MISRA C:2012 Rule 18.5

Declarations should contain no more than two levels of pointer nesting

Description

Rule Definition

Declarations should contain no more than two levels of pointer nesting¹ .

Rationale

The use of more than two levels of pointer nesting can seriously impair the ability to understand the behavior of the code. Avoid this usage.

Troubleshooting

If you expect a rule violation but do not see it, refer to Diagnose Why Coding Standard Violations Do Not Appear as Expected.

Examples

Pointer Nesting

typedef char *INTPTR;

void function(char ** arrPar[ ])    /* Non-compliant - 3 levels */
{
    char   **  obj2;            /* Compliant */
    char   *** obj3;            /* Non-compliant */
    INTPTR *   obj4;            /* Compliant */
    INTPTR * const * const obj5;    /* Non-compliant */
    char   ** arr[10];            /* Compliant */
    char   ** (*parr)[10];        /* Compliant */
    char   *  (**pparr)[10];        /* Compliant */
}

struct s{
    char *   s1;                /* Compliant */
    char **  s2;                /* Compliant */
    char *** s3;                /* Non-compliant */
};

struct s *   ps1;            /* Compliant */
struct s **  ps2;            /* Compliant */
struct s *** ps3;            /* Non-compliant */       

char **  (  *pfunc1)(void);        /* Compliant */
char **  ( **pfunc2)(void);        /* Compliant */
char **  (***pfunc3)(void);        /* Non-compliant */
char *** ( **pfunc4)(void);        /* Non-compliant */

This example shows various pointer declarations and nesting levels. Any pointer with more than two levels of nesting is considered noncompliant.

Check Information

Group: Pointers and Arrays

Category: Advisory

AGC Category: Readability