C/C++ Interactive Guide/c-cplusplus-interactive-guide.iso/c_ref/csource4/252_01/chap08.txt

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                                                    Chapter 8
                                                     POINTERS



WHAT IS A POINTER?
____________________________________________________________

Simply stated, a pointer is an address.         =============
Instead of being a variable, it is a pointer      POINTER.C
to a variable stored somewhere in the address   =============
space of the program.  It is always best to
use an example so load the file named
POINTER.C and display it on your monitor for an example of a
program with some pointers in it.

For the moment, ignore the data declaration statement where
we define index and two other fields beginning with a star.
It is properly called an asterisk, but for reasons we will see
later, let's agree to call it a star.  If you observe the
first statement, it should be clear that we assign the value
of 39 to the variable named index.  This is no surprise, we
have been doing it for several programs now.  The statement
in line 9 however, says to assign to pt1 a strange looking
value, namely the variable index with an ampersand in front
of it.  In this example, pt1 and pt2 are pointers, and the
variable named index is a simple variable.  Now we have a
problem.  We need to learn how to use pointers in a program,
but to do so requires that first we define the means of using
the pointers in the program.

The following two rules will be somewhat confusing to you at
first but we need to state the definitions before we can use
them.  Take your time, and the whole thing will clear up very
quickly.



TWO VERY IMPORTANT RULES
____________________________________________________________

The following two rules are very important when using pointers
and must be thoroughly understood.

1.   A variable name with an ampersand in front of it defines
     the address of the variable and therefore points to the
     variable.  You can therefore read line nine as "pt1 is
     assigned the value of the address of index".

2.   A pointer with a star in front of it refers to the value
     of the variable pointed to by the pointer.  Line twelve
     of the program can be read as "The stored (starred) value
     to which the pointer pt1 points is assigned the value

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                                         Chapter 8 - Pointers

     13".  Now you can see why it is convenient to think of
     the asterisk as a star,  it sort of sounds like the word
     store.


MEMORY AIDS
____________________________________________________________

1. Think of & as an address.
2. Think of * as a star referring to stored.

Assume for the moment that pt1 and pt2 are pointers (we will
see how to define them shortly).  As pointers, they do not
contain a variable value but an address of a variable and can
be used to point to a variable.  Figure 8-1 is a graphical
representation of the data space as it is configured at this
time.  A box represents a variable, and a box with a dot in
it represents a pointer.  At this time the pointers are not
pointing at anything, so they have no arrows emanating from
the boxes.

Continuing execution of the program, we come to line 9 which
assigns the pointer pt1 to point to the variable we have
already defined as index because we have assigned the address
of index to pt1.  Since we have a pointer to index, we can
manipulate the value of index by using either the variable
name itself, or the pointer.  Figure 8-2 depicts the condition
of the data space after executing line 9.


Line 12 modifies the value by using the pointer.  Since the
pointer pt1 points to the variable named index, then putting
a star in front of the pointer name refers to the memory
location to which it is pointing.  Line 12 therefore assigns
to index the value of 13.  Anyplace in the program where it
is permissible to use the variable name index, it is also
permissible to use the name *pt1 since they are identical in
meaning until the pointer is reassigned to some other
variable.


ANOTHER POINTER
____________________________________________________________

Just to add a little intrigue to the system, we have another
pointer defined in this program, pt2.  Since pt2 has not been
assigned a value prior to statement 10, it doesn't point to
anything, it contains garbage.  Of course, that is also true
of any variable until a value is assigned to it.  The
statement in line 10 assigns pt2 the same address as pt1, so
that now pt2 also points to the variable named index.  So to
continue the definition from the last paragraph, anyplace in
the program where it is permissible to use the variable index,
it is also permissible to use the name *pt2 because they  are

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                                         Chapter 8 - Pointers

identical in meaning.  This fact is illustrated in the
printf() statement in line 11 since this statement uses the
three means of identifying the same variable to print out the
same variable three times.  Refer to figure 8-3 for the
representation of the data space at this time.


THERE IS ONLY ONE VARIABLE
____________________________________________________________

Note carefully that, even though it appears that there are
three variables, there is really only one variable.  The two
pointers point to the single variable.  This is illustrated
in the next statement which assigns the value of 13 to the
variable index, because that is where the pointer pt1 is
pointing.  The printf() statement in line 13 causes the new
value of 13 to be printed out three times.  Keep in mind that
there is really only one variable to be changed, not three.
Figure 8-4 is the graphical representation of the data space
at this point.

This is admittedly a very difficult concept, but since it is
used extensively in all but the most trivial C programs, it
is well worth your time to stay with this material until you
understand it thoroughly.


HOW DO YOU DECLARE A POINTER?
____________________________________________________________

Now to keep a promise and tell you how to define a pointer.
Refer to line 6 of the program and you will see our old
familiar way of defining the variable index, followed by two
more definitions.  The second definition can be read as "the
storage location to which pt1 points will be an int type
variable".  Therefore, pt1 is a pointer to an int type
variable.  Likewise, pt2 is another pointer to an int type
variable, because it has a star (asterisk) in front of it.

