Pointers and Memory Allocation

 The C++ run-time system can create new objects

 A memory allocator finds a storage location for a new object

new Employee;

 The memory allocator keeps a large storage area, called

the heap
 The heap is a flexible pool of memory that can hold values of
any type
 When you allocate a new heap object, the memory allocator
tells where the object is located, by giving you the
object's memory address
 Use a pointer to store and manipulate a memory address

Deallocating Dynamic Memory

 The expression:new Employee

 is very different from:Employee harry;
 harry lives on a stack
 The stack is a storage area associated with the defining
function

void f()

Employee harry; // memory for employee allocated

on the stack

...

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 } // Memory for employee automatically reclaimed

 Values allocated from the heap stay alive until the

programmer reclaims it

Pointers and Memory Allocation

 The allocator returns an address,

or pointer
 Pointers are stored in a pointer
variable
 To declare pointers:

Employee* boss;

Time* deadline;

 The
types Employee* and Time* are
pointers to employee and time Figure 1 Pointers and the
objects Objects to Which They
Point
 boss and deadline store
addresses
 They do not store actual
employee or time objects

Pointers and Memory Allocation

 You can also call the new command in conjunction with a

constructor to initialize the object

Employee* boss = new Employee("Lin, Lisa", 68000);

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  To access a value, given a pointer, you must dereference the
pointer

Employee* boss = ...;

raise_salary(*boss, 10);

 To get the boss' name, you might try

string name = *boss.get_name(); // Error

 . has higher precedence; you tried to send the pointer itself

a message
 This will get an Employee object, then get its name:

string name = (*boss).get_name(); // Error

 The -> operator does the same thing:

string name = boss->get_name(); // Error

Pointers and Memory Allocation

 The special value NULL indicates that a pointer doesn't point

anywhere
 Never leave a pointer uninitialized
 Set them to NULL when you define them

Employee* boss = NULL; // will set later

. . .

if (boss != NULL) name = boss->get_name(); // OK

 You cannot dereference a NULL pointer

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 Employee* boss = NULL;

string name = boss->get_name(); // NO!! Program will

crash

 Crashing is better than processing erroneous data

Employee* boss;

string name = boss->get_name(); // NO!! boss

contains a random address

 Better still, test for the sentinel, as above

Syntax : new Expression

new type_name
new type_name(expression1, expression2, ... ,
expressionn)
Example:
new Time;
new Employee("Lin, Lisa", 68000)
Purpose:

Allocate and construct a value on the heap and return a pointer to

the value.

Syntax : Pointer Variable Definition

type_name* variable_name;
type_name* variable_name = expression;
Example:
Employee* boss;
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Product* p = new Product;
Purpose:

Define a new pointer variable, and optionally supply an initial

value.

Syntax : Pointer Dereferencing

*pointer_expression
pointer_expression->class_member
Example:
*boss
boss->set_salary(70000)
Purpose:

Access the object to which a pointer points.

Common Error

Declaring Two Pointers on the Same

Line
 In this declaration, p is a pointer,
while q is an actual Employee
 Employee* p, q;
 To make them both pointers:

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  Employee *p, *q;(the spacing is
irrelevant)
 Might be clearer to use a line for each
declaration:
 Employee *p;
 Employee *q;
Advanced

The this Pointer

 Every (non-static) method has
a this pointer
 this is the pointer to the implicit
parameter
 If you call
next.is_better_than(best)

 this is of type Product*

 this points to next
 Could be used like this:
bool Product::is_better_than(Product b)
{
if (this->price == 0) return true;
if (b.price == 0) return false;

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 return this->score / this->price > b.score /
b.price;
}

