Pointers and Objects

Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in C, by Mark Allen Weiss, 2nd

edition, 1997, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-49840-5
Danang University of Science and Technology

Dang Thien Binh

[email protected]
 Readings and References
 Reading

 Other References
 Pointers and Memory, by Parlante

 Chapters 5 and 6, The C Programming Language, Kernighan and

Ritchie

Data Structures 2
 What is a pointer?
 A pointer is a reference to another item
 the other item is sometimes called the "pointee"
 the pointee is often a variable
 the pointee can also be a function (a procedure)

 The contents of a pointer tell you where to look in order to

find the object of interest
 The declaration of the pointer says what it is supposed to
point to

Data Structures 3
 Some declarations

int num; /* an integer */

int *numP; /* pointer to integer */

double sum; /* a double value */

double *sumP; /* pointer to double */

struct Symbol mySym; /* a Symbol */

struct Symbol *symP /* pointer to Symbol */

Data Structures 4
 Reference and dereference

 Use "&" operator to take the address of a variable and

store it in a pointer variable
 numP = #
 sumP = ∑
 symP = &mySym;

 Then use "*" operator to dereference a pointer

 *numP = 42 is the same as num = 42
 *sumP = 17.0 is the same as sum = 17.0
 (*symP).val = 2 is the same as mySym.val = 2

Data Structures 5
 Pointers and Pointees

numP = #
sumP = ∑
symP = &mySym;

*numP = 42;
*sumP = 17.0;
(*symP).val = 2;

printf("%i %3.1f %lu\n",num,sum,mySym.val);

printf("%i %3.1f %lu\n",*numP,*sumP,(*symP).val);
-----------------
42 17.0 2
42 17.0 2

Data Structures 6
 Example from Pointers & Memory

A simple int variable.

The current value is the
num 42 integer 42. This variable
also plays the role of
pointee for the pointer
numP below.
numP &num A pointer variable. The
current value is a reference
to the pointee num above.

Data Structures 7
 What form does data take?
 Integers
 -1, 0, 255, 65535, ...

 Floating point
 1.5, 3.14159, 1E75, …

 character strings
 "abc", "def"

 and that was about it in the old days

Data Structures 8
 But real data is more complex
 Airplane definition
 engine count, crew count, passenger capacity, range, operating
cost per seat mile, …
 Student record
 name, student id, major, school address, home address, credits to
date, current enrollment, …
 Major fields of study
 responsible department, curriculum, students, ...

Data Structures 9
 Why have structs?

 Because the logical objects

struct Symbol {
that you use in your programs char *name;
unsigned long val;
are more complex than just a };
single int or double value
struct Symbol oneSym;
 A structured block lets you struct Symbol twoSym;
struct Symbol mySym;
manipulate related data as one
oneSym.name = "one";
element oneSym.val = 1;

twoSym.name = "two";
twoSym.val = oneSym.val+1;

Data Structures 10
 What is a struct variable?

 A single variable declared

as a struct refers to a oneSym
particular block of memory char *
 the individual fields are at unsigned long
twoSym
fixed offsets from the start char *
of the block unsigned long
mySym
char *
unsigned long

Data Structures 11
 What can you do with a struct?

 The legal operations on a struct Symbol oneSym;

struct Symbol twoSym;
structure are struct Symbol mySym;
 accessing its members
oneSym.name = "one";
 copying it or assigning to it as a oneSym.val = 1;
unit
twoSym.name = "two";
 taking its address with & twoSym.val = oneSym.val+1;

mySym = twoSym;

Data Structures 12
 How can structs be costly?
 Copying a struct is a nice automatic feature
 but it can lead to a lot of copying

 Our Symbol structs only require a few bytes

 but imagine the size of some of the other examples - airplanes,
student records, department descriptions
 Copying complete structs can get very costly very
quickly

Data Structures 13
 Pointers to the rescue
 Take the address of a struct variable and store it in a
pointer variable
 Then you can manipulate the pointers, leaving the original
data where it is and just moving pointer values around
 An array of pointer values is one way to define a list of
objects (struct variables)

Data Structures 14
 A short array of Symbol pointers

Symbol * char *
unsigned long
Symbol *

char

char *
unsigned long

char

Data Structures 15
 Pointers allow you to link objects

nodeA nodeB nodeC

Node *next Node *next Node *next

Symbol *element Symbol *element Symbol *element

oneSym char *
struct Node { unsigned long
struct Node *next; twoSym char *
struct Symbol *element;
}; unsigned long

threeSym char *
struct Node *nodeA;
struct Node *nodeB; unsigned long
struct Node *nodeC;

Data Structures 16
 nodeA = malloc(sizeof(struct Node));
FatalErrorMemory(nodeA);

nodeB = malloc(sizeof(struct Node));

FatalErrorMemory(nodeB);

nodeC = malloc(sizeof(struct Node));

FatalErrorMemory(nodeC);

(*nodeA).next = nodeB;
(*nodeA).element = &oneSym; Three Linked Nodes
nodeB->next = nodeC;
nodeB->element = &twoSym;
0x80498f0 (one) points to 0x8049900
0x8049900 (two) points to 0x8049910
nodeC->next = NULL;
0x8049910 (three) points to (nil)
nodeC->element = &threeSym;

nodeP = nodeA;
while (nodeP != NULL) {
printf("%p (%s) points to %p\n",
nodeP,nodeP->element->name,nodeP->next);
nodeP = nodeP->next;
}

Data Structures