14.3.1 Local Variable Declarators and Types

Each declarator in a local variable declaration declares one local variable, whose name is the Identifier that appears in the declarator.

The type of the variable is denoted by the Type that appears at the start of the local variable declaration, followed by any bracket pairs that follow the Identifier in the declarator. Thus, the local variable declaration:

int a, b[], c[][];

is equivalent to the series of declarations:

int a;
int[] b;
int[][] c;

Brackets are allowed in declarators as a nod to the tradition of C and C++. The general rule, however, also means that the local variable declaration:

float[][] f[][], g[][][], h[];	// Yechh!

is equivalent to the series of declarations:

float[][][][] f;
float[][][][][] g;
float[][][] h;

We do not recommend such "mixed notation" for array declarations.