Pointers
The pointer in C language is a variable that stores the address of another variable. This variable can be of type int, char, array, function, or any other pointer. The size of the pointer depends on the architecture. However, in 32-bit architecture, the size of a pointer is 2 bytes. Some C programming tasks are performed more easily with pointers, and other tasks, such as dynamic memory allocation, cannot be performed without using pointers. So it becomes necessary to learn pointers to become a perfect C programmer. Let’s start learning them in simple and easy steps.
As you know, every variable is a memory location and every memory location has its address defined which can be accessed using the ampersand (&) operator, which denotes an address in memory. Consider the following example, which prints the address of the variables defined −
#include <stdio.h> int main () { int var1; char var2[10]; printf("Address of var1 variable: %x\n", &var1 ); printf("Address of var2 variable: %x\n", &var2 ); return 0; }
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Address of var1 variable: bff5a400 Address of var2 variable: bff5a3f6
Advantage of pointer
1) Pointer reduces the code and improves the performance, it is used to retrieving strings, trees, etc., and used with arrays, structures, and functions.
2) We can return multiple values from a function using the pointer.
3) It makes you able to access any memory location in the computer’s memory.
