Regarding sizeof(cleaned): using sizeof to get the capacity of an array only works if the argument is an array, not a pointer:
char buffer[100];
const char *pointer = "something something dark side";
// Prints 100
printf("%zu\n", sizeof(buffer));
// Prints size of pointer itself, usually 4 or 8
printf("%zu\n", sizeof(pointer));
Although both a local array and a pointer can be subscripted, they behave differently when it comes to sizeof. Thus, you cannot determine the capacity of an array given only a pointer to it.
Also, bear this in mind:
void foo(char not_really_an_array[100])
{
// Prints size of pointer!
printf("%zu\n", sizeof(not_really_an_array));
// Compiles, since not_really_an_array is a regular pointer
not_really_an_array++;
}
Although not_really_an_array is declared like an array, it is a function parameter, so is actually a pointer. It is exactly the same as:
void foo(char *not_really_an_array)
{
...
Not really logical, but we're stuck with it.
On to your question. I'm unclear on what you're trying to do. Simply removing the first character of a string (in-place) can be accomplished with a memmove:
memmove( buffer // destination
, buffer + 1 // source
, strlen(buffer) - 1 // number of bytes to copy
);
This takes linear time, and assumes buffer does not contain an empty string.
The reason strcpy(buffer, buffer + 1) won't do is because the strings overlap, so this yields undefined behavior. memmove, however, explicitly allows the source and destination to overlap.
For more complex character filtering, you should consider traversing the string manually, using a "read" pointer and a "write" pointer. Just make sure the write pointer does not get ahead of the read pointer, so the string won't be clobbered while it is read.
void remove_semicolons(char *buffer)
{
const char *r = buffer;
char *w = buffer;
for (; *r != '\0'; r++)
{
if (*r != ';')
*w++ = *r;
}
*w = 0; // Terminate the string at its new length
}