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Arrays and Pointers (1D Arrays)

This document discusses how arrays and pointers are related in C++. It notes that an array name is a pointer to the first element of the array. Pointer arithmetic allows adding or subtracting integers from pointers, where the integer is multiplied by the element size. Array subscription and dereferencing a pointer are equivalent for accessing elements. Two examples demonstrate adding all elements in an array using either array subscripts or pointer notation, which produce the same result.

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159 views

Arrays and Pointers (1D Arrays)

This document discusses how arrays and pointers are related in C++. It notes that an array name is a pointer to the first element of the array. Pointer arithmetic allows adding or subtracting integers from pointers, where the integer is multiplied by the element size. Array subscription and dereferencing a pointer are equivalent for accessing elements. Two examples demonstrate adding all elements in an array using either array subscripts or pointer notation, which produce the same result.

Uploaded by

nita23arora2321
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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C++ Notes: Arrays as Pointers

Using an array name as a pointer


An array name is really a pointer to the first element of the array. For
example, the following is legal.
int b[100]; // b is an array of 100 ints.
int* p; // p is a pointer to an int.
p = b; // Assigns the address of first element of b to p.
p = &b[0]; // Exactly the same assignment as above.

Array name is a const pointer


When you declare an array, the name is a pointer, which cannot be altered.
In the previous example, you could never make this assignment.
p = b; // Legal -- p is not a constant.
b = p; // ILLEGAL because b is a constant, although the correct
type.

Pointer arithmetic
"Meaningful" arithmetic operations are allowed on pointers.
• Add or subtract integers to/from a pointer. The result is a pointer.
• Subtract two pointers to the same type. The result is an int.
• Multiplying, adding two pointers, etc. don't make sense.

Pointer addition and element size


When you add an integer to a pointer, the integer is multiplied by the
element size of the type that the pointer points to.
// Assume sizeof(int) is 4.
int b[100]; // b is an array of 100 ints.
int* p; // p is a a pointer to an int.
p = b; // Assigns address of first element of b. Ie, &b[0]
p = p + 1; // Adds 4 to p (4 == 1 * sizeof(int)). Ie, &b[1]
Equivalence of subscription and dereference
Because of the way C/C++ uses pointers and arrays, you can reference an
array element either by subscription or * (the unary dereference operator).
int b[100]; // b is an array of 100 ints.
int* p; // p is a a pointer to an int.
p = b; // Assigns address of first element of b. Ie, &b[0]
*p = 14; // Same as b[0] = 14
p = p + 1; // Adds 4 to p (4 == 1 * sizeof(int)). Ie, &b[1]
*p = 22; // Same as b[1] = 22;

Example - Two ways to add numbers in an array


The first uses subscripts, the second pointers. They are equivalent.
int a[100]; int a[100];
. . . . . .
int sum = 0; int sum = 0;
for (int i=0; i<100; i++) for (int* p=a; p<a+100; p++)
{ {
sum += a[i]; sum += *p;
} }

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