Friday, May 29, 2020

Understanding and Using C Pointers

A solid understanding of pointers and the ability to effectively use them separates a novice C programmer from a more experienced one. 




Preface 

C is an important language and has had extensive treatment over the years. Central to the language are pointers that provide much of the flexibility and power found in the language. It provides the mechanism to dynamically manipulate memory, enhances support for data structures, and enables access to hardware. This power and flexibility comes with a price: pointers can be difficult to master

Why This Book Is Different 

Numerous books have been written about C. They usually offer a broad coverage of the language while addressing pointers only to the extent necessary for the topic at hand. Rarely do they venture beyond a basic treatment of pointers and most give only cursory coverage of the important memory management technology involving the stack and the heap. Yet without this discussion, only an incomplete understanding of pointers can be obtained. The stack and heap are areas of memory used to support functions and dynamic memory allocation, respectively. Pointers are complex enough to deserve more in-depth treatment.

This book provides that treatment by focusing on pointers to convey a deeper understanding of C. Part of this understanding requires a working knowledge of the program stack and heap along with the use of pointers in this context. Any area of knowledge can be understood at varying degrees, ranging from a cursory overview to an in-depth, intuitive understand‐ ing. That higher level of understanding for C can only be achieved with a solid under‐ standing of pointers and the management of memory

Audience

 The C language is a block structured language whose procedural aspects are shared with most modern languages such as C++ and Java. They all use a program stack and heap. They all use pointers, which are often disguised as references. We assume that you have a minimal understanding of C. If you are learning C, then this book will provide you with a more comprehensive treatment of pointers and memory than is found in other books. It will expand your knowledge base regarding C and highlight unfamiliar aspects of C. If you are a more experienced C or C++ programmer, this book will help you fill in possible gaps regarding C and will enhance your understanding of how they work “under the hood,” thus making you a better programmer. If you are a C# or Java devel‐ oper, this book will help you better understand C and provide you with insight into how object-oriented languages deal with the stack and the heap.

Download Link:-https://drive.google.com/uc?id=10XgGNZFVAXe2yER3O8O8A6RoKiYyaMsr&export=download
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