When to use malloc for char pointers

Question

I\'m specifically focused on when to use malloc on char pointers

char *ptr;
ptr = \"something\";
...code...
...code...
ptr = \"something else\";

Answer 1

malloc is for allocating memory on the free-store. If you have a string literal that you do not want to modify the following is ok:

char *literal = "foo";

However, if you want to be able to modify it, use it as a buffer to hold a line of input and so on, use malloc:

char *buf = (char*) malloc(BUFSIZE); /* define BUFSIZE before */
// ...
free(buf);