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Pointers Introduction

Here are three C programs demonstrating pointers: 1. Basic pointer declaration: #include <stdio.h> int main() { int var = 10; int *ptr; ptr = &var; return 0; } 2. Handling pointers: #include <stdio.h> int main() { int var = 10; int *ptr; ptr = &var; printf("Address of var: %p\n", &var); printf("Value of ptr: %p\n", ptr); return 0; } 3. Using & and * operators: #include <stdio.h>

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74 views17 pages

Pointers Introduction

Here are three C programs demonstrating pointers: 1. Basic pointer declaration: #include <stdio.h> int main() { int var = 10; int *ptr; ptr = &var; return 0; } 2. Handling pointers: #include <stdio.h> int main() { int var = 10; int *ptr; ptr = &var; printf("Address of var: %p\n", &var); printf("Value of ptr: %p\n", ptr); return 0; } 3. Using & and * operators: #include <stdio.h>

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leena sakri
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POINTERS

Memory Address
• When a variable is created in C, a memory
address is assigned to the variable.
• The memory address is the location of where
the variable is stored on the computer.
• When we assign a value to the variable, it is
stored in this memory address.
• To access it, use the reference operator (&),
and the result represents where the variable is
stored:
• The memory address is in hexadecimal form
(0x..).
• &myAge is often called a "pointer".
• A pointer basically stores the memory address of
a variable as its value.
• To print pointer values, we use the %p format
specifier.
datatype * ptr;

Creating Pointers

• A pointer is a variable that stores the memory


address of another variable as its value.
• A pointer variable points to a data type (like int) of
the same type, and is created with the * operator.
• The address of the variable you are working with is
assigned to the pointer:
• datatype * ptr;
– where
– ptr is the name of the pointer.
– datatype is the type of data it is pointing to.
How to Use Pointers?

• The use of pointers can be divided into three


steps:
– Pointer Declaration
– Pointer Initialization
– Dereferencing
Pointer Declaration
• In pointer declaration, we only declare the
pointer but do not initialize it.
• To declare a pointer, we use the ( * )
dereference operator before its name.
• int *ptr;
• The pointer declared here will point to some
random memory address as it is not initialized.
Such pointers are called wild pointers.
Pointer Initialization
• Pointer initialization is the process where we
assign some initial value to the pointer
variable.
• We generally use the ( & ) addressof
operator to get the memory address of a
variable and then store it in the pointer
variable.
int var = 10;
int * ptr;
ptr = &var;
• We can also declare and initialize the pointer
in a single step.
• This method is called pointer definition as the
pointer is declared and initialized at the same
time.
• int *ptr = &var;
• Note: It is recommended that the pointers
should always be initialized to some value
before starting using it. Otherwise, it may lead
to number of errors.
Dereferencing
• Dereferencing a pointer is the process of
accessing the value stored in the memory
address specified in the pointer.
• We use the same ( * ) dereferencing
operator that we used in the pointer
declaration.
// C program to illustrate Pointers
#include <stdio.h>

void Ptr_pgm()
{
int var = 10;

// declare pointer variable


int* ptr;

// note that data type of ptr and var must be same


ptr = &var;

// assign the address of a variable to a pointer


printf("Value at ptr = %p \n", ptr);
printf("Value at var = %d \n", var);
printf("Value at *ptr = %d \n", *ptr);
}

int main()
{
Ptr_pgm();
return 0;
• Write a program in C to show the basic
declaration of a pointer.
• Write a program in C to demonstrate how to
handle pointers in a program.
• Write a program in C to demonstrate the use of the
&(address of) and *(value at address) operators.

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