C Pointers Intro

📌 C Pointers Intro – What on Earth is a Pointer?

If you’re thinking a pointer is just a fancy way to say “go here” — you’re not wrong! In C, a pointer is a variable that stores the memory address of another variable. Sounds scary? Don’t worry — by the end of this, you’ll point like a pro 🧭

🔹 Why Use Pointers?

  • Access and manipulate memory directly
  • Efficiently pass large data (like arrays) to functions
  • Dynamic memory allocation (malloc, calloc, etc.)

📍 Pointer Syntax

Here’s how we declare a pointer:

int *ptr; // pointer to an int

📝 Example: Basic Pointer

Let’s declare a pointer, store the address of a variable, and access its value using the pointer.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int x = 10;
    int *ptr = &x; // ptr stores the address of x

    printf("Value of x: %d\n", x);
    printf("Address of x: %p\n", &x);
    printf("Pointer ptr stores: %p\n", ptr);
    printf("Value pointed to by ptr: %d\n", *ptr); // dereference

    return 0;
}

Try It Now

🔍 Let’s Break it Down

  • &x: “Address of x”
  • int *ptr: Declaring a pointer to an int
  • *ptr: Dereferencing pointer — gives the value at the address

🚨 Don’t Confuse:

  • *ptr — dereference, access value
  • &var — get address of variable

🧠 Fun Fact

Pointer arithmetic lets you move through memory like a ninja 🥷. But don’t worry — we’ll get there soon.

📚 Summary

  • A pointer stores the memory address of a variable
  • Use & to get the address, and * to access the value
  • They’re powerful, but must be used with care!

🎯 Practice Time

Try creating pointers to float, char, and double variables. Use printf to print their addresses and values!