C pointer operator

In the previous chapter we have learnt about finding the size of pointer variable. In this chapter we will be learning about different pointer operators in C Programming language.

Pointer Operator in C Program :

In order to create pointer to a variable we use “*” operator and to find the address of variable we use “&” operator.

Important Notes :

1. ‘&’ operator is called as address Operator
2. ‘*’ is called as ‘Value at address’ Operator
3. ‘Value at address’ Operator gives ‘Value stored at Particular address.
4. ‘Value at address’ is also called as ‘Indirection Operator’

Pointer Operators : Live Program

#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
int n = 20;
printf("\nThe address of n is %u",&n);
printf("\nThe Value of n is %d",n);
printf("\nThe Value of n is %d",*(&n));
}

Output:

The address of n is 1002
The Value of n is 20
The Value of n is 20

How *(&n) is same as printing the value of n ?

So Ccompiler must provide space for it in memory.Below is Step by Step Calculation to compute the value -

m  =  * ( &n   )
   =  * ( Address of Variable 'n')
   =  * ( 1000 )
   =  Value at Address 1000
   =  20

What Does following declaration tells compiler ?

int *ptr;

1. ‘ptr’ is declared as that ‘ptr’ will be used only for storing the address of the integer valued variables
2. We can also say that ‘ptr’ points to integer
3. Value at the address contained in ‘ptr’ is integer .