Mastering C Pointers

Mastering C Pointers: Tools for Programming Power focuses on the pointer operations of the C programming language, explaining exactly what pointers are and how to master them through easy-to-understand phrasing and by presenting many simple program examples. The functions of pointers with respect to memory access and memory allocation are also discussed. Comprised of 10 chapters, this book begins with the author's personal reflection on his first encounters with the C programming language and its pointers. The next two chapters presents steps to learning pointers, with emphasis on the essential processes that occur (invisibly and internally) when declaring standard numeric variables in C language and how to deal with C language character arrays and C strings. The reader is then introduced to string pointers and declared pointers of numeric types; the use of C language pointers and the memory allocation functions; and C language functions. The book also explores some of the other "entities" