Re: [PATCH] Fix a bunch of pointer declarations (codestyle)

[Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>]

Jeff King <peff@peff.net> writes:

> On Fri, May 01, 2009 at 12:20:08PM -0700, Stephen Boyd wrote:
>
>> On Fri, May 1, 2009 at 2:06 AM, Felipe Contreras
>> <felipe.contreras@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > -       *argv = xmalloc(sizeof(char*) * size);
>> > +       *argv = xmalloc(sizeof(char *) * size);
>> >
>> 
>> I don't think this is what the coding guidelines is talking about. A
>> pointer isn't being declared here plus there isn't any variable the
>> star should be sticking to.

I think either way is fine although I personally prefer the way the patch
did.  The "prefer sizeof(var) over sizeof(type)" principle is good, but
that should be a follow-up patch, as it is very likely such a conversion
will introduce a silly mistake, perhaps like this one.

> Besides that, don't we usually prefer sizeof() on the actual variable
> instead of the type, which is less error prone? IOW,
>
>   *argv = xmalloc(sizeof(**argv) * size);