How can I pass an array inside an array to a function in C?

May 30, 2022

Here’s the code that shows the basic idea of what I’m trying to do:

#include <stdio.h>

void thisFunc(int arr){
  int firstValofBob = arr[0][0];
  int secondValofBob = arr[0][1];
}
 
int main()
{
  int bob[2] = {12, 13};
  int jim[2] = {20, 50};
  int arr[2] = {bob, jim};

  thisFunc(arr);
}

I’d like to pass an array (arr[]) which contains multiple arrays itself (bob[] and jim[]) to a function, so that I can access the values inside bob[] and jim[].

I know the code here will not work, and that I probably need to use pointers in some way. Suggestions for a good way to do this?

>Solution :

To store the values of both bob and jim, you need to create an array that stores array of integers and then pass it to the function. My implementation is:

#include <stdio.h>

void thisFunc(int** arr){
    int firstValofBob = arr[0][0];
    int secondValofBob = arr[0][1];
}

int main()
{
    int bob[2] = {12, 13};
    int jim[2] = {20, 50};
    int* arr[2] = {bob, jim};

    thisFunc(arr);
}