Return float array with function

try this,

void GetPoints(p)
      float *p;
{

      scanf("%f %f %f", p, p + 1, p + 2);
}


int main(void)
{
      float point[3];
      GetPoints(point);
      printf("%f %f %f\n", point[0], point[1], point[2]);
      return 0;
}

what you are doing in GetPoints function is returning a pointer to a local variable allocated on stack
so when function finishes the memory pointed by return value is garbage

you should do it that way:

void GetPoints(float p[3])
{
      scanf("%f %f %f", p[0], p[1], p[2]);
}


void main(void)
{
      float point[3];

      GetPoints(point);
}

OK guys, that made it clear for now. Thank you very mutch.

the solution works but the reason for failure is different. you cannot assign a value to an array. in C/C++ pointers are no different than arrays except that arrays point to a fixed location. once you create an array you cannot assign it a new value. "point = GetPoints()" does exactly that and your code won't compile.

Hi x-pander,
>       scanf("%f %f %f", p[0], p[1], p[2]);
Careful:
scanf("%f %f %f", &p[0], &p[1], &p[2]);

And also be aware that there is no guarantee someon using your function really passes three floats. Better wrap them up, and pass heap memory, and use doubles:

double *GetPoints()
{
      double* p;

      p=(double*)malloc(3*sizeof(double));

      scanf("%f %f %f", &p[0], &p[1], &p[2]);

      return p;
}

Just make sure you call free() later.



Cheers!

Stefan

Yes, it's normally not "just three points", but they represent something (e.g., 3D coordinates, the size of each of the 3 stooges in inches,... etc.)

Wrap'em, give them a nice & descriptive name, and use them accordingly.