Given a pointer to int, how can I obtain the actual int?
I don't know if this is possible or not, but can someone please advise me?
Use the * on pointers to get the variable pointed (dereferencing).
int val = 42;
int* pVal = &val;
int k = *pVal; // k == 42
If your pointer points to an array, then dereferencing will give you the first element of the array.
If you want the "value" of the pointer, that is the actual memory address the pointer contains, then cast it (but it's generally not a good idea) :
int pValValue = reinterpret_cast<int>( pVal );
If you need to get the value pointed-to by the pointer, then that's not conversion. You simply dereference the pointer and pull out the data:
int* p = get_int_ptr();
int val = *p;
But if you really need to convert the pointer to an int, then you need to cast. If you think this is what you want, think again. It's probably not. If you wrote code that requires this construct, then you need to think about a redesign, because this is patently unsafe. Nevertheless:
int* p = get_int_ptr();
int val = reinterpret_cast<int>(p);
I'm not 100% sure if I understand what you want:
int a=5; // a holds 5
int* ptr_a = &a; // pointing to variable a (that is holding 5)
int b = *ptr_a; // means: declare an int b and set b's
// value to the value that is held by the cell ptr_a points to
int ptr_v = (int)ptr_a; // means: take the contents of ptr_a (i.e. an adress) and
// interpret it as an integer
Hope this helps.
use the dereference operator * e.g
void do_something(int *j) {
int k = *j; //assign the value j is pointing to , to k
...
}
You should differentiate strictly what you want: cast or dereference?
int x = 5;
int* p = &x; // pointer points to a location.
int a = *p; // dereference, a == 5
int b = (int)p; //cast, b == ...some big number, which is the memory location where x is stored.
You can still assign int directly to a pointer, just don't dereference it unless you really know what you're doing.
int* p = (int*) 5;
int a = *p; // crash/segfault, you are not authorized to read that mem location.
int b = (int)p; // now b==5
You can do without the explicit casts (int), (int*), but you will most likely get compiler warnings.
Use * to dereference the pointer:
int* pointer = ...//initialize the pointer with a valid address
int value = *pointer; //either read the value at that address
*pointer = value;//or write the new value
int Array[10];
int *ptr6 = &Array[6];
int *ptr0 = &Array[0];
uintptr_t int_adress_6 = reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t> (ptr6);
uintptr_t int_adress_0 = reinterpret_cast<uintptr_t> (ptr0);
cout << "difference of casted addrs = " << int_adress_6 - int_adress_0 << endl; //24 bits
cout << "difference in integer = " << ptr6 - ptr0 << endl; //6
Related
i have this code snippets
const int col= 5;const int row= 5;
int a[row][col] = {0};
int (*p)[col] ;
p = a;
And these statements print the same address
cout <<p;
cout << endl;
cout << *p;
in my opinion since p points to an array of 5 ints, dereferencing it
should give the first value which doesn't seem to be the case.
help!
since p points to an array of 5 ints
That much is correct.
dereferencing it should give the first value
No, it's type is "pointer to array"; dereferencing that gives "array", which decays to an int* pointer when you do just about anything with it - including printing it.
If you had a pointer to int
int * p = a;
then *p would indeed give the first array element.
I am trying to create a class analogous to the built-in vector class in C++. I have tried to follow all the instructions in Walter Savitche's textbook, but just can't get it to work properly.
The code was written using the Code::Blocks IDE and compiled using the gcc compiler.
The thing I think I'm missing is the relationship between array parameters and a pointer that points to an array.
This is what I understand about normal variables:
int *p1, *p2, *p3, *p4, a;
a = 5; // variable of type int with value 5
p1 = &a; // p1 now points to the value 5
p2 = p1; // p2 now also points to the value of a
p3 = new int; // p3 points to an anonamous variable of type int with undefined value
*p3 = *p1 // value of variable changed to the value of a, namely 5, but doesn't point to a
p4 = new int; // p4 points to an anonamous variable of type int with undefined value
*p4 = 5; // value of variable changed to 5
p4 = p1 // p4 now also points to the value of a
This is what I essentially don't understand about arrays and pointers that point to arrays
int *p1, *p2, *p3, *p4, a[3] = {4, 5, 6}; // a points to the first indexed element of the array, namely 4
p1 = a; // p1 points to the exactly the same thing as a
p2 = new int[3]; // p2 points to an array of base type int with undefined values
p2[0] = 8; // is this the correct usage? is p2 "dereferenced"
p2[1] = 9;
p2[2] = 10;
p2[2] = p1[2]; // again is this correct? is the third element of the array pointed to by p2 now equal to 6?
