c - Can I get some advice on the easiest way to parse the provided string -

the string: phillip:22021999;football,tennis,basketball

i want line read these variables in following manner:

char name[50] = phillip int dob = 22021999 char (*a[10])[14] = 'football', 'tennis','basketball' 

any advice appreciated.

#include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <string.h>  enum { max_num_of_field = 10, field_size = 14 };  int main(void) {     char *the_string = "phillip:22021999;football,tennis,basketball\n";      char name[50];     int dob;     char (*a[max_num_of_field])[field_size] = { null };      char rest[max_num_of_field*(field_size+1)];     sscanf(the_string, "%49[^:]:%d;%149[^\n]", name, &dob, rest);      int i;//, num_fields = 0;     char *p;      for(i = 0, p = strtok(rest, ",\n"); < max_num_of_field && p ; ++i, p = strtok(null, ",\n")){         char (*afield)[field_size] = calloc(1, sizeof(char[field_size]));         strncpy(*afield, p, field_size-1);         a[i] = afield;     }     printf("name:%s\n", name);     printf("dob:%08d\n", dob);     printf("notes:\n");     for(i = 0; < max_num_of_field; ++i){         if(a[i]){             printf("%s\n", a[i]);             //free(a[i]);         } else {             break;         }     }      return 0; }