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Pointers in C

Example

#include<stdio.h>  // Include the standard input-output library

int main() {
    // Variable declaration
    int var = 10;

    // Pointer declaration
    int *ptr;

    // Assigning the address of var to ptr
    ptr = &var;

    // Print the address stored in ptr
    printf("Address of var: %p\n", ptr);

    // Print the value of var using the pointer
    printf("Value of var: %d\n", *ptr);

    return 0;
}
        

Explanation:

Pointers in C are variables that store the address of another variable. They are powerful tools for managing memory and manipulating data structures.

In this example:

• #include<stdio.h>: Includes the standard input-output library which allows us to use the printf function.
• int main(): The main function where the program execution begins.
• int var = 10;: Declares an integer variable var and initializes it with the value 10.
• int *ptr;: Declares a pointer to an integer.
• ptr = &var;: Assigns the address of the variable var to the pointer ptr.
• printf("Address of var: %p\n", ptr);: Prints the address stored in the pointer ptr.
• printf("Value of var: %d\n", *ptr);: Prints the value of the variable var by dereferencing the pointer ptr.
• return 0;: Ends the main function and returns 0 to the operating system, indicating that the program ended successfully.

In summary, pointers in C allow you to directly access and manipulate memory addresses. They are used in various applications, such as dynamic memory allocation, array manipulation, and function argument passing.