I've been knocking my brains out with arrays (char & int), pointers, and references used as parameters in functions.

Can anyone give me a clear explanation as to why integer arrays and character arrays behave differently?

I understand that an array name is essentially a constant pointer . . . which means, or should mean that the array name should return an address to the first element in the array, however, why in the following code segment does &integer not return the same address as &integer[0].

Additionally, the call to cout << "characters" reports the entire character array. But the call to cout << "integers" only reports the first element. I know there has to be a really good reason for this seeming anomaly, but damned if I can see it.

I have cruised the internet for weeks looking for a clear explanation and just have not found it . . . in any case, thanks in advance for any help you might offer.

Code follows:

//pass integer/character array to function

#include <iostream>

void int_function (int integers[])
{
cout << integers[0] << "\n"; // 5
cout << integers << "\n"; // &integers[0]
cout << &integers << "\n\n"; // &integers
}

void char_function (char characters[])
{
cout << characters[0] << "\n"; // D
cout << characters << "\n"; // Dante
}

void main ()
{
int ints[] = {5, 10, 15};
int_function (ints);

char string[] = "Dante";
char_function (string);
return;
}