im trying to copy a const char array to some place in the memory and point to it . lets say im defining this var under the main prog : char *p = NULL; and sending it to a function with a string : myFunc(&p, "Hello"); now i want that at the end of this function the pointer will point to the letter H but if i puts() it, it will print Hello . here is what i tried to do : void myFunc(char** ptr , const char strng[] ) { *ptr=(char *) malloc(sizeof(strng)); char * tmp=*ptr; int i=0; while (1) { *ptr[i]=strng[i]; if (strng[i]=='\0') break; i++; } *ptr=tmp; } i know its a rubbish now, but i would like to understand how to do it right, my idea was to allocate the needed memory, copy a char and move forward with the pointer, etc.. also i tried to make the ptr argument byreferenec (like &ptr) but with no success due to a problem with the lvalue and rvalue . the only thing is changeable for me is the function, and i would like not to use strings, but chars as this is and exercise . thanks for any help in advance.