new to C - what is this: an array, structure or pointer?

[dissectcode]

Hello - Please tell me what this is...It looks like an array/structure/prototype/pointer...

STATIC void *_aname[2][2] = { { &d0, &d1 } , { &d10, &d11 } } ;
 

i've never seen this before please advise. thanks!

[arnaudk]

Read it from right to left: void *_aname[2][2] is "s 2 by 2 array called _aname of pointers to a STATIC void variables".

STATIC is not a standard C/C++ keyword, the lowercase 'static' is and it means the variable (or pointer here) retains its value even after it falls out of scope, between function calls for example. void means the variable has no type semantics, which is why it should be avoided if possible because it circumvents type-checking which the compiler does for you.

Have a look at this article for more about arrays.

&d0 is the address of the variable d0. If d0 is an integer, then &d0 is of type int*, a pointer to an integer. However since _aname is of type void* the compiler will perform implicit type casting and essentially throw away the int property associated with address of d0 when it assigns it to _aname.