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This noncompliant code example initializes an array of integers using an initialization with too many elements for the array.

int a[3] = {1, 2, 3, 4};

The size of the array a is 3, although the size of the initialization is 4. The last element of the initialization (4) is ignored. Most compilers will diagnose this error.

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In this example, the compiler allocates an array of four integer elements and, because an array bound is not explicitly specified by the programmer, sets the array bound to 4. However, if the initializer changes, the array bound may also change, causing unexpected results.

int a[] = {1, 2, 3, 4};

Compliant Solution

This compliant solution explicitly specifies the array bound.

int a[4] = {1, 2, 3, 4};

Explicitly specifying the array bound, although it is implicitly defined by an initializer, allows a compiler or other static analysis tool to issue a diagnostic if these values do not agree.

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