Pointer

What is Pointer?
 A normal variable is used to store value.
 A pointer is a variable that store address / reference of another variable.
 Pointer is derived data type in C language.
 A pointer contains the memory address of that variable as their value.
Pointers are also called address variables because they contain the
addresses of other variables.
Declaration & Initialization of Pointer
Outpu
Syntax
t
1 datatype 10 10 5000
*ptr_variablename;
Exampl
e
1 void main()
2 { Variable Value Address
3 int a=10, *p; // assign memory address
4 of a to pointer variable p a 10 5000
5 p = &a;
6 printf("%d %d %d", a, *p, p); p 5048
7 }
5000

 p is integer pointer variable

 & is address of or referencing operator which returns memory address of
variable.
 * is indirection or dereferencing operator which returns value stored at that
memory address.
 & operator is the inverse of * operator
 x = a is same as x = *(&a)
Why use Pointer?
 C uses pointers to create dynamic data structures, data structures built
up from blocks of memory allocated from the heap at run-time.
Example linked list, tree, etc.
 C uses pointers to handle variable parameters passed to functions.
 Pointers in C provide an alternative way to access information stored in
arrays.
 Pointer use in system level programming where memory addresses are
useful. For example shared memory used by multiple threads.
 Pointers are used for file handling.
 This is the reason why C is versatile.
Pointer to Pointer – Double Pointer
 Pointer holds the address of another variable of same type.
 When a pointer holds the address of another pointer then such type of
pointer is known as pointer-to-pointer or double pointer.
 The first pointer contains the address of the second pointer, which points
to the location that contains the actual value.
Syntax
Pointer Pointer Variable
1 datatype
**ptr_variablename;
addres addres value
Exampl s s
e
1 int **ptr;
 Write a program to print variable, address of pointer variable and pointer to pointer
variable.

WAP to print Odd numbers between 1 to n

Program
1 #include <stdio.h>
2 int main () {
3 int var;
4 int *ptr;
5 int **pptr;
6 var = 3000;
7 ptr = &var; // address of var
8 pptr = &ptr; // address of ptr using address of operator &
9 printf("Value of var = %d\n", var );
10 printf("Value available at *ptr = %d\n", *ptr );
11 printf("Value available at **pptr = %d\n", **pptr);
12 return 0;
13 }

Outpu
t
Value of var = 3000
Value available at *ptr = 3000
Value available at **pptr = 3000

Prof. Nilesh Gambhava #3110003 (PPS) – Pointer 6

Relation between Array & Pointer
 When we declare an array, compiler allocates continuous blocks of
memory so that all the elements of an array can be stored in that
memory.
 The address of first allocated byte or the address of first element is
assigned to an array name.
 Thus array name works as pointer variable.
 The address of first element is also known as base address.
Relation between Array & Pointer – Cont.
 Example: int a[10], *p;
 a[0] is same as *(a+0), a[2] is same as *(a+2) and a[i] is same as *(a+i)

a: a[0] a: *(a+0) 2000

a[1] a+1: *(a+1) 2002

. .
. .
. .
. .
a[i] a+i: *(a+i) 2000 +
. . i*2
. .
. .
. .
a[9] a+9: *(a+9) 2018
Array of Pointer
 As we have an array of char, int, float etc, same way we can have an
array of pointer.
 Individual elements of an array will store the address values.
 So, an array is a collection of values of similar type. It can also be a
collection of references of similar type known by single name.
Syntax
1 datatype *name[size];

Exampl
e
1 int *ptr[5]; //declares an array of integer pointer of size 5
Array of Pointer – Cont.
 An array of pointers ptr can be used to point to different rows of matrix
as follow:
Exampl
e
1 for(i=0; i<5; i++)
2 {
3 ptr[i]=&mat[i][0];
4 }

ptr 0 1 2
ptr[0]
ptr[1]
ptr[2]
ptr[3]
ptr[4]
 Write a program to swap value of two variables using pointer / call by reference.