A pointer must be defined to point to a specific type of
variable.  Following a proper definition, it cannot be used
to point to any other type of variable or it will result in
a type incompatibility error.  In the same manner that a float
type of variable cannot be added to an int type variable, a
pointer to a float variable cannot be used to point to an
integer variable without a little extra trouble.

Compile and run this program and observe that there is only
one variable and the single statement in line 12 changes the
one variable which is displayed three times.  This material
is so important that you should review it carefully if you do
not fully understand it at this time.



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                                         Chapter 8 - Pointers

THE SECOND PROGRAM WITH POINTERS
____________________________________________________________

In these few pages so far on pointers, we      ==============
have covered a lot of territory, but it is       POINTER2.C
important territory.  We still have a lot of   ==============
material to cover so stay in tune as we
continue this important aspect of C.  Load
the next file named POINTER2.C and display it on your monitor
so we can continue our study.

In this program we have defined several variables and two
pointers.  The first pointer named there is a pointer to a
char type variable and the second named pt points to an int
type variable.  Notice also that we have defined two array
variables named strg and list.  We will use them to show the
correspondence between pointers and array names.

Figure 8-5 depicts the data space at this time.  There are
three variables, two pointers, and two strings.  Each string
is composed of the string itself and a pointer which points
to the beginning of the string.  This will be completely
defined in the next paragraph.  The string itself is composed
of a number of identical elements of which only a few at the
beginning and a few at the end are depicted graphically.


A STRING VARIABLE IS ACTUALLY A POINTER
____________________________________________________________

In the programming language C, a string variable is defined
to be simply a pointer to the beginning of a string.  This
will take some explaining.  Refer to the example program on
your monitor.  You will notice that in line 10 we assign a
string constant to the string variable named strg so we will
have some data to work with.  Next, we assign the value of the
first element to the variable one, a simple char variable.
Next, since the string name is a pointer by definition of the
C language, we can assign the same value to two by using the
star and the string name.  The result of the two assignments
are such that one now has the same value as two, and both
contain the character T, the first character in the string.
Note that it would be incorrect to write line 10 as two =
*strg[0]; because the star takes the place of the square
brackets.

For all practical purposes, strg is a pointer.  It does,
however, have one restriction that a true pointer does not
have.  It cannot be changed like a variable, but must always
contain the initial value and therefore always points to its
string.  It could be thought of as a pointer constant, and in
some applications you may desire a pointer that cannot be
corrupted in any way.  Even though it cannot be changed, it
can be used to refer to other values than the one it is

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                                         Chapter 8 - Pointers

defined to point to, as we will see in the next section of the
program.

Moving ahead to line 16, the variable one is assigned the
value of the ninth variable (since the indexing starts at
zero) and two is assigned the same value because we are
allowed to index a pointer to get to values farther ahead in
the string.  Both variables now contain the character a.



POINTER INDEXING
____________________________________________________________

The C programming language takes care of indexing for us
automatically by adjusting the indexing for the type of
variable the pointer is pointing to.  In this case, the index
of 8 is simply added to the pointer value before looking up
the desired result because a char type variable is one byte
long.  If we were using a pointer to an int type variable, the
index would be doubled and added to the pointer before looking
up the value because an int type variable uses two bytes per
value stored on most microcomputers.  When we get to the
chapter on structures, we will see that a variable can have
many, even into the hundreds or thousands, of bytes per
variable, but the indexing will be handled automatically for
us by the system.

The data space is now in the condition defined graphically in
figure 8-6.  The string named strg has been filled and the two
variables named one and two have the letter a stored in them.
Since there is already a pointer, it can be assigned the
address of the 11th element of strg by the statement in line
20 of this program.  Remember that since there is a pointer
to type char, it can be assigned any value as long as that
value represents a char type of address.  It should be clear
that the pointers must be typed in order to allow the pointer
arithmetic described in the last paragraph to be done
properly.  The third and fourth outputs will be the same,
namely the letter c.



POINTER ARITHMETIC
____________________________________________________________

Not all forms of arithmetic are permissible on a pointer.
Only those things that make sense, considering that a pointer
is an address somewhere in the computer.  It would make sense
to add a constant to an address, thereby moving it ahead in
memory that number of places.  Likewise, subtraction is
permissible, moving it back some number of locations.  Adding
two pointers together would not make sense because absolute
memory addresses are not additive.  Pointer multiplication is

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                                         Chapter 8 - Pointers

also not allowed, as that would be a funny number.  If you
think about what you are actually doing, it will make sense
to you what is allowed, and what is not.


NOW FOR AN INTEGER POINTER
____________________________________________________________

The array named list is assigned a series of values from 100
to 199 in order to have some data to work with in lines 24 and
25.  Next we assign the pointer pt the address of the 28th
element of the list and print out the same value both ways to
illustrate that the system truly will adjust the index for the
int type variable.  You should spend some time in this program
until you feel you fairly well understand these lessons on
pointers.

