Using &array with scanf

[James Daughtry]

char array[20];
scanf("%19s", &array);

I know this is wrong because it's a type mismatch, where scanf expects
a pointer to char and gets a pointer to an array of 20 char. I know
that question 6.12 of the C FAQ says that it's wrong for that very
reason. What I don't know is where the standard tells me conclusively
that it's wrong. What I also don't know is somewhere that this type
mismatch will break in practice.

A peer asked me recently why it was wrong when I told him that it was
wrong, and I was very uncomfortable because I know it's wrong and I had
no good answer when he asked me to prove it. So how do I prove
something this to an exceptionally stubborn programmer who wants to
have black and white proof as well as a real example that fails?

Thanks!

[Steve Summit]

Chris Torek wrote:

If he is familiar with basketball, try the argument Steve Summit once
repeated here (I am not sure where he got it):

Someone told me that, in basketball, you have to bounce the
ball off the floor; you can't hold the ball and run around the
court. But I tried it and it works just fine. Obviously he
does not understand basketball!
That was Roger Miller, in <1994Jan31.1257 25.5553@verifon e>.
Or, for Boston drivers, remember the rule about driving the wrong
way on a one-way street ("it's OK as long as you're in reverse!").

I suppose you think that's some kind of joke! Until recently,
I lived on a quiet one-way residential street in Cambridge,
and I saw people doing that all the time... :-)