WAP to print Odd numbers between 1 to n

Program
1 int main()
2 {
3 int num1,num2;
4 printf("Enter value of num1 and num2: ");
5 scanf("%d %d",&num1, &num2);
6
7 //displaying numbers before swapping
8 printf("Before Swapping: num1 is: %d, num2 is: %d\n",num1,num2);
9
10 //calling the user defined function swap()
11 swap(&num1,&num2);
12
13 //displaying numbers after swapping
14 printf("After Swapping: num1 is: %d, num2 is: %d\n",num1,num2);
15 return 0;
16 }
Outpu
t
Enter value of num1 and num2: 5
10
Before Swapping: num1 is: 5, num2 is:
10
After Swapping: num1 is: 10, num2
is: 5 Nilesh Gambhava
Prof. #3110003 (PPS) – Pointer 11
Pointer and Function
 Like normal variable, pointer variable can be passed as function
argument and function can return pointer as well.
 There are two approaches to passing argument to a function:
 Call by value
 Call by reference / address
Call by Value
 In this approach, the values are passed as function argument to the
definition of function.
Program Output
1 #include<stdio.h> Values before calling 10, 20
2 void fun(int,int); Values after calling 10, 20
3 int main()
4 {
5 int A=10,B=20;
6 printf("\nValues before calling %d, %d",A,B);
7 fun(A,B); Addre 4825 2468
8 printf("\nValues after calling %d, %d",A,B); ss 2 8
9 return 0; Valu 10 20 1011 2022
e
10 }
11 void fun(int X,int Y) Variabl A B X Y
e
12 {
13 X=11;
14 Y=22;
15 }
Call by Reference / Address
 In this approach, the references / addresses are passed as function
argument to the definition of function.
Program
Output
1 #include<stdio.h>
Values before calling 10, 20
2 void fun(int*,int*); Values after calling 11, 22
3 int main()
4 {
5 int A=10,B=20;
6 printf("\nValues before calling %d, %d",A,B);
7 fun(&A,&B); Addre 2468
4825
8 printf("\nValues after calling %d, %d",A,B); ss 2 11 8 4825 2468
9 return 0; Value 10 2022
2 8
10 }
11 void fun(int *X,int *Y) Variabl A B *X *Y
12 { e
13 *X=11;
14 *Y=22;
15 }
Pointer to Function
 Every function has reference or address, and if we know the reference or
address of function, we can access the function using its reference or
address.
 This is the way of accessing function using pointer.
Syntax
1 return-type (*ptr-function)(argument
list);

 return-type: Type of value function will return.

 argument list: Represents the type and number of value function will
take, values are sent by the calling statement.
 (*ptr-function): The parentheses around *ptr-function tells the compiler
that it is pointer to function.
 If we write *ptr-function without parentheses then it tells the compiler
that ptr-function is a function that will return a pointer.
 Write a program to sum of two numbers using pointer to function.

WAP to print Odd numbers between 1 to n

Program
Outpu
1 #include<stdio.h>
t
2 int Sum(int,int); Enter 1st number : 5
3 int (*ptr)(int,int);
4 int main() Enter 2nd number : 10
5 {
6 int a,b,rt; The sum is : 15
7 printf("\nEnter 1st number : ");
8 scanf("%d",&a);
9 printf("\nEnter 2nd number : ");
10 scanf("%d",&b);
11 ptr = Sum;
12 rt = (*ptr)(a,b);
13 printf("\nThe sum is : %d",rt);
14 return 0;
15 }
16 int Sum(int x,int y)
17 {
18 return x + y;
19 }

Prof. Nilesh Gambhava #3110003 (PPS) – Pointer 16

Practice Programs
1. Write a C program to print the address of variable using pointer.
2. Write a C a program to swap two elements using pointer.
3. Write a C a program to print value and address of a variable
4. Write a C a program to calculate sum of two numbers using pointer
5. Write a C a program to swap value of two numbers using pointer
6. Write a C a program to calculate sum of elements of an array using pointer
7. Write a C a program to swap value of two variables using function
8. Write a C a program to print the address of character and the character of string using pointer
9. Write a C a program for sorting using pointer
Dynamic
Memory
Allocation
Dynamic Memory Allocation (DMA)
 If memory is allocated at runtime (during execution of program) then it
is called dynamic memory.
 It allocates memory from heap (heap: it is an empty area in memory)
 Memory can be accessed only through a pointer.

When DMA is needed?

 It is used when number of variables are not known in advance or large in
size.
 Memory can be allocated at any time and can be released at any time
during runtime.
malloc() function
 malloc () is used to allocate a fixed amount of memory during the
execution of a program.
 malloc () allocates size_in_bytes of memory from heap, if the
allocation succeeds, a pointer to the block of memory is returned else
NULL is returned.
 Allocated memory space may not be contiguous.
 Each block contains a size, a pointer to the next block, and the space
itself.
 The blocks are kept in ascending order of storage address, and the last
block points to the first.
Syntax Description
 The memory is not initialized.
ptr_var = (cast_type This statement returns a pointer to size_in_bytes of
*) malloc uninitialized storage, or NULL if the request cannot be satisfied.
(size_in_bytes);
Example: fp = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int) *20);
Write a C program to allocate memory using
malloc.
Program
1 #include <stdio.h>
2 void main()
3 {
4 int *fp; //fp is a pointer variable
5 fp = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int)); //
6 returns a pointer to int size storage
7 *fp = 25; //store 25 in the address pointed by fp
8 printf("%d", *fp); //print the value of fp, i.e. 25
9 free(fp); //free up the space pointed to by fp
}

Output
25
calloc() function
 calloc() is used to allocate a block of memory during the execution of
a program
 calloc() allocates a region of memory to hold no_of_blocks of
size_of_block each, if the allocation succeeds then a pointer to the
block of memory is returned else NULL is returned.
 The memory is initialized to ZERO.