Compile and execute POINTER2.C and study the output.  At the
termination of execution, the data space will be as depicted
in figure 8-7.


FUNCTION DATA RETURN WITH A POINTER
____________________________________________________________

You may recall that back in the lesson on func-  ============
tions we mentioned that there were two ways to     TWOWAY.C
get variable data back from a function.  One way ============
is through use of the array, and you should be
right on the verge of guessing the other way.  If
your guess is through use of a pointer, you are correct.  Load
and display the example program named TWOWAY.C for an example
of this.

In TWOWAY.C, there are two variables defined in the main
program, pecans and apples.  Notice that neither of these is
defined as a pointer.  We assign values to both of these and
print them out, then call the function named fixup() taking
with us both of these values.  The variable pecans is simply
sent to the function, but the address of the variable apples
is sent to the function.  Now we have a problem.  The two
arguments are not the same, the second is a pointer to a
variable.  We must somehow alert the function to the fact that
it is supposed to receive an integer variable and a pointer
to an integer variable.  This turns out to be very simple.
Notice that the parameter definitions in line 20 defines nuts
as an integer, and fruit as a pointer to an integer.  The call
in the main program therefore is now in agreement with the
function heading and the program interface will work just
fine.

In the body of the function, we print the two values sent to
the function, then modify them and print the new values out.
This should be perfectly clear to you by now.  The surprise

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occurs when we return to the main program and print out the
two values again.  We will find that the value of pecans will
be restored to its value before the function call because the
C language makes a copy of the item in question and takes the
copy to the called function, leaving the original intact.  In
the case of the variable apples, we made a copy of a pointer
to the variable and took the copy of the pointer to the
function.  Since we had a pointer to the original variable,
even though the pointer was a local copy, we had access to the
original variable and could change it in the function.  When
we returned to the main program, we found a changed value in
apples when we printed it out.

This is illustrated graphically in figure 8-8.  The state of
the system is illustrated following execution of line 25 of
the program.

By using a pointer in a function call, we can have access to
the data in the function and change it in such a way that when
we return to the calling program, we have a changed value of
the original variable.  It must be pointed out however, that
if you modify the value of the pointer itself in the function,
you will have a restored pointer when you return because the
pointer you use in the function is a copy of the original.
In this example, there was no pointer in the main program
because we simply sent the address to the function, but in
many programs you will use pointers in function calls.  One
of the places you will find need for pointers in function
calls will be when you request data input using standard
input/output routines.  These will be covered in the next two
chapters.  Compile and run TWOWAY.C and observe the output.


POINTERS ARE VALUABLE
____________________________________________________________

Even though you are probably somewhat intimidated at this
point by the use of pointers, you will find that after you
gain experience, you will use them profusely in many ways.
You will also use pointers in every program you write other
than the most trivial because they are so useful.  You should
probably go over this material carefully several times until
you feel comfortable with it because it is very important in
the area of input/output which is next on the agenda.


A POINTER TO A FUNCTION
____________________________________________________________

Examine the example program named FUNCPNT.C     =============
for the most unusual pointer yet.  This           FUNCPNT.C
program contains a pointer to a function, and   =============
illustrates how to use it.


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                                         Chapter 8 - Pointers

Line 8 of this program defines function_pointer as a pointer
to a function and not to just any function, it points to a
function with a single formal parameter of type float.  The
function must also return nothing because of the void before
the pointer definition.  The parentheses are required around
the pointer name as illustrated or the system will think it
is a prototype definition for a function that returns a
pointer to void.

You will note the prototypes given in lines 4 through 6 that
declare three functions that use the same parameter and return
type as the pointer.  Since they are the same as the pointer,
the pointer can be used to refer to them as is illustrated in
the executable part of the program.  Line 15 contains a call
to the print_stuff() function, and line 16 assigns the value
of print_stuff to function_pointer.  Because the name of a
function is defined as a pointer to that function, its name
can be assigned to a function pointer variable.  You will
recall that the name of an array is actually a pointer
constant to the first element of the array.  In like manner,
a function name is actually a pointer constant which is
pointing to the function itself.

A function pointer can be passed to another function as a
parameter and can be used within the function to call the
function which is pointed to.  You are not permitted to
increment or add a constant to a function pointer, it can only
be assigned the value of a function with the same parameters
and return with which it was initially declared.

If you continue your study of this program, you will see that
the function pointer is used to refer to all three functions
in various ways.


PROGRAMMING EXERCISES
____________________________________________________________

1.   Define a character array and use strcpy() to copy a
     string into it.  Print the string out by using a loop
     with a pointer to print out one character at a time.
     Initialize the pointer to the first element and use the
     double plus sign to increment the pointer. Use a separate
     integer variable to count the characters to print.

2.   Modify the program from programming exercise 1 to print
     out the string backwards by pointing to the end and using
     a decrementing pointer.



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