# How to play with pointers in C

Donotalo
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Given an array arr[ARRAY_SIZE] we can get the address of the i-th element by arr + i as arr works as a pointer to the first element of the array. This is true for any pointer pointing any element of arr array.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#define ARRAY_SIZE 8
void print_array(const int32_t arr[], int num_elements)
{
for (int i = 0; i < num_elements; i++)
{
printf("%d ", arr[i]);
}
}
int main()
{
int32_t arr[ARRAY_SIZE] = { 22, 33, 44 };
int32_t *p = arr + 3;
printf("Array elements before modification: ");
print_array(arr, ARRAY_SIZE);
*p = 55;
printf("\nArray elements after modification: ");
print_array(arr, ARRAY_SIZE);
return 0;
}
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In the example above, p points to the 4th element of array by the assignment p = arr + 3. The statement *p = 55; modifies the contents of the memory location pointed to by p, essentially arr[3].

In the following example, all array elements are modified by pointer:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#define ARRAY_SIZE 4
void print_array(const int32_t arr[], int num_elements)
{
for (int i = 0; i < num_elements; i++)
{
printf("%p | %d\n", arr + i, arr[i]);
}
}
int main()
{
int32_t arr[ARRAY_SIZE] = { 0 };
for (int i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE; i++)
{
arr[i] = i + 1;
}
printf("Array elements' address and content before modification:\n");
print_array(arr, ARRAY_SIZE);
int32_t *p = arr; /* p points to the first element of arr */
for (int i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE; i++)
{
printf("Modifying content of address %p\n", p); /* Current address p is holding */
*p *= *p; /* Squaring the content pointed to by p (eg., 3 becomes 9) */
p++; /* Increamenting the content of p, points to the next element of the array */
}
printf("Array elements' address and content after modification:\n");
print_array(arr, ARRAY_SIZE);
return 0;
}
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This is what happens in the example above. arr is initialized as follows:

arr:         1    2    3    4


The address is hypothetical here. p points to the first element of arr by int32_t *p = arr;:

arr:         1    2    3    4
^
|
p


A loop iterates ARRAY_SIZE times. In each iteration *p is multiplied by *p - the dereferenced value of p is squared - and stored in the memory location pointed to by p by the statement *p *= *p;. This modifies one array element in every iteration. The next statement, p++;, increments the pointer p, not by 1, but by sizeof(*p), equivalently sizeof(int32_t) - in this case 4 at a time.

before 1st iteration: p = 10
after 1st iteration : p = 14
after 2nd iteration : p = 18
after 3rd iteration : p = 22
after 4th iteration : p = 26


This can be verified by the following example with 16 bit integer:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#define ARRAY_SIZE 4
int main()
{
int16_t arr[ARRAY_SIZE] = { 0 };
int16_t *p = arr;
for (int i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE; i++)
{
printf("%p\n", p);
p++;
}
return 0;
}
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Notice that p is incremented by 2, or sizeof(int16_t), at every iteration.

Warning: When the loop exits in the above example, p points to one past the last element of arr. That area is outside the declared variables in the program. Accessing that location is undefined behaviour.

int16_t arr[ARRAY_SIZE] = { 0 };
int16_t *p = arr;

for (int i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE; i++)
{
printf("%p\n", p);
p++;
}

/* printf("%d\n", *p); */ /* Fatal: p points to outside location of declared variable - undefined behaviour */

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