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Pointers in C

📘 C 👁 37 views 📅 Dec 22, 2025
⏱ Estimated reading time: 1 min

A pointer is a variable that stores the address of another variable.

Declaration of Pointer

data_type *pointer_name;

Example:

int *p;

Initialization of Pointer

int a = 10;
int *p = &a;

Accessing Value Using Pointer

  • & → Address of operator

  • * → Dereference operator

printf("%d", *p);

Example Program

#include 

int main() {
    int a = 10;
    int *p;

    p = &a;

    printf("Value of a = %d\n", a);
    printf("Address of a = %p\n", p);
    printf("Value using pointer = %d", *p);

    return 0;
}

Pointer Arithmetic

  • p + 1 moves pointer to next memory location

  • Increments depend on data type size

Types of Pointers

  • Null Pointer

  • Void Pointer

  • Wild Pointer

  • Dangling Pointer

Pointer and Array Relationship

  • Array name acts as a pointer to first element

int a[5];
int *p = a;

Passing Pointer to Function

Used to modify original value (Call by Reference).

void swap(int *a, int *b);

Advantages of Pointers

  • Efficient memory usage

  • Supports dynamic memory allocation

  • Enables call by reference

  • Useful in arrays and strings

Precautions

  • Initialize pointers before use

  • Avoid accessing invalid memory

  • Use pointers carefully to prevent errors

Summary

  • Pointers store memory addresses

  • * and & are key pointer operators

  • Closely related to arrays and functions

  • Powerful but must be used carefully

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