The pointer is a variable that stores the address of another variable.
Features of Pointers
Pointer saves the memory space.
The execution time of a pointer is faster because it directly accesses to memory location.
The memory is accessed efficiently with the help of a pointer.
Memory is allocated and deallocated dynamically.
Pointers are used with data structures.
The syntax for the pointer is as follows −
pointer = &variable;
Example
Following is the C program for the pointer −
#include <stdio.h>
int main(){
int x=40; //variable declaration
int *p; //pointer variable declaration
p=&x; //store address of variable x in pointer p
printf("address in variable p is:%d\n",p); //accessing the address
printf("value in variable p is:%d\n",*p); //accessing the value
return 0;
}Output
When the above program is executed, it produces the following result −
Address in variable p is:5ff678 Value in variable p is:40
Operator * serves two purposes which are as follows −
Declaration of a pointer.
Returns the value of the referenced variable.
Operator & serves only one purpose, which is as follows −
Returns the address of a variable.