 Note, b is an object, this is a pointer

Deallocating Dynamic Memory

 You must manually reclaim dynamically

allocated objects
 Use the delete operator
void g()
{
Employee* boss;
boss = new Employee(...); // Memory
for employee allocated on the heap
...
delete boss; // Memory for employee
manually reclaimed
}
 delete does nothing to boss
 boss is a stack variable — will be
reclaimed at the end of the block
 delete frees the memory that boss pointed
to
 boss is not set to NULL; it points to the
same place
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Syntax : delete Expression

delete pointer_expression;
Example:
delete boss;
Purpose:
Deallocate a value that is stored on the heap
and allow the memory to be reallocated.
Common Error

Dangling Pointers
 A pointer that doesn't point to a valid
object
 Pointer wasn't initialized, or
 Object pointer referenced was reclaimed
 Writing to this location may change other
variables, or your program
 Reading from this location might crash
your program (if you're lucky)
 This is particularly insidious:
delete boss;
string name = boss->get_name(); // NO!!
boss points to a deleted element
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  Almost impossible to catch during testing
 Object appears to still be there
 Location might well be claimed for something
else

Common Error

Memory Leaks
 A memory block that is not deallocated is
a memory leak
 Leaked memory can cause the heap to run
out of memory
 Program crashes
 Computer freezes up
 Each new should be paired with a delete
 Memory leaks should be avoided, for
memory-intensive or long-running
programs
 Should be avoided for smaller programs,
too
Advanced Topic

The Address Operator

 The & operator (address operator) returns
the address of an existing, stack variable
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 Employee harry;
Employee* p = &harry;

The Address Operator

 Never delete a stack variable!

delete &harry; // NEVER!

 That location would then be on the

stack, and part of the heap memory
Common Uses for Pointers

Optional Attributes

 Consider a department class, which allows

for an optional receptionist:
class Department
{
...
private:
string name;
Employee* receptionist;
};

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  receptionist points to an actual
employee, or is NULL if not needed
 This is better than allocating space for an
object that might not be used.
class Department // Modeled without
pointers
{
...
private:
string name;
bool has_receptionist;
Employee receptionist;
};
Common Uses for Pointers

Object Sharing

 Rather than duplicating objects, use

pointers to share the object
 Example: In some departments, the
secretary and the receptionist are the
same person
class Department
{
...
private:
string name;

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 Employee* receptionist;
Employee* secretary;
};

Figure 3 Three Pointers Share an Employee Object

...
Employee* tina = new Employee("Tester,
Tina", 50000);
Department qc("Quality Control");
qc.set_receptionist(tina);
qc.set_secretary(tina);
tina->set_salary(55000);

Common Uses for Pointers

Sharing Objects (cont.)

 Particularly important when changes to

the object need to be observed by all
users of the object
 Without using pointers, changing Tina's
salary would not update the information
in the receptionist or secretary attribute

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Employee tina("Tester,
Tina", 50000);
Department qc("Quality
Control");
qc.set_receptionist(tina
);
qc.set_secretary(tina);
tina.set_salary(55000);
 Department object
now contains two
copies of Tina
Figure 4 Separate Employee
 Copies are not Objects

affected by Tina's
raise

#include <string>
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

#include "ccc_empl.h"

/**
A department in an organization.
*/
class Department
{
public:
Department(string n);
void set_receptionist(Employee* e);
void set_secretary(Employee* e);
void print() const;
private:
string name;
Employee* receptionist;
Employee* secretary;

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};

/**
Constructs a department with a given name.
@param n the department name
*/
Department::Department(string n)
{
name = n;
receptionist = NULL;
secretary = NULL;
}

/**
Sets the receptionist for this department.
@param e the receptionist
*/
void Department::set_receptionist(Employee* e)
{
receptionist = e;
}

/**
Sets the secretary for this department.
@param e the secretary
*/
void Department::set_secretary(Employee* e)
{
secretary = e;
}

