How can I assign the value of a char array to a uint8_t array?

Question

I have a char array variable that has a value. I need to send this value through LoRa. The library I use for the LoRa implementation accepts an array of uint8_t. How can I pass the value of a char[] to a uint8_t[] variable (and the opposite)?

if (Udp.parsePacket()) {
 int udp_received = Udp.available();
 char udp_buffer[udp_received + 1];
 Udp.read(udp_buffer, udp_received);
 udp_buffer[udp_received] = '0円';
 uint8_t udp_to_lora[] = "???";
 rf95.send(udp_to_lora, sizeof(udp_to_lora));
 rf95.waitPacketSent();
}

I need to pass the udp_buffer to uint8_t udp_to_lora[].

Answer 1

I don't have a compiler at hand, but you can cast the array as a char and uint8_t are similar in size:

rf95.send((char*) udp_to_lora, sizeof(udp_to_lora));

• BrainTrance: How could it be so easy? Thanks! But help me understand. What's the purpose of the dereference asterisk in this cast?
• DataFiddler: Same the other way round: rf95.send((uint8_t*)udp_buffer, udp_received);
• Michel Keijzers: a char is a character, a char * is a POINTER to a character. However, an array of characters is the same, as it points to the first character of a text.
• JRobert: "What's the purpose of the dereference asterisk in this cast?" It's in the context. In a type specification (which a cast is) the '*' is part of the type, where it means "pointer to". In a value, it is the dereference operator and means "the value of what [thing] points to", or more literally, "the value contained in the memory location(s) whose address is the value of [thing]". Locations is plural because Arduino memory, being byte addressable, most variables are multi-byte.
• Juraj: dereference is *a