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CP-LAB-10

This document outlines an experiment on pointers in C++ for students, detailing objectives such as understanding memory concepts, pointer declarations, and referencing variables. It explains the use of reference and dereference operators, provides examples, and discusses common mistakes when working with pointers. Additionally, it includes post-lab tasks for students to practice their understanding of pointers.

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0 views5 pages

CP-LAB-10

This document outlines an experiment on pointers in C++ for students, detailing objectives such as understanding memory concepts, pointer declarations, and referencing variables. It explains the use of reference and dereference operators, provides examples, and discusses common mistakes when working with pointers. Additionally, it includes post-lab tasks for students to practice their understanding of pointers.

Uploaded by

hassanaatif974
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EXPERIMENT NO 11

Pointers in C++
Objectives:
In this lab students will learn:

• Memory concept of variables, pointers and how to use variable identifiers and pointers
to refer to the variable.
• Pointer variable declarations and initialization.
• Direct and indirect referencing a variable using the pointer operators.
• Using * and address (&) operators.

Equipment required:
• Dev-C++/Eclipse/Visual Studio installed in PC/Windows

DISCUSSION
1. Pre-Lab

Pointers
Pointers are powerful features of C++ that differentiates it from other programming languages
like Java and Python. Pointers are used in C++ to access the memory and manipulate the
address. When declaring a variable, it is located at a specific location in memory, the memory
address. The task of locating variables is automatically performed by the operating system
during runtime. In some cases, we need to know the address where the variable is being
stored during runtime. Variable which stores a reference to another variable is called a pointer.
We can directly access the value stored in the variable using a pointer which points to it.

Address in C++
To know where the data is stored, C++ has an “&” operator. The & (reference) operator gives
you the address occupied by a variable. If “var” is a variable then, “&var” gives the address of
that variable.

Example
In the example given below, you may not get the same result on your system. The 0x in the
beginning represents the address is in hexadecimal form. Notice that first address differs from
second by 4-bytes and second address differs from third by 4-bytes. This is because the size
of integer (variable of type int) is 4 bytes in 64-bit system.
Computer Programming Lab Prepared by: Engr. M. Farooq Khan

Pointer Variables
C++ gives you the power to manipulate the data in the computer's memory directly. You can
assign and de-assign any space in the memory as you wish. This is done using Pointer
variables. Pointer variables are variables that points to a specific address in the memory
pointed by another variable.
Syntax:
1. Pointer Declaration:
Syntax: Pointer_datatype *Pointer_name;
Example: int *Ptr1; //pointer of data type int, and name Ptr1
double *Ptr2; //pointer of data type double, and name Ptr2

2. Pointer initialization:
Syntax: Pointer_name=&variable_name;
Example: int *Ptr1, var; //variable named var and pointer named Ptr1 is initialized.
Ptr1=&var; Ptr1 holds the address of variable var.
Note: Pointer with a star “*ptr” can hold any value, while pointer without star “ptr” can hold address

Reference operator (&) and Deference operator (*)


Reference operator (&) as discussed above gives the address of a variable. To get the value
stored in the memory address, we use the dereference operator (*). For example: If a “number”
variable is stored in the memory address 0x123, and it contains a value 5. The reference
(&number) gives value 0x123, while the dereference (*number) gives the value 5.
Example:
Following program demonstrate the working of pointer.
Computer Programming Lab Prepared by: Engr. M. Farooq Khan

Example OUTPUT
int main() { ;

int *pc, c;
c = 5;
cout<<"Address of c (&c): "<<&c
<<endl;
cout<<"Value of c (c): "<< c
<<endl<<endl;

pc = &c; // Pointer pc holds


the memory address of variable c
cout<<"Address that pointer pc
holds(pc):"<<pc<<endl;
cout<<"Content of the address pointer
pc holds (*pc): "<< *pc <<endl<<endl;

c = 11; // The content inside


memory address &c is changed from 5 to
11.
cout<<"Address pointer pc holds
(pc):"<<pc<<endl;
cout<<"Content of the address pointer
pc holds (*pc): "<< *pc <<endl<<endl;
*pc = 2;
cout<<"Address of c (&c): "<<&c
<<endl;
cout<<"Value of c (c): "<< c
<<endl<<endl;
return0;}

The “void” type pointer


void * p;
The pointer variable “p” can hold the memory address of variable of any data type
Pointers and Arrays
When an array is declared the name of array is the starting address of the array. In the
example below the pointer will points to x[0] only.
int x[5];
int * p;
p=x;
To point to the complete array, we have to make an array of pointers.
Computer Programming Lab Prepared by: Engr. M. Farooq Khan

A pointer to a pointer
A pointer to a pointer is a form of multiple indirections or a chain of pointers. Normally, a pointer
contains the address of a variable. When we define a pointer to a pointer, the first pointer
contains the address of the second pointer, which points to the location that contains the actual
value as shown below.

A variable that is a pointer to a pointer must be declared as such. This is done by placing an
additional asterisk in front of its name. For example, following is the declaration to declare a
pointer to a pointer of type int as

int **var; //second pointer of a first pointer


int ***var; //third pointer of a second pointer

Common mistakes when working with pointers


Suppose, you want pointer “pc” to point to the address of c. Then,
1. int c, *pc; //variable and pointer declaration (correct)
2. pc=c; /* Wrong! Pc can hold the address, c is not an address. */
3. *pc=&c; /* Wrong! *pc can hold the value whereas, &c is an address. */
4. pc=&c; /* Correct! Pc can hold the address, &c is an address. */
5. *pc=c; /* Correct! *pc can hold the value whereas, c is a value too. */
Computer Programming Lab Prepared by: Engr. M. Farooq Khan

2. Post-Lab (Lab Tasks)

1. Write a program to swap two numbers using pointers.


2. Write a program to find a maximum number among three numbers using pointers.
3. Declare one, two, and three-star pointers that point towards the same variable, and print
all the possible addresses and values pointers are storing. Explain by writing comments.
(Code discussed during lab and already shared on GCR too)

END

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