*p3 = a // what does this mean?
p4 = new int[4]; // p4 points to an array of base type int with undefined values
p4[0] = p2[0];
p4[1] = p2[1];
p4[2] = p2[2];
p4[3] = 3
p2 = p4 // p2 now points to p4, but what happens to the array p2 was pointing to?
delete [] p2; // does this destroy the pointer and the array it is pointing to or just one or the other?
For completeness sake my class is defined as follows:
class VectorDouble
{
public:
// constructors
VectorDouble(); // default constructor
VectorDouble(int init_count); // user specified
VectorDouble(const VectorDouble& vd_object); // copy constructor
// destructor
~VectorDouble();
// accessors
int capacity_vd(); // get max_count
int size_vd(); // get amt_count
double value_at(int index); // get value of "value" at index i
// mutators
void push_back_vd(double put_at_end); // insert new element at end of "value"
void reserve_vd(int incr_capacity); // set max_count
void resize_vd(int incr_size); // set amt_count
void change_value_at(double d, int index); // set value of "value" at index i
// overloaded =
void operator =(const VectorDouble& vd_object_rhs);
// other
friend bool operator ==(VectorDouble vd_object1, VectorDouble vd_object2);
private:
double *value; // pointer that points to array of type double
int max_count; // the memory allocated to the array
int amt_count; // the amount of memory in use
};
And the troublesome function is:
void VectorDouble::push_back_vd(double put_at_end)
{
double *temp;
if(amt_count == max_count)
max_count += 1;
temp = new double[max_count];
for(int i = 0; i < amt_count; i++)
temp[i] = value[i];
amt_count += 1;
temp[amt_count] = put_at_end;
value = temp;
}
The member function just seems to insert 0.0 instead of the user input, I have no idea why...
In main:
VectorDouble vec1(10);
double dd;
cout << "Enter 3 doubles to vec1:\n";
for(int i = 0; i < 3; i++)
{
cout << i << ": ";
cin >> dd;
vec1.push_back_vd(dd);
}
cout << "The variables you entered were:\n";
for(int i = 0; i < 3; i++)
cout << i << ": " << vec1.value_at(i) << endl;
I enter:
12.5
16.8
15.2
I get back:
0
0
0
I fixed it! Only problem is that the mistake was exceedinly simple. Sorry to waste everybodies time, but thanks to all, I did learn quite a lot!
The mistake was my placement of amt_count += 1;, I'm used to arrays indexed from 1 not zero (I have done a lot of coding in the R language). The corrected code with the memoery leak taken care of is:
void VectorDouble::push_back_vd(double put_at_end)
{
double *temp;
if(amt_count == max_count)
max_count += 1;
temp = new double[max_count];
for(int i = 0; i < amt_count; i++)
temp[i] = value[i];
temp[amt_count] = put_at_end;
amt_count += 1;
delete [] value;
value = temp;
}
This is what I understand about normal variables
All correct, with the caveat that I'd avoid the terminology "points to the value x"; you're pointing to the object, which in turn has value x.
This is what I essentially don't understand about arrays and pointers that point to arrays
You're confusing pointers with arrays. In int a[3], a is an array. It is not a pointer. It is an array.
*p3 = a isn't valid, so it means nothing.
p2 now points to p4, but what happens to the array p2 was pointing to?
You've leaked it.
// does this destroy the pointer and the array it is pointing to or just one or the other?
It destroys the thing you new'd, that the pointer is pointing to. i.e. the array
Otherwise all correct.
As for your vector implementation, the main problem is that temp[amt_count] is an overflow because you've already incremented amt_count. Also, vector implementations typically grow exponentially rather than on-demand. Finally, you're leaking the previous storage.
