Learn Pointers in C in Quick 5 Minute

Pointers in C

This is another very important concept while Learning C Programming. Every variable is assigning memory location whose address can be retrieved using the address operator &. The address of a memory location is called a pointer.

Pointers and the Address Operator

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
  int x=10; //integer variable
  int *ptrX;  //integer pointer declaration
  ptrX=&x;  //pointer initialization with the address of x
  printf("Value of x: %d\n",*ptrX);
  return 0;
}

Output

Value of x: 10

Further visit: Basic Concept of Arrays in C language In Just 5 Minutes

What is the pointer variable in C?

A pointer variable is a variable that holds s addresses of memory locations. It can be declared as below:

int *x;

Sample program to work with pointer variables

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
   int* pc, c;
   c = 22;
   printf("Address of c: %p\n", &c);
   printf("Value of c: %d\n\n", c);  // 22
   pc = &c;
   printf("Address of pointer pc: %p\n", pc);
   printf("Content of pointer pc: %d\n\n", *pc); // 22
   c = 11;
   printf("Address of pointer pc: %p\n", pc);
   printf("Content of pointer pc: %d\n\n", *pc); // 11
   *pc = 2;
   printf("Address of c: %p\n", &c);
   printf("Value of c: %d\n\n", c); // 2
   return 0;
}

Output on screen:

Address of c: 2686784
Value of c: 22

Address of pointer pc: 2686784
Content of pointer pc: 22

Address of pointer pc: 2686784
Content of pointer pc: 11

Address of c: 2686784
Value of c: 2

Array vs Pointers in C

Pointers and arrays are strongly related. In fact, pointers and arrays are interchangeable in many cases. For example, a pointer that points to the beginning of an array can access that array by using either pointer arithmetic or array-style indexing. Consider the following program.

Example Array vs Pointers in C

#include <stdio.h>
const int MAX = 3;
int main () {
   int  var[] = {10, 100, 200};
   int i, *ptr[MAX];
   for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {
      ptr[i] = &var[i]; /* assign the address of integer. */
   }
   for ( i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {
      printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr[i] );
   }
   return 0;
}