funny c++ bug (?)

[kornelix]

I made the following syntax coding error:
char *buff = new char(500); // instead of [500]

The compiler accepted this. The program crashed after reading something into the above buffer. You can imagine how interesting (painful) the debugging was.

Question: is the compiler nuts or is this syntax legitimate for something I do not understand?
I am using the default g++ compiler.

[LordHunter317]

Question: is the compiler nuts or is this syntax legitimate for something I do not understand?It is. You're allocating space for a single char on the freestore, and giving it the value 500.

C++ allows you to declare and initalize primitive types just like you would for classes:int foo(10);
long bar(12345);

If you want an array, you must use the array new (new []) syntax.