Reinterpret_cast <int *> (char *) vs. static_cast <int *> (static_cast <void *> (char *)) - what to use?

Question

When you dynamically allocate a buffer of type char * and want to pass it to a specific type, you should use something like

 reinterpret_cast<int *>(char *) 

or something like

 static_cast<int *>(static_cast<void *>(char *)) 

and why?

I personally am tempted to use the latter, because for me it is not really a “reinterpretation” of the data (rather, just a mechanical way to allocate a buffer), and it does not look like it will be a source of errors just like a typical reinterpret_cast , but is this the right intuition ?

Answer 1

According to Dave Abraham , using chained static_cast is the right standard way to force pointer types.

Personally, I use reinterpret_cast in these cases because I never have to deal with architectures that will do one thing with chained static_cast and the other with a single reinterpret_cast .