Pointers in CPointers in C are easy and fun to learn. Some C programming tasks are performed more easily with pointers, and other tasks, such as dynamic memory allocation, cannot be performed without using pointers. So it becomes necessary to learn pointers to become a perfect C programmer.
A tutorial on pointers in C/C++. A unique approach is taken to eliminate the confusion behind pointers and arrays. Several illustrations. MODULE 8 C/C++ POINTERS - A DERIVED DATA TYPE 1 Point to here, point to there, point to that, point to this, and point to nothing!
Let's start learning them in simple and easy steps. As you know, every variable is a memory location and every memory location has its address defined which can be accessed using ampersand (& ) operator, which denotes an address in memory. Consider the following example, which prints the address of the variables defined . Like any variable or constant, you must declare a pointer before using it to store any variable address. The general form of a pointer variable declaration is .
The asterisk * used to declare a pointer is the same asterisk used for multiplication. However, in this statement the asterisk is being used to designate a variable as a pointer. Take a look at some of the valid pointer declarations .
Chapter 1 : Basic C Programs Chapter 2 : Area Programs Chapter 3 : Mathematical Programs Chapter 4 : Number Programs in C Programming Chapter 5 : 1-D Array Programs 2. The hands-on and practice C and C++ pointers programming. Learn how to use pointers properly in developing Linux and Windows applications. A tutorial on pointers and arrays in the C programming language by Ted Jensen.
The only difference between pointers of different data types is the data type of the variable or constant that the pointer points to. How to Use Pointers? There are a few important operations, which we will do with the help of pointers very frequently. This is done by using unary operator * that returns the value of the variable located at the address specified by its operand. The following example makes use of these operations . This is done at the time of variable declaration.
A pointer that is assigned NULL is called a null pointer. The NULL pointer is a constant with a value of zero defined in several standard libraries. Consider the following program .
However, the memory address 0 has special significance; it signals that the pointer is not intended to point to an accessible memory location. But by convention, if a pointer contains the null (zero) value, it is assumed to point to nothing. To check for a null pointer, you can use an 'if' statement as follows . The following important pointer concepts should be clear to any C programmer.