Using different terminology might help you:
A pointer is just an ordinary variable. Instead of holding an integer, a float, a double, etc., it holds a memory address. Consider the following:
int* p = nullptr; // p has the value "nullptr" or null memory address
int i = 5; // i has value 5
p = &i; // p now has the value of the address of i
The ampersand gets the address of a variable.
An asterisk dereferences a pointer; that is it will get the value stored in the memory address the pointer holds:
cout << *p << endl; // Prints whatever is stored in the memory address of i; 5
As for your vector implementation, try moving this line amt_count += 1; to below this line:
temp[amt_count] = put_at_end;, as you're trying to access beyond the end of your array.
Most of your understanding is correct. But...
a[3] = {4, 5, 6}; // a points to the first indexed element of the array, namely 4
Although arrays and pointers can be indexed and treated in a similar fashion, they are different, and their differences can lead to some sneaky bugs; so be careful with this statement.
*p3 = a // what does this mean?
This is invalid. Your types don't match: *p3 is an integer, a is an array.
p2 = p4 // p2 now points to p4, but what happens to the array p2 was pointing to?
The array p2 was pointing to is now leaked memory. This is bad.
delete [] p2; // does this destroy the pointer and the array it is pointing to or just one or the other?
The value of the pointer does not change. However, the memory it points to is deallocated, so dereferencing it will give you undefined results. It's best to set p2 = nullptr; after deleting it.
This answer might help with your understanding of arrays and accessing their elements.
"p2 now points to p4, but what happens to the array p2 was pointing to?"
It is 'leaked', this means its still allocated but there is no way to reach it anymore. If you keep doing this is the same program your memory size will keep growing
Other languages (Java, c#,...) have 'garbage collectors' that detect when this happens and will free the memory automatically
C++ solution to this problem is to never user naked arrays and pointers. Instead you use std::vector and std::shared_ptr; these will clean up for you
Your function is really wrong...
void VectorDouble::push_back_vd(double put_at_end)
{
double *temp;
if(amt_count == max_count)
max_count += 1;
temp = new double[max_count];
for(int i = 0; i < amt_count; i++)
temp[i] = value[i];
amt_count += 1;
temp[amt_count] = put_at_end;
value = temp;
}
Notice that in each call you allocate new array (even if there's still space), copy everything in it and leak memory (old array)...
Here is a slightly corrected version, but it's not guaranteed to be completely OK (;
void VectorDouble::push_back_vd(double put_at_end)
{
if(amt_count == max_count)
{
max_count += 1;
double *temp = new double[max_count];
for(int i = 0; i < amt_count; i++)
temp[i] = value[i];
delete[] value;
value = temp;
}
value[amt_count] = put_at_end;
amt_count += 1;
}
Ok, I know that this is invalid
char char_A = 'A';
const char * myPtr = &char_A;
*myPtr = 'J'; // error - can't change value of *myP
[Because we declared a pointer to a constant character]
Why is this valid?
const char *linuxDistro[6]={ "Debian", "Ubuntu", "OpenSuse", "Fedora", "Linux Mint", "Mandriva"};
for ( int i=0; i < 6; i++)
cout << *(linuxDistro+i)<< endl;
*linuxDistro="WhyCanIchangeThis";// should result in an error but doesnt ?
for ( int i=0; i < 6; i++)
cout << *(linuxDistro+i)<< endl;
Thanks for looking!
You write
*linuxDistro = "WhyCanIchangeThis";
which is perfectly valid, because the declaration of linuxDistro was
const char *linuxDistro[6];
i. e. it's an array of 6 pointers to const char. That is, you can change the pointers themselves, just not the characters pointed to by those pointers. I. e., you can not compile
*linuxDistro[0] = 'B';
to obtain the string "Bebian", becuse the strings contain constant characters...
What you probably want is an array of constant pointers to constant characters:
const char *const linuxDistro[6];
*linuxDistro is still a pointer, it is linuxDistro[0], *linuxDistro="WhyCanIchangeThis" it just change the pointer to point to a new address, not to modify the content in the old address, so it is OK.
