Pointers

Variable

• A variable is a named memory location.

• Variables provide direct access to its memory
location.
• A variable has a name, an address, a type,and a value:
• "the name identifies the variable to the programmer
• "the address specifies where in main memory the
variable is located
 What is a variable?

• "the type specifies how to interpret the data stored

in main memory and how long the variable is
• "the value is the actual data stored in the variable
after if has been interpreted according to a given
type
 Pointer variable
• A pointer is a variable that contains the memory
location of another variable.
• Syntax:-
• type * variable name
• You start by specifying the type of data stored in the
location identified by the pointer.
• The asterisk tells the compiler that you are creating a
pointer variable.
• Finally you give the name of the variable.
 Advantages

• Storage and retrieval of data using memory address of a

variable is much faster than that of using variable.
• Call by Address- When modification of formal argument are to
be reflected on actual arguments
• Manipulating Arrays more easily
• Dynamic Memory Management
• Reduce length and complexity of program
• Efficient tool for creating complex data structures like linked
list, stack, queue, trees etc.
 Declaring a Pointer Variable

 To declare ptr as an integer pointer:

int *ptr;
 To declare ptr as a character pointer:
char *ptr;
 Accessing a variable through its
pointer
• Once we declare a pointer variable we must point it
to something. We can do this by assigning to the
pointer the address of the variable you want to
point as in the following example:
ptr=#
• This places the address where num is stores into the
variable ptr. If num is stored in memory 21260
address then the variable ptr has the value 21260.
 Address and Pointers
• Memory can be
conceptualized as a ADDR1 Contents1
ADDR2
linear set of data ADDR3
locations. ADDR4
ADDR5
• Variables reference the ADDR6
*
contents of a locations *
*
• Pointers have a value of
ADDR11 Contents11
the address of a given
location *
*

ADDR16 Contents16

Lect 14 P. 8
 Pointer Variable
Assume ptr is a pointer variable and x is an integer variable

x 10

ptr &x

Now ptr can access the value of x.

HOW!!!!
x = 10
Write: *variable . For example:

ptr = &x Cout<< *ptr;

 Variables, Addresses and Pointers

• main() • Memory Value

{ • a (1001) 5
int a = 5; • b (1003) 6
int b = 6; • c (1005) 1001
int *c;
// c points to a
c = &a;
}
 include< stdio.h >
{
int num, *intptr;
float x, *floptr;
char ch, *cptr;
num=123;
x=12.34;
ch=’a’;
intptr=&num;
cptr=&ch;
floptr=&x;
cout<<“Num “<<*intptr,<<“ stored at address “<<intptr;
cout<<“Value “<<*floptr <<“ stored at address “<<floptr;
cout<<“Character <<*cptr <<“stored at address”<<cptr;
}
 Run this code

int main()
{
int x;
int *ptr;

x = 10;
ptr = &x;
*ptr = *ptr + 1;
cout<< x;
return 0;
 Pointer arithmetic
Valid operations on pointers include:
- the sum of a pointer and an integer
- the difference of a pointer and an integer
- pointer comparison
-the difference of two pointers.
-Increment/decrement in pointers
- assignment operator used in pointers
 Example
void main()
{
int a=25,b=78,sum;
int *x,*y;
x=&a;
y=&b;
sum= *x + *y;
cout<<“Sum is : ”<<sum;
}
 Assignment in pointers

• Pointer variables can be "assigned":

int *p1, *p2;
p2 = p1;
– Assigns one pointer to another
– "Make p2 point to where p1 points"
• Do not confuse with:
*p1 = *p2;
– Assigns "value pointed to" by p1, to "value
pointed to" by p2
Diagrammatic representation
 Comparison in pointers

