C Language Initialization Using designated initializers
Example
C99
C99 introduced the concept of designated initializers. These allow you to specify which elements of an array, structure or union are to be initialized by the values following.
Designated initializers for array elements
For a simple type like plain int:
int array[] = { [4] = 29, [5] = 31, [17] = 101, [18] = 103, [19] = 107, [20] = 109 };
The term in square brackets, which can be any constant integer expression, specifies which element of the array is to be initialized by the value of the term after the = sign. Unspecified elements are default initialized, which means zeros are defined. The example shows the designated initializers in order; they do not have to be in order. The example shows gaps; those are legitimate. The example doesn't show two different initializations for the same element; that too is allowed (ISO/IEC 9899:2011, §6.7.9 Initialization, ¶19 The initialization shall occur in initializer list order, each initializer provided for a
particular subobject overriding any previously listed initializer for the same subobject).
In this example, the size of the array is not defined explicitly, so the maximum index specified in the designated initializers dictates the size of the array — which would be 21 elements in the example. If the size was defined, initializing an entry beyond the end of the array would be an error, as usual.
Designated initializers for structures
You can specify which elements of a structure are initialized by using the .element notation:
struct Date
{
int year;
int month;
int day;
};
struct Date us_independence_day = { .day = 4, .month = 7, .year = 1776 };
If elements are not listed, they are default initialized (zeroed).
Designated initializer for unions
You can specify which element of a union is initialize with a designated initializer.
C89
Prior to the C standard, there was no way to initialize a union. The C89/C90 standard allows you to initialize the first member of a union — so the choice of which member is listed first matters.
struct discriminated_union
{
enum { DU_INT, DU_DOUBLE } discriminant;
union
{
int du_int;
double du_double;
} du;
};
struct discriminated_union du1 = { .discriminant = DU_INT, .du = { .du_int = 1 } };
struct discriminated_union du2 = { .discriminant = DU_DOUBLE, .du = { .du_double = 3.14159 } };
C11
Note that C11 allows you to use anonymous union members inside a structure, so that you don't need the du name in the previous example:
struct discriminated_union
{
enum { DU_INT, DU_DOUBLE } discriminant;
union
{
int du_int;
double du_double;
};
};
struct discriminated_union du1 = { .discriminant = DU_INT, .du_int = 1 };
struct discriminated_union du2 = { .discriminant = DU_DOUBLE, .du_double = 3.14159 };
Designated initializers for arrays of structures, etc
These constructs can be combined for arrays of structures containing elements that are arrays, etc. Using full sets of braces ensures that the notation is unambiguous.
typedef struct Date Date; // See earlier in this example
struct date_range
{
Date dr_from;
Date dr_to;
char dr_what[80];
};
struct date_range ranges[] =
{
[3] = { .dr_from = { .year = 1066, .month = 10, .day = 14 },
.dr_to = { .year = 1066, .month = 12, .day = 25 },
.dr_what = "Battle of Hastings to Coronation of William the Conqueror",
},
[2] = { .dr_from = { .month = 7, .day = 4, .year = 1776 },
.dr_to = { .month = 5, .day = 14, .year = 1787 },
.dr_what = "US Declaration of Independence to Constitutional Convention",
}
};
Specifying ranges in array initializers
GCC provides an extension that allows you to specify a range of elements in an array that should be given the same initializer:
int array[] = { [3 ... 7] = 29, 19 = 107 };
The triple dots need to be separate from the numbers lest one of the dots be interpreted as part of a floating point number (maximimal munch rule).