If you write **linuxDistro='a', it should error.
because the pointer is a variable that stores a memory address, if a pointer is const the pointer keeps storing the same memory address, so the value of the pointer itself can't change, but you are saying nothing about the value pointed by the pointer, according to what you have, chaging the pointed value it's an allowed operation.
because char is not char[], so when you access to * of char[] you access the first element of it (Debian).
when you shift pointer (e.g. +1 it) you access next element of array
here is good example for better understanding
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main ()
{
int numbers[5];
int * p;
p = numbers; *p = 10;
p++; *p = 20;
p = &numbers[2]; *p = 30;
p = numbers + 3; *p = 40;
p = numbers; *(p+4) = 50;
for (int n=0; n<5; n++)
cout << numbers[n] << ", ";
return 0;
}
this will output:
10, 20, 30, 40, 50,
int x = 4;
int* q = &x; // Is it always equivalent to int *q = &x; ?
cout << "q = " << q << endl; // output: q = 0xbfdded70
int i = *q; // A
int j = *(int*)q; // B, when is this necessary?
cout << "i = " << i << endl; // output: i = 4
cout << "j = " << j << endl; // output: j = 4
My question is what does lines A and B do, and why the outputs are both 4?
It is a basic usage of pointers, in A you dereference pointer (access the variable to which a pointer points)":
int i = *q; // A
while B is doing exactly the same but it additionally casts pointer to the same type. You could write it like that:
int j = *q; // B
there is no need for (int*)
int x = 4;
x is 4
int* q = &x;
q is the memory location of x (which holds 4)
cout << "q = " << q << endl; // output: q = 0xbfdded70
There's your memory location.
int i = *q; // A
i is the value at memory location q
int j = *(int*)q; // B
j is the value at memory location q. q is being cast to an int pointer, but that's what it already is.
int i = *q; // A
Dereferences a pointer to get the pointed value
int j = *(int*)q; // B
type casts the pointer to an int * and then dereferences it.
Both are same because the pointer is already pointing to an int. So typecasting to int * in second case is not needed at all.
Further derefenecing yields the pointed integer variable value in both cases.
Lines A and B are equivelent as q is already an int* and therefor (int*)q equals q.
int i = *q; yelds that i becomes the value of the integer pointed to by q. If you want to make i to be equal to the adress itself remove the asterisk.
A: Dereference - takes a pointer to a value (variable or object) and returns the value
B: Cast to int* and than dereference
The result is the same because the pointer is already to int. That's it.
Line A takes the value that q points to and assigns it to i. Line b casts q to the type int* (which is q's type already, so that cast is entirely redundant/pointless), then takes the value that q points to and assigns it to j.
Both give you 4 because that's the value that q points to.
Line A de-reference pointer q typed as int *, i.e. a pointer points to an int value.
Line B cast q as (int *) before de-reference, so line B is the same as int j = *q;.
I have a 3x3 array that I'm trying to create a pointer to and I keep getting this array, what gives?
How do I have to define the pointer? I've tried every combination of [] and *.
Is it possible to do this?
int tempSec[3][3];
int* pTemp = tempSec;
You can do int *pTemp = &tempSec[0][0];
If you want to treat a 3x3 array as an int*, you should probably declare it as an int[9], and use tempSec[3*x+y] instead of tempSec[x][y].
Alternatively, perhaps what you wanted was int (*pTemp)[3] = tempSec? That would then be a pointer to the first element of tempSec, that first element itself being an array.
You can in fact take a pointer to a 2D array:
int (*pTemp)[3][3] = &tempSex;
You'd then use it like this:
(*pTemp)[1][2] = 12;
That's almost certainly not what you want, but in your comment you did ask for it...
Its easyier to use a typedef
typedef int ThreeArray[3];
typedef int ThreeByThree[3][3];
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
int data[3][3];
ThreeArray* dPoint = data;
dPoint[0][2] = 5;
dPoint[2][1] = 6;
// Doing it without the typedef makes the syntax very hard to read.
//
int(*xxPointer)[3] = data;
xxPointer[0][1] = 7;
// Building a pointer to a three by Three array directly.
//
ThreeByThree* p1 = &data;
(*p1)[1][2] = 10;
// Building a pointer to a three by Three array directly (without typedef)
//
int(*p2)[3][3] = &data;
(*p2)[1][2] = 11;
// Building a reference to a 3 by 3 array.