• Two pointers of the same type, p and q, may be

compared as long
• as both of them point to objects within a single
memory block
• • Pointers may be compared using the <, >, <=, >=, == ,
!=
• • When you are comparing two pointers, you are
comparing the
• values of those pointers rather than the contents of
memory locations pointed to by these pointers
 Increment and decrement
Data Type Initial address Operation Address after Required bytes
operation s
Int i=2 4046 ++ -- 4048 4044 2bytes
Char c=‘x’ 4053 ++ -- 4054 4042 1bytes
Float f=2.2 4050 ++ -- 4054 4046 4bytes
Long l=2 4060 ++ -- 4064 4056 4bytes
• You can perform a limited number of arithmetic operations on pointers.
These operations are:
• Increment and decrement
• Addition and subtraction
• Comparison
• Assignment
• The increment (++) operator increases the value of a pointer by the size of
the data object the pointer refers to. For example, if the pointer refers to
the second element in an array, the ++ makes the pointer refer to the third
element in the array.
• The decrement (--) operator decreases the value of a pointer by the size of
the data object the pointer refers to. For example, if the pointer refers to
the second element in an array, the -- makes the pointer refer to the first
element in the array.
• You can add an integer to a pointer but you cannot add a pointer to a
pointer.
• If the pointer p points to the first element in an array, the following
expression causes the pointer to point to the third element in the same
array:
• p = p + 2; If you have two pointers that point to the same array, you can
subtract one pointer from the other. This operation yields the number of
elements in the array that separate the two addresses that the pointers
refer to.
• You can compare two pointers with the following operators: ==, !=, <, >, <=,
and >=.
• Pointer comparisons are defined only when the pointers point to elements
of the same array. Pointer comparisons using the == and != operators can be
performed even when the pointers point to elements of different arrays.
• You can assign to a pointer the address of a data object, the value of
another compatible pointer or the NULL pointer.
 Pointer to a Pointer
• Also known as chain of pointers.
• It is possible to make a pointer point to another
pointer, thus creating a chain of pointers.
 Example

• int main()
• {
• Int x, *p1, **p2;
• x=100;
• p1=&x;
• P2=&p1;
• cout<<**p2;
• }
 Void pointers
• When a variable is declared as being a pointer to
type void it is known as a generic pointer.
• Since you cannot have a variable of type void, the
pointer will not point to any data and therefore
cannot be dereferenced.
• It is still a pointer though, to use it you just have to
typecast it to another kind of pointer first. Hence the
term Generic pointer.
• This is very useful when you want a pointer to point
to data of different types at different times.

• Syntax:
void * variable name;
void main()
{ int i;
char c;
void *data;
i = 6;
c = 'a';
data = &i;
cout<<"the_data points to the integer value “<< *(int*) data;
data = &c;
cout<<"the_data now points to the character “<< *(char*) data;
}
• PROBLEMS WITH POINTERS
 DANGLING POINTER

• Dangling pointers arise when an object is deleted or

deallocated, without modifying the value of the
pointer, so that the pointer still points to the
memory location of the deallocated memory
• As the system may reallocate the previously freed
memory to another process, if the original program
then dereferences the (now) dangling
pointer, unpredictable behavior may result, as the
memory may now contain completely different
data.
 Cause:

• deleting an object from memory explicitly or by

destroying the stack frame on return does not alter
associated pointers. The pointer still points to the same
location in memory even though the reference has since
been deleted and may now be used for other purposes
• .
 NULL POINTER

• A null pointer is a regular pointer of any pointer

type which has a special value that indicates that it
is not pointing to any valid reference or memory
address. This value is the result of type-casting the
integer value zero to any pointer type.

int * p;
• p = 0; // p has a null pointer value
•
Do not confuse null pointers with void pointers. A null pointer is a value
that any pointer may take to represent that it is pointing to "nowhere",
while a void pointer is a special type of pointer that can point to
somewhere without a specific type. One refers to the value stored in
the pointer itself and the other to the type of data it points to.
 WILD POINTER

• Wild pointers arise when a pointer is used prior to

initialization to some known state, which is possible
in some programming languages. They show the
same erratic behaviour as dangling pointers, though
they are less likely to stay undetected.
• The wild pointer generates garbage memory
location and pendent refernce.
 Causes:

• Pointer declared but not initialized

• Pointer alteration
• Accessing destroyed data