&gt; [ Knowing how arrays (or pointers) are handled in C is enough to understand why you can&#x27;t have string assignment by value.]<p>True, but I think knowing how arrays (and pointers to arrays) work in C is one of the main hurdles for a lot of people who are just starting out.<p>This became especially apparent to me after recently helping my friend get familiar with C.<p>I can see how some people can get confused by this when you consider the fact that structures can be copied using a straight assignment, while arrays can&#x27;t.<p>People naturally try to find similarities when learning something new, so it took a little while for him to _really_ get it. I think his mind kept trying to think of a structure essentially as an array of variables, when that&#x27;s not really the case.