"A pointer is an object in many programming languages that stores a memory address."
Definition and use of pointers.
Memory allocation: Memory allocation is the process of assigning memory space to a variable or data structure.
Data Types: Data types are the types of data that can be stored in a program.
Pointers & Addresses: Pointers are variables that contain memory addresses.
Pointer Arithmetic: Pointer arithmetic is manipulating pointers by performing arithmetic operations.
Dynamic Memory Allocation: Dynamic memory allocation is the allocation of memory during program execution.
Pointer to an Array: A pointer to an array is a pointer that points to the first element of an array.
Pointer to a Structure: A pointer to a structure is a pointer that points to a structure.
Arrays of Pointers: An array of pointers is an array that contains pointers.
Pointers and Multi-dimensional Arrays: Multi-dimensional arrays are arrays that contain other arrays.
Pointers and Functions: Pointers and functions can be used together to modify program data.
Pointer to a Function: A pointer to a function is a pointer that points to a function.
Pointer to Void: A pointer to void is a pointer that can point to any type of data.
Null Pointers: A null pointer is a pointer that points to nothing.
Null Pointer: A pointer that does not point to any memory location or object.
Void Pointer: A pointer which can point to any data type.
Function Pointer: A pointer to a function.
Pointer to Character: A pointer that points to data of type char.
Pointer to Integer: A pointer that points to data of type int.
Pointer to Double: A pointer that points to data of type double.
Pointer to Structure: A pointer that points to data of type structure.
Pointer to Union: A pointer that points to data of type union.
Pointer to Enum: A pointer that points to data of type enum.
Constant Pointer: A pointer that cannot be changed to point to any other memory location.
Pointer to Constant: A pointer that cannot modify the value at the memory location it points to.
Wild Pointer: An uninitialized pointer, pointing to an undetermined memory location which may lead to runtime errors.
Smart Pointer: A pointer with built-in memory management techniques to improve program safety and efficiency.
Shared Pointer: A smart pointer that tracks how many shared pointers point to a memory location and releases the memory when the count reaches zero.
Weak Pointer: A smart pointer that refers to an object controlled by a shared pointer, but does not increase the reference count and does not prolong the object's lifetime.
Unique Pointer: A smart pointer that guarantees the ownership of the memory it points to, and is automatically deleted when no longer in use.
"This can be that of another value located in computer memory, or in some cases, that of memory-mapped computer hardware."
"Obtaining the value stored at that location is known as dereferencing the pointer."
"As an analogy, a page number in a book's index could be considered a pointer to the corresponding page; dereferencing such a pointer would be done by flipping to the page with the given page number and reading the text found on that page."
"Using pointers significantly improves performance for repetitive operations, like traversing iterable data structures (e.g. strings, lookup tables, control tables, and tree structures)."
"Pointers are also used to hold the addresses of entry points for called subroutines in procedural programming and for run-time linking to dynamic link libraries (DLLs)."
"In object-oriented programming, pointers to functions are used for binding methods, often using virtual method tables."
"A pointer is a simple, more concrete implementation of the more abstract reference data type."
"Several languages, especially low-level languages, support some type of pointer, although some have more restrictions on their use than others."
"Because pointers allow both protected and unprotected access to memory addresses, there are risks associated with using them, particularly in the latter case."
"Primitive pointers are often stored in a format similar to an integer."
"Attempting to dereference or 'look up' such a pointer whose value is not a valid memory address could cause a program to crash (or contain invalid data)."
"To alleviate this potential problem, as a matter of type safety, pointers are considered a separate type parameterized by the type of data they point to, even if the underlying representation is an integer."
"Other measures may also be taken (such as validation & bounds checking), to verify that the pointer variable contains a value that is both a valid memory address and within the numerical range that the processor is capable of addressing."
"It is often much cheaper in time and space to copy and dereference pointers than it is to copy and access the data to which the pointers point."
"strings, lookup tables, control tables, and tree structures"
"Pointers are used to hold the addresses of entry points for called subroutines in procedural programming and for run-time linking to dynamic link libraries (DLLs)."
"Yes, pointers to functions are used for binding methods, often using virtual method tables."
"Several languages, especially low-level languages, support some type of pointer..."
"Using pointers significantly improves performance for repetitive operations, like traversing iterable data structures..."