Pointer in C
Pointer is a variable that is used to contain the address of another variable. We can easily create a pointer in C language.
Example: int *ptr
Advantage of pointer
In C language, there are various advantages of pointer that are given below:
| Symbol | Description |
| & (ampersand sign) | Address of an operator is used to contain the address of a variable. |
| * (asterisk sign) | Indirection operator is used to accesses the value at the address.. |
- It is used to reduce the code and performance.
- It accesses the direct address of the variable.
- It is used to return multiple values from the function.
- It helps us to access any memory location from the pointer.
int *ptr; char *ch;Let us consider an example:
#include<stdio.h>
int main ()
{
int n=100;
int *ptr; // pointer variable
printf("Address of num variable: %x\n", &n);
printf("Address stored in ptr variable: %x\n", ptr ); // address stored in
pointer variable
printf("Value of *ptr variable: %d\n", *ptr ); //access the value using the
pointer
return 0;
}
Output
Address of num variable: f64b7adc Address stored in ptr variable: f64b7bd0 Value of *ptr variable: 1
Null Pointer
A pointer does not assign any value that is known as a NULL pointer. We can create a null pointer at the time of declaration.