/**
Prints a description of this department.
*/
void Department::print() const
{
cout << "Name: " << name << "\n"
<< "Receptionist: ";
if (receptionist == NULL)
cout << "None";
else
cout << receptionist->get_name() << " "
<< receptionist->get_salary();
cout << "\nSecretary: ";
if (secretary == NULL)
cout << "None";
else if (secretary == receptionist)
cout << "Same";
else
cout << secretary->get_name() << " "
<< secretary->get_salary();
cout << "\n";
}

int main()
{
Department shipping("Shipping");

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 Department qc("Quality Control");
Employee* harry = new Employee("Hacker, Harry", 45000);
shipping.set_secretary(harry);
Employee* tina = new Employee("Tester, Tina", 50000);
qc.set_receptionist(tina);
qc.set_secretary(tina);
tina->set_salary(55000);
shipping.print();
qc.print();
delete tina;
delete harry;
return 0;
}
Advanced Topic

References
 You saw reference parameters.
void raise_salary(Employee& e, double by)
{
double new_salary = e.get_salary() * (1 + by / 100);
e.set_salary(new_salary);
}

 The value of harry may change in this

call:
raise_salary(harry, percent);

 References are just syntactic sugar for

pointers
 This function receives the address of
an Employee object, and a copy of
a double
Advanced Topic (cont.)
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References
 In C this function would've been written:
void raise_salary(Employee* pe, double
by)
{
double new_salary = pe->get_salary() *
(1 + by / 100);
pe->set_salary(new_salary);
}
 The call, above, would look like this:
raise_salary(&harry, percent);

 When you use references, the compiler

takes care of referencing and
dereferencing pointers.
Arrays and Pointers

 There is an intimate connection between

arrays and pointers in C++
 The name of an array is a pointer to the
starting element
int a[10];
int* p = a; // now p points to a[0];

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  a can be dereferenced: *a = 12; is the
same as a[0] = 12;
 Pointers into arrays support pointer
arithmetic: *(a + 3) is the same as a[3]
Arrays and Pointers

 This relationship is called

the array/pointer duality law
 For any integer n,
 *(a + n) ≡ a[n]
 This explains why array indices
start at 0
Pointers into an
 a (a+0) points to the start of Array
the array
Arrays and Pointers

 When an array is passed into a function, it

is actually a pointer to the starting
element of the array
double maximum(const double a[], int
a_size)
{
if (a_size == 0) return 0;
double highest = a[0];
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 for (int i = 0; i < a_size; i++)
if (a[i] > highest)
highest = a[i];
return highest;
}
 The function receives only the starting
address of the array
double maximum(const double* a, int
a_size)
{
// Identical code as above yields same
results
...
}
Advanced Topic

Using Pointers to Step Through an Array

 Rather than incrementing an index,
increment the pointer
double maximum(const double* a, int
a_size)
{
if (a_size == 0) return 0;
double highest = *a;
const double* p = a + 1;
int count = a_size - 1;
while (count > 0)

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 {
if (*p > highest)
highest = *p;
p++;
count--;
}
return highest;
}
Common Error

Returning a Pointer to a Local Array

 Don't return pointers to local (stack)
variables
double* minmax(const double a[], int
a_size)
{
assert(a_size > 0);
double result[2];
result[0] = a[0]; // result[0] is the
minimum
result[1] = a[0]; // result[1] is the
maximum

for (int i = 0; i < a_size; i++)

{
if (a[i] < result[0]) result[0] =
a[i];

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 if (a[i] > result[1]) result[1] =
a[i];
}
return result; // ERROR!
}
 result is local to minmax
 When function exits, result is gone
Advanced Topic

Dynamically Allocated Arrays

 You can allocate arrays from the heap:
int staff_capacity = ...;
Employee* staff = new
Employee[staff_capacity];
 new[] operator allocates an array
of staff_capacity Employees (using
default constructor)
 Size does not need to be known at
compile time
 Manipulated just like any other array
 This is how variable-sized containers, like
the Vector, is implemented
 Must be deallocated (reclaimed) using
the delete[] operator:
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 delete[] staff;
Advanced Topic (cont.)

