INTRODUCTION:
Pointers and arrays are notions that are related in C programming. When compared to pointers, which are variables that contain memory addresses, arrays can be thought of as a collection of variables kept in a row of adjacent memory regions. We’ll talk about how to use pointers and arrays together in C programming in this tutorial.
Declaring and Initializing Arrays:
Square brackets [] can be used to declare arrays in C code, and braces can be used to initialize an array with a list of values. For instance, declaring an integer array named “my Array” with three elements initialized to the numbers 1, 2, and 3 (int my Array[3] = “1, 2, 3”);).
Using Arrays with Pointers:
In C programming, arrays can also be combined with pointers. When an array is declared, its name serves as a pointer to the array’s first element. For instance, the statement int my Array[3]; int *ptr = my Array; initializes the pointer variable “ptr” with the memory location of the array’s first element.
Pointer Arithmetic with Arrays:
On arrays, pointer arithmetic can be used to access and alter elements. For instance, *(ptr+2) can be used to retrieve the array’s third entry. The equivalent would be to write my Array[2]. Arrays can also be iterated over using pointer arithmetic. To multiply each element of the array by 2, use the formula int I for(i=0; i3; i++) *(ptr+i) *= 2;.
Multi-dimensional Arrays:
In C programming, pointers can also be utilized with multi-dimensional arrays. You can think of a two-dimensional array as an array of arrays, with the first array’s elements acting as arrays of values. A two-dimensional array’s number of rows and columns must be provided when declaring and initializing it. For instance, the declaration of a two-dimensional array with two rows and three columns is int my Array[2][3] = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Using Pointers with Multi-dimensional Arrays:
Declaring a pointer to an array enables pointers to be used with multi-dimensional arrays. To initialize a pointer variable “ptr” to the first row of “my Array,” for instance, write int (*ptr)[3] = my Array.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, pointers and arrays are closely linked programming notions in C that can be used for effective data manipulation. It can be easier to write and read more readable code if you know how pointers and arrays interact.
