_Menu;
I want to initialize a struct of type T_Menu as a module variable (not local inside a function) as following:
char mBootMenuStr[] = {"some text"};
T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, mBootMenuStr, 1, 2, 1, 2};
But MenuStr makes me struggle. I get 2 warnings:
1 initialization of 'char *' from 'int' makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
2 missing braces around initializer [-Wmissing-braces]
MenuStr should be a string with size 200 -> Means, the string has 200 chars.
When I remove MenuStr it builds without warnings.
What did I miss? Is it impossible to do this outside a function?
Reproducable example:
typedef enum
{
eUI_BootMenu,
eUI_LoginMenu,
eUI_HomeMenu,
} E_Menus;
typedef struct
{
E_Menus Menu;
char *MenuStr[200];
int CurrentItem;
int ItemAmount;
int ItemGap;
int StartItemGap;
} T_Menu;
char mBootMenuStr[] = {"some text"};
T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, mBootMenuStr, 1, 2, 1, 2};
Thanks for help in advance.

Answer 1

char *MenuStr[200]; is an array of 200 pointer-to-char.
The initializer in
T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, mBootMenuStr, 1, 2, 1, 2};
is treating mBootMenuStr and each expression after it as elements to initialize that array. The integer values of 1 and 2 are being used to initialize elements of type char *, hence the warning.
GCC gives a more detailed diagnostic:
ex.c:21:49: warning: initialization of ‘char *’ from ‘int’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
21 | T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, mBootMenuStr, 1, 2, 1, 2};
| ^
ex.c:21:49: note: (near initialization for ‘mBootMenu.MenuStr[1]’)
ex.c:21:52: warning: initialization of ‘char *’ from ‘int’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
21 | T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, mBootMenuStr, 1, 2, 1, 2};
| ^
ex.c:21:52: note: (near initialization for ‘mBootMenu.MenuStr[2]’)
ex.c:21:55: warning: initialization of ‘char *’ from ‘int’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
21 | T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, mBootMenuStr, 1, 2, 1, 2};
| ^
ex.c:21:55: note: (near initialization for ‘mBootMenu.MenuStr[3]’)
ex.c:21:58: warning: initialization of ‘char *’ from ‘int’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
21 | T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, mBootMenuStr, 1, 2, 1, 2};
This warning can be resolved by placing braces around mBootMenuStr, making it the sole initializing element for the MenuStr member of the structure:
T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, {mBootMenuStr}, 1, 2, 1, 2};
But it seems likely you simply wanted a string member, not an array of pointers, in the structure:
typedef struct
{
E_Menus Menu;
char MenuStr[200];
int CurrentItem;
int ItemAmount;
int ItemGap;
int StartItemGap;
} T_Menu;
T_Menu mBootMenu = {eUI_BootMenu, "some text", 1, 2, 1, 2};