An lvalue (pronounced "el-value") is
an expression that designates an object. A modifiable
lvalue is an lvalue that does not have an array or an
incomplete type and that does not have a "const"-qualified type.
The term "lvalue" originates from the assignment expression
E1=E2, where
the left operand E1
must be a modifiable lvalue. It can be thought of as representing
an object "locator value." For example, if E
is the name of an object of static or automatic storage duration,
it is an lvalue. Similarly, if E
denotes a pointer expression, *E
is an lvalue, designating the object to which E
points.
Examples |
 |
Given the following declarations:
int *p, a, b;
int arr[4];
int func();
a /* Lvalue */
a + b /* Not an lvalue */
p /* Lvalue */
*p /* Lvalue */
arr /* Lvalue, but not modifiable */
*(arr + a) /* Lvalue */
arr[a] /* Lvalue, equivalent to *(arr+a) */
func /* Not an lvalue */
func() /* Not an lvalue */ |
