C

Chapter 8

Pointers

Pointers are the most important, but also the most difficult, part of C. This chapter mainly uses pointers to arithmetic variables to introduce you to the pointer concepts. It also describes the close relationship between pointers and arrays. You’ll also learn how to use arrays of pointers and pointers to functions. Other uses of pointers, such as pointers as arguments in functions, as well as pointers to other type of data, will be gradually presented over the next chapters.

Pointers and Memory

The computer’s RAM (random access memory) consists of millions of successive storage cells, called bytes. Each byte stores eight bits of information and is identified by a unique number, called memory address. For example, in a ...