C PROGRAMMING MINIMALIST GUIDE | PART 11

Pointers in C

Variables that store memory addresses of other variables.

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Table of Contents

• Memory in C
• Pointers
• Pointer Declaration
• The Reference Operator
• Dereference Operator
• Pointers and Arrays
• Pointer Arithmetic
• Pointer Scaling and Padding
• Dynamic Memory Allocation
• Best Practices
• Summary

Memory in C

To run the program you’ll need some free space in random access memory (RAM) — the temporary memory used during its execution. Each variable requires a specific amount of bytes and the program allocates this space as needed.

For example, an integer variable — which takes up 4 bytes — might start at address 0x150, and it will occupy the next 4 bytes from 0x150 to 0x153, reserving a block of bytes.

However, the address of the variable is given as the starting address only, in this case 0x150, the so-called base address.