What is the difference between an array of a pointer and a pointer to an array with an example?

In C  Array is a collection of similar data items, whereas

Pointer is a special kind of Variable that can hold the address of another variable.

So, array of pointer means an array whose contents/data items are pointers.

Suppose,

int *a=&x;

int *b=&y; 

int *c=&&z;

[ Here a,b,c are 3 int type pointer who are holding address of 3 integers x,y and z]

Now, int M[10]; (M is an int array i.e can hold int data elements and is of size 10).

so, M[10]={a,b,c}; ——-> This is Array of pointers, i.e the array is holing a number of pointers .

Where as suppose we have created a new pointer of int type and we are initializing it with the previously created array’s address i.e address of a, like

int *S=a;

So, this is pointer to an array, i.e the pointer is pointing to an array.