V3539. AUTOSAR. Array indexing should be the only form of pointer arithmetic and it should be applied only to objects defined as an array type.

This diagnostic rule is based on the software development guidelines developed by AUTOSAR (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture).

This rule advises against the use of address arithmetic. The only form of address arithmetic it allows is the subscript operation ('[]') applied to an entity declared as an array.

Exception: the rule allows the use of the increment and decrement operations ('++' and '--').

The use of address arithmetic makes the program less readable and may cause the maintainer to misinterpret the code. The use of indexing, on the contrary, is explicit and makes the code clearer; even if an expression using the subscript operator to index an array contains a mistake, it will be much easier to find. The same is true for increment/decrement operations: they explicitly convey the developer's intention to successively loop over a memory block that makes a continuous data region.

Example of non-compliant code:

int arr[] = { 0, 1, 2 };
int *p = arr + 1;        //+V2563
p += 1;                  //+V2563
int *q = p[1];           //+V2563

Fixed code:

int arr[] = { 0, 1, 2 };
int *p = &arr[1];
++p;

This diagnostic is classified as:

Was this page helpful?

Message submitted.

Your message has been sent. We will email you at

If you do not see the email in your inbox, please check if it is filtered to one of the following folders:

• Promotion
• Updates
• Spam

If you can’t find an answer to your question, fill in the form below and our developers will contact you

By clicking this button you agree to our Privacy Policy statement