Why do I get the error "C2440: cannot convert from 'void *' to '<type> *' " when I use mxCalloc?

When trying to compile my MATLAB API application I get the following error message:

 error C2440 : cannot convert from 'void *' to 'char *'   

 Conversion from 'void*' to pointer to non-'void' requires an explicit cast

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

The MATLAB API mxCalloc routine returns a void pointer and requires an explicit cast to the desired output type. Therefore, you will need to do something such as the following:

char *g;

g = (char *)  mxCalloc(20, sizeof(char));

For an explanation of "void*" and when it is used in C/C++ programming, refer to a book on programming in C/C++.