Dynamically Allocated Arrays - Resizing

 If later you need a larger array:
 get larger array from the heap
 copy the contents over
 delete the original array
 fix up your pointers:

int bigger_capacity = 2 * staff_capacity;

Employee* bigger = new Employee[bigger_capacity];

for (int i = 0; i < staff_capacity; i++)

bigger[i] = staff[i];

delete[] staff;

staff = bigger;

staff_capacity = bigger_capacity;

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 Pointers to Character Strings

 C++ inherits primitive string handling

from the C language, in which strings are
represented as arrays of char values
 Though not recommended for use, you'll
need to recognize character pointers or
arrays in your programs when you see
them
 Literal strings are stored
inside char arrays
char s[] = "Harry";

0 1 2 3 4 5

'H' 'a' 'r' 'r' 'y' '\0'

 Space for the null-terminator (\n) is

automatically allocated
Pointers to Character Strings

 Many pre-STL functions return a char*

 Use constructor string(char *) to convert
any character pointer or array to a safe
and convenient string object:

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 char* p = "Harry";
string name(p);

 Some functions require a char* as an

argument
 The string::c_str method returns
a char* that points to the first character
in the string object
 E.g., tempnam(), in the standard library,
yields the name of a temporary file, and
expects a char* parameter for the
directory name:
string dir = ...;
char* p = tempnam(dir.c_str(), NULL);

Common Error

Failing to Allocate Memory

 Writing (or copying) a string to random
memory is a very common and
dangerous error
char* p;
strcpy(p, "Harry");
 This is not a syntax error

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  If you're lucky, the address is not legal,
and the program crashes
 If you're less lucky, the data will be
written wherever
 This is a very insidious error; tough to
detect, and tough to find
 It might be corrupting somebody else's
memory
 Somebody else might be overwriting "your"
string

Common Error

Copying Character Pointers

 Assignment, copying and
comparing string objects is intuitive:
string s = "Harry";
string t = s;
t[0] = 'L'; // now s is "Harry" and t
is "Larry"
 s and t are distinct objects

 Same example, using

pointers:
char* p = "Harry";

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 char* q = p;
Two Character Pointers into the
q[0] = 'L'; // Now Same Character Array
both p and q point to
"Larry"
 p and q are distinct
pointers, storing the
same address
 Both refer to the
same object
Common Error (cont.)

Copying Character Pointers

 Arrays can not be assigned in the usual
way:
char a[] = "Harry";
char b[6];
b = a; // ERROR
 Use strcpy():
 strcpy(b, a);
 Since strcpy() has no idea how large
array b might be, this is safer:
strcpy(b, a, 5);
Pointers to Functions

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 Sometimes a function depends on another
function
 Consider a function that prints a table of
values of the function
f(n) = n2 :

1 1

2 4

3 9

4 16

...

10 100

 Same logic to print the values of f(x) = x - 2

 Function print_table takes a function
pointer as an argument
 As with arrays, the name of a function is
really a pointer to a function:
print_table(sqrt);

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Pointers to Functions

 To print a table of squares, first make

a square function:
double square(double x) { return x * x; }
...
print_table(square);
 The function to print a table:
void print_table(DoubleFunPointer f)
{
cout << setprecision(2);
for (double x = 1; x <= 10; x++)
{
double y = f(x);
cout << setw(10) << x << "|" <<
setw(10) << y << endl;
}
}
 DoubleFunPointer will be explained shortly

Pointers to Functions

 The parameter f can be used as any other

function
 Some prefer to call the function like this:
(*f)(x)

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 To declare the function pointer:
double (*f)(double)

 This is a function (not a pointer) which

returns a double* :
double *f(double)

 print_table() looks like this:

void print_table(double (*f)(double))

 A type definition makes this easier to

read:
typedef double
(*DoubleFunPointer)(double);
void print_table(DoubleFunPointer f);

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