Syntax Description
ptr_var = (cast_type This statement returns a pointer to no_of_blocks of size
*) calloc size_of_blocks, it returns NULL if the request cannot be
(no_of_blocks, satisfied.
size_of_block);
Example:
int n = 20;
fp = (int *)calloc(n, sizeof(int));
Write a C program to allocate memory using
calloc.
Program
1 #include <stdio.h>
2 void main()
3 {
4 int i, n; //i, n are integer variables
5 int *fp; //fp is a pointer variable
6 printf("Enter how many numbers: ");
7 scanf("%d", &n);
8 fp = (int *)calloc(n, sizeof(int)); //
9 calloc returns a pointer to n blocks
10 for(i = 0; i < n; i++) //loop through until all the blocks are read
11 {
12 scanf("%d",&fp[i]); //read and store into location where fp points
13
14 }
free(fp); //frees the space pointed to by fp
}
realloc() function
 realloc() changes the size of the object pointed to by pointer fp to
specified size.
 The contents will be unchanged up to the minimum of the old and new
sizes.
 If the new size is larger, the new space will be uninitialized.
 realloc() returns a pointer to the new space, or NULL if the request
cannot be satisfied, in which case *fp is unchanged.
Syntax Description
ptr_var = (cast_type This statement returns a pointer to new space, or NULL if the
*) realloc (void *fp, request cannot be satisfied.
size_t);
Example: fp = (int *)realloc(fp,sizeof(int)*20);
Write a C program to allocate memory using
realloc.
Program
1 #include <stdio.h>
2 void main()
3 {
4 int *fp; //fp is a file pointer
5 fp = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int)); //
6 malloc returns a pointer to int size storage
7 *fp = 25; //store 25 in the address pointed by fp
8 fp =(int *)realloc(fp, 2*sizeof(int)); //returns a pointer to new space
9 printf("%d", *fp); //print the value of fp
free(fp); //free up the space pointed to by fp
}

Output
25
free() function
 free deallocates the space pointed to by fp.
 It does nothing if fp is NULL.
 fp must be a pointer to space previously allocated by calloc, malloc or
realloc.

Syntax Description
void free(void *); This statement free up the memory not needed anymore.

Example: free(fp);
Write a C program to sort numbers using malloc
Program
Program
(cont.)
1 #include<stdio.h> 17 if(p[i] > p[j])
2 #include<stdlib.h> 18 {
3 void main() 19 t = p[i];
4 { 20 p[i] = p[j];
5 int i,j,t,n; 21 p[j] = t;
6 int *p; 22 }
7 printf("Enter value of n: "); 23 }
8 scanf("%d", &n); 24 }
9 p=(int *) malloc(n * sizeof(int)); 25 printf("Ascending order\n");
10 printf("Enter values\n"); 26 for(i=0; i<n; i++)
11 for(i=0; i<n; i++) 27 printf("%d\n", p[i]);
12 scanf("%d", &p[i]); 28 free(p);
13 for(i=0; i<n; i++) 29 }
14 {
15 for(j= i+1; j<n; j++)
16 {
Write a C program to find square of numbers using calloc
Program Output
1 #include<stdio.h> Enter value of n: 3
2 #include<stdlib.h> Enter values
3 void main() 3
4 { 2
5 int i,n; 5
6 int *p; Square of 3 = 9
7 printf("Enter value of n: "); Square of 2 = 4
8 scanf("%d",&n); Square of 5 = 25
9 p=(int*)calloc(n,sizeof(int));
10 printf("Enter values\n");
11 for(i=0;i<n;i++)
12 scanf("%d",&p[i]);
13 for(i=0;i<n;i++)
14 printf("Square of %d = %d\
15 n", p[i], p[i] * p[i]);
16 free(p);
17 }
Write a C program to add/remove item from a list using
realloc
Program
Program
(cont.)
1 #include<stdio.h> 18
2 #include<stdlib.h> 19 printf("Enter new size of list: ");
3 void main() 20 scanf("%d", &n2);
4 { 21
5 int i, n1, n2; 22 fp = realloc(fp, n2 * sizeof(int));
6 int *fp; 23 if(n2 > n1)
7 printf("Enter size of list: "); 24 {
8 scanf("%d", &n1); 25 printf("Enter %d numbers\
9 fp=(int *) malloc (n1 * sizeof(int)); 26 n", n2 - n1);
10 27 for(i = n1; i < n2; i++)
11 printf("Enter %d numbers\n", n1); 28 scanf("%d", &fp[i]);
12 for(i = 0; i < n1; i++) 29 }
13 scanf("%d", &fp[i]); 30 printf("The numbers in the list are\
14 31 n");
15 printf("The numbers in the list are\n"); 32 for(i = 0; i < n2; i++)
16 for(i = 0; i < n1; i++) printf("%d\n", fp[i]);
17 printf("%d\n", fp[i]); }
Practice Programs
1) Write a C program to calculate sum of n numbers entered by user.
2) Write a C program to input and print text using DMA
3) Write a C program to read and print student details using structure and
DMA