6/16/24, 1:04 PM Array of Pointers in C
Array of Pointers in C
What is an Array of Pointers?
Just like an integer array holds a collection of integer variables, an array of
pointers would hold variables of pointer type. It means each variable in an array of
pointers is a pointer that points to another address.
The name of an array can be used as a pointer because it holds the address to the
first element of the array. If we store the address of an array in another pointer, then
it is possible to manipulate the array using pointer arithmetic.
Create an Array of Pointers
To create an array of pointers in C language, you need to declare an array of pointers
in the same way as a pointer declaration. Use the data type then an asterisk sign
followed by an identifier (array of pointers variable name) with a subscript ([])
containing the size of the array.
In an array of pointers, each element contains the pointer to a specific type.
Example of Creating an Array of Pointers
The following example demonstrates how you can create and use an array of
pointers. Here, we are declaring three integer variables and to access and use them,
we are creating an array of pointers. With the help of an array of pointers, we are
printing the values of the variables.
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
// Declaring integers
int var1 = 1;
int var2 = 2;
int var3 = 3;
// Declaring an array of pointers to integers
int *ptr[3];
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// Initializing each element of
// array of pointers with the addresses of
// integer variables
ptr[0] = &var1;
ptr[1] = &var2;
ptr[2] = &var3;
// Accessing values
for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
printf("Value at ptr[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr[i]);
}
return 0;
}
Output
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Value of var[0] = 10
Value of var[1] = 100
Value of var[2] = 200
There may be a situation when we want to maintain an array that can store pointers
to an "int" or "char" or any other data type available.
An Array of Pointers to Integers
Here is the declaration of an array of pointers to an integer −
int *ptr[MAX];
It declares ptr as an array of MAX integer pointers. Thus, each element in ptr holds
a pointer to an int value.
Example
The following example uses three integers, which are stored in an array of pointers,
as follows −
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#include <stdio.h>
const int MAX = 3;
int main(){
int var[] = {10, 100, 200};
int i, *ptr[MAX];
for(i = 0; i < MAX; i++){
ptr[i] = &var[i]; /* assign the address of integer. */
}
for (i = 0; i < MAX; i++){
printf("Value of var[%d] = %d\n", i, *ptr[i]);
}
return 0;
}
Output
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Value of var[0] = 10
Value of var[1] = 100
Value of var[2] = 200
An Array of Pointers to Characters
You can also use an array of pointers to character to store a list of strings as follows
−
#include <stdio.h>
const int MAX = 4;
int main(){
char *names[] = {
"Zara Ali",
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"Hina Ali",
"Nuha Ali",
"Sara Ali"
};
int i = 0;
for(i = 0; i < MAX; i++){
printf("Value of names[%d] = %s\n", i, names[i]);
}
return 0;
}
Output
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Value of names[0] = Zara Ali
Value of names[1] = Hina Ali
Value of names[2] = Nuha Ali
Value of names[3] = Sara Ali
An Array of Pointers to Structures
When you have a list of structures and want to manage it using a pointer. You can
declare an array of structures to access and manipulate the list of structures.
Example
The below example demonstrates the use of an array of pointers to structures.
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
// Declaring a structure
typedef struct {
char title[50];
float price;
} Book;
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const int MAX = 3;
int main() {
Book *book[MAX];
// Initialize each book (pointer)
for (int i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {
book[i] = malloc(sizeof(Book));
snprintf(book[i]->title, 50, "Book %d", i + 1);
book[i]->price = 100 + i;
}
// Print details of each book
for (int i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {
printf("Title: %s, Price: %.2f\n", book[i]->title, book[i]->price);
}
// Free allocated memory
for (int i = 0; i < MAX; i++) {
free(book[i]);
}
return 0;
}
Output
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Title: Book 1, Price: 100.00
Title: Book 2, Price: 101.00
Title: Book 3, Price: 102.00
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