What is the cause of flexible array member not at end of struct error?

Question

I am wondering why I keep getting error: flexible array member not at end of struct error when I call malloc. I have a struct with a variable length array, and

Answer 1

Given a struct definition and a pointer to the start of a struct, it is necessary that the C compiler be able to access any member of the struct without having to access anything else. Since the location of each item within the structure is determined by the number and types of items preceding it, accessing any item requires that the number and types of all preceding items be known. In the particular case where the last item is an array, this poses no particular difficulty since accessing an item in an array requires knowing where it starts (which requires knowing the number and type of preceding items, rather than the number of items in the array itself), and the item index (which the compiler may assume to be smaller than the number of items for which space exists, without having to know anything about the array size). If a Flexible Array Member appeared anywhere other than at the end of a struct, though, the location of any items which followed it would depend upon the number of items in the array--something the compiler isn't going to know.