//
ThreeByThree& ref1 = data;
ref1[0][0] = 8;
// Building a reference to a 3 by 3 array (Without the typedef)
//
int(&ref2)[3][3] = data;
ref2[1][1] = 9;
return 0;
}
Oh. That's easy!
int aai[3][3];
int* pi = reinterpret_cast<int*>(aai);
You can actually use this awesome technique to cast it into other wonderful types. For example:
int aai[3][3];
int (__stdcall *pfi_lds)(long, double, char*) = reinterpret_cast<int (__stdcall *)(long, double, char*)>(aai);
Isn't that just swell? The question is whether it's meaningful.
You're asking how to lie to your compiler. So the first thing to know is: Why do you want to lie?
int a[20][30];
int* b=&a[0][0];
As Steve pointed out, the proper form is int *pTemp = &tempSec[0][0];. int** pTemp2 = tempSec; does not work. The error given is:
cannot convert 'int (*)[3]' to 'int**' in initialization
It's not stored as an array of pointers to arrays. It's stored as one big vector, and the compiler hides the [a][b] = [a*rowLength+b] from you.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
// Allocate on stack and initialize.
int tempSec[3][3];
int n = 0;
for(int x = 0; x < 3; ++x)
for(int y = 0; y < 3; ++y)
tempSec[x][y] = n++;
// Print some addresses.
cout << "Array base: " << size_t(tempSec) << endl;
for(int x = 0; x < 3; ++x)
cout << "Row " << x << " base: " << size_t(tempSec[x]) << endl;
// Print contents.
cout << "As a 1-D vector:" << endl;
int *pTemp = &tempSec[0][0];
for(int k = 0; k < 9; ++k)
cout << "pTemp[" << k << "] = " << pTemp[k] << endl;
return 0;
}
Output:
Array base: 140734799802384
Row 0 base: 140734799802384
Row 1 base: 140734799802396
Row 2 base: 140734799802408
As a 1-D vector:
pTemp[0] = 0
pTemp[1] = 1
pTemp[2] = 2
pTemp[3] = 3
pTemp[4] = 4
pTemp[5] = 5
pTemp[6] = 6
pTemp[7] = 7
pTemp[8] = 8
Note that the Row 0 address is the same as the full array address, and consecutive rows are offset by sizeof(int) * 3 = 12.
Another way to go about doing this, is to first create an array of pointers:
int* pa[3] = { temp[0], temp[1], temp[2] };
Then create a pointer pointer to point to that:
int** pp = pa;
You can then use normal array syntax on that pointer pointer to get the element you're looking for:
int x = pp[1][0]; // gets the first element of the second array
Also, if the only reason you're trying to convert it to a pointer is so you can pass it to a function, you can do this:
void f(int v[3][3]);
As long as the size of the arrays are fixed, you can pass a two-dimensional array to a function like this. It's much more specific than passing a pointer.
Original post follows - please disregard, it is misinformed. Leaving it for posterity's sake ;)
However, here is a link I found regarding memory allocation of 2-dimensional arrays in c++. Perhaps it may be of more value.
Not sure it's what you want, and it's been a while since I've written c++, but the reason your cast fails is because you are going from an array of arrays to a pointer of ints. If, on the other hand, you tried from array to array to a pointer of pointers, it would likely work
int tempSec[3][3];
int** pTemp = tempSec;
remember, your array of arrays is really a contiguous block of memory holding pointers to other contiguous blocks of memory - which is why casting an array of arrays to an array of ints will get you an array of what looks like garbage [that garbage is really memory addresses!].
Again, depends on what you want. If you want it in pointer format, pointer of pointers is the way to go. If you want all 9 elements as one contiguous array, you will have to perform a linearization of your double array.
Let's ask cdecl.org to translate your declaration for us:
int tempSec[3][3]
returns
declare tempSec as array 3 of array 3 of int
Ok, so how do we create a pointer to that? Let's ask cdecl again:
declare pTemp as pointer to array 3 of array 3 of int
returns
int (*pTemp)[3][3]
Since we already have the array 3 of array 3 of int, we can just do:
int (*pTemp)[3][3] = &tempSec;
int tempSec[3][3];
int* pTemp = tempSec[0];