Chapter 9:

Pointers

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 9.1
Getting the Address of a Variable

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Getting the Address of a
Variable
Each variable in program is stored at a
unique address
Use address operator & to get address of
a variable:
int num = -99;
cout << &num; // prints address
// in hexadecimal

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 9.2
Pointer Variables

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Pointer Variables

Pointer variable : Often just called a

pointer, it's a variable that holds an
address

Because a pointer variable holds the

address of another piece of data, it "points"
to the data

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Something Like Pointers: Arrays
We have already worked with something similar
to pointers, when we learned to pass arrays as
arguments to functions.

For example, suppose we use this statement to

pass the array numbers to the showValues
function:

showValues(numbers, SIZE);

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 Something Like Pointers : Arrays
The values parameter, in the showValues
function, points to the numbers array.

C++ automatically stores

the address of numbers in
the values parameter.

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Something Like Pointers:
Reference Variables
We have also worked with something like pointers
when we learned to use reference variables.
Suppose we have this function:
void getOrder(int &donuts)
{
cout << "How many doughnuts do you want? ";
cin >> donuts;
}
And we call it with this code:
int jellyDonuts;
getOrder(jellyDonuts);

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 Something Like Pointers:
Reference Variables

The donuts parameter, in the getOrder function,

points to the jellyDonuts variable.

C++ automatically stores

the address of
jellyDonuts in the
donuts parameter.

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Pointer Variables
Pointer variables are yet another way using a
memory address to work with a piece of data.

Pointers are more "low-level" than arrays and

reference variables.

This means you are responsible for finding the

address you want to store in the pointer and
correctly using it.

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Pointer Variables
Definition:
int *intptr;
Read as:
“intptr can hold the address of an int”
Spacing in definition does not matter:
int * intptr; // same as above
int* intptr; // same as above

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Pointer Variables
Assigning an address to a pointer variable:
int *intptr;
intptr = &num;
Memory layout:
num intptr
25 0x4a00
address of num: 0x4a00

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Pointer Variables
Initialize pointer variables with the special
value nullptr.
In C++ 11, the nullptr key word was
introduced to represent the address 0.
Here is an example of how you define a
pointer variable and initialize it with the
value nullptr:
int *ptr = nullptr;
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A Pointer Variable in Program 9-2

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The Indirection Operator
The indirection operator (*) dereferences
a pointer.
It allows you to access the item that the
pointer points to.

int x = 25;
int *intptr = &x;
cout << *intptr << endl;
This prints 25.
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The Indirection Operator in Program 9-3

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The Indirection Operator in Program 9-3

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 9.3
The Relationship Between Arrays
and Pointers

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The Relationship Between
Arrays and Pointers
Array name is starting address of array
int vals[] = {4, 7, 11};

4 7 11
starting address of vals: 0x4a00

cout << vals; // displays

// 0x4a00
cout << vals[0]; // displays 4

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The Relationship Between
Arrays and Pointers
Array name can be used as a pointer
constant:
int vals[] = {4, 7, 11};
cout << *vals; // displays 4
Pointer can be used as an array name:
int *valptr = vals;
cout << valptr[1]; // displays 7

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The Array Name Being Dereferenced in Program 9-5

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Pointers in Expressions
Given:
int vals[]={4,7,11}, *valptr;
valptr = vals;

What is valptr + 1? It means (address in

valptr) + (1 * size of an int)
cout << *(valptr+1); //displays 7
cout << *(valptr+2); //displays 11

Must use ( ) as shown in the expressions

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Array Access
Array elements can be accessed in many ways:
Array access method Example

array name and [] vals[2] = 17;

pointer to array and [] valptr[2] = 17;

array name and subscript *(vals + 2) = 17;

arithmetic
pointer to array and *(valptr + 2) = 17;
subscript arithmetic

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Array Access

Conversion: vals[i] is equivalent to

*(vals + i)
No bounds checking performed on array
access, whether using array name or a
pointer

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From Program 9-7

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 9.4
Pointer Arithmetic

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Pointer Arithmetic
Operations on pointer variables:
Operation Example
int vals[]={4,7,11};
int *valptr = vals;

++, -- valptr++; // points at 7

valptr--; // now points at 4
+, - (pointer and int) cout << *(valptr + 2); // 11

+=, -= (pointer valptr = vals; // points at 4

and int) valptr += 2; // points at 11
- (pointer from pointer) cout << valptr–val; // difference
//(number of ints) between valptr
// and val

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From Program 9-9

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 9.5
Initializing Pointers

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Initializing Pointers

Can initialize at definition time:

int num, *numptr = &num;
int val[3], *valptr = val;
Cannot mix data types:
double cost;
int *ptr = &cost; // won’t work
Can test for an invalid address for ptr with:
if (!ptr) ...

