Difference between int [] and int* as function arguments

Question

This is an interview question:

What is difference between int [] and int* , all of them are input arguments to a function.

f(int a[] , int* b)

My answers:

For f() , they have the same functions. The first one is the beginning position of the first element in a[] .

The second one points to an int .

But, how to distinguish them from each other without passing other arguments ?

Answer 1

As function parameters, the two types are exactly the same, int [] is rewritten to int * , and you can't distinguish between them. Many many questions in StackOverflow cover this subject, and the c-faq even has a special section on pointer and arrays (as arguments or not). Take a look into it.

Answer 2

In the context of function arguments, they are identical. All of the following are exactly the same:

f(int a[], int *b)
f(int a[], int b[])
f(int *a, int *b)
f(int *a, int b[])

You cannot distinguish between them without passing some extra information.