(caveat: old compilers couldn't use this handy initialization syntax, you had to insert "a", "b", and "c" with indivudual push_backs or use an intermediate array: string a[] = {"a", "b", "c"}; vector<string> x(a, a+3); )
Initializer lists are a feature of C++11. You may need to set up your compiler to use them (mine is turned off by default)
C arrays (those defined by square brackets) cannot be resized