cpp / beginner
Snippet
Pointers and Memory Addresses
Pointers are variables that store memory addresses instead of actual values. The asterisk (*) declares a pointer type, the ampersand (&) gets the address of a variable, and dereferencing with * accesses the value at that address. This gives you direct control over memory manipulation.
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#include <iostream>int main() {int number = 42;int* ptr = &number;std::cout << "Value: " << number << std::endl;std::cout << "Address: " << ptr << std::endl;std::cout << "Dereferenced: " << *ptr << std::endl;*ptr = 100;std::cout << "New value: " << number << std::endl;return 0;}
Breakdown
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int* ptr = &number;
Declares a pointer to int and initializes it with the address of number
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std::cout << "Address: " << ptr << std::endl;
Outputs the memory address stored in the pointer
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std::cout << "Dereferenced: " << *ptr << std::endl;
Uses * to access the value stored at the address ptr points to
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*ptr = 100;
Modifies the original variable through the pointer