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 9.6
Comparing Pointers

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Comparing Pointers
Relational operators (<, >=, etc.) can be
used to compare addresses in pointers
Comparing addresses in pointers is not
the same as comparing contents pointed
at by pointers:
if (ptr1 == ptr2) // compares
//
addresses
if (*ptr1 == *ptr2) // compares
// contents
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 9.7
Pointers as Function Parameters

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Pointers as Function
Parameters
A pointer can be a parameter
Works like reference variable to allow change to
argument from within function
Requires:
1) asterisk * on parameter in prototype and heading
void getNum(int *ptr); // ptr is pointer to an int
2) asterisk * in body to dereference the pointer
cin >> *ptr;
3) address as argument to the function
getNum(&num); // pass address of num to getNum

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Example

void swap(int *x, int *y)

{ int temp;
temp = *x;
*x = *y;
*y = temp;
}

int num1 = 2, num2 = -3;

swap(&num1, &num2);

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Pointers as Function Parameters in Program 9-11

(Program Continues)
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Pointers as Function Parameters in Program 9-11

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Pointers to Constants
• If we want to store the address of a
constant in a pointer, then we need to
store it in a pointer-to-const.

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Pointers to Constants
Example: Suppose we have the following
definitions:

const int SIZE = 6;

const double payRates[SIZE] =
{ 18.55, 17.45, 12.85,
14.97, 10.35, 18.89 };
In this code, payRates is an array of
constant doubles.

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 Pointers to Constants
Suppose we wish to pass the payRates array to
a function? Here's an example of how we can do
it.

void displayPayRates(const double *rates, int size)

{
for (int count = 0; count < size; count++)
{
cout << "Pay rate for employee " << (count + 1)
<< " is $" << *(rates + count) << endl;
}
}

The parameter, rates, is a pointer to const

double.
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Declaration of a Pointer to
Constant

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Constant Pointers
A constant pointer is a pointer that is
initialized with an address, and cannot
point to anything else.

Example

int value = 22;

int * const ptr = &value;

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Constant Pointers

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Constant Pointers to Constants
A constant pointer to a constant is:
a pointer that points to a constant
a pointer that cannot point to anything except
what it is pointing to

Example:
int value = 22;
const int * const ptr = &value;

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Constant Pointers to Constants

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 9.8
Dynamic Memory Allocation

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Dynamic Memory Allocation
Can allocate storage for a variable while
program is running
Computer returns address of newly
allocated variable
Uses new operator to allocate memory:
double *dptr = nullptr;
dptr = new double;
new returns address of memory location

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Dynamic Memory Allocation
Can also use new to allocate array:
const int SIZE = 25;
arrayPtr = new double[SIZE];
Can then use [] or pointer arithmetic to access array:
for(i = 0; i < SIZE; i++)
*arrayptr[i] = i * i;
or
for(i = 0; i < SIZE; i++)
*(arrayptr + i) = i * i;
Program will terminate if not enough memory available to
allocate

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Releasing Dynamic Memory

Use delete to free dynamic memory:

delete fptr;
Use [] to free dynamic array:
delete [] arrayptr;
Only use delete with dynamic memory!

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Dynamic Memory Allocation in Program 9-14

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Dynamic Memory Allocation in Program 9-14

Program 9-14 (Continued)

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Dynamic Memory Allocation in Program 9-14
Program 9-14 (Continued)

Notice that in line 49 nullptr is assigned to the sales

pointer. The delete operator is designed to have no
effect when used on a null pointer.
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 9.9
Returning Pointers from Functions

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Returning Pointers from
Functions
Pointer can be the return type of a function:
int* newNum();
The function must not return a pointer to a local
variable in the function.
A function should only return a pointer:
to data that was passed to the function as an
argument, or
to dynamically allocated memory

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From Program 9-15

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 9.10
Using Smart Pointers to Avoid
Memory Leaks

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Using Smart Pointers to Avoid
Memory Leaks
In C++ 11, you can use smart pointers to dynamically
allocate memory and not worry about deleting the
memory when you are finished using it.
Three types of smart pointer:
unique_ptr
shared_ptr
weak_ptr
Must #include the memory header file:
#include <memory>
In this book, we introduce unique_ptr:
unique_ptr<int> ptr( new int );

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Using Smart Pointers to Avoid
Memory Leaks

The notation <int> indicates that the pointer can point to an int .
The name of the pointer is ptr .
The expression new int allocates a chunk of memory to hold an
int.
The address of the chunk of memory will be assigned to ptr.

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Using Smart Pointers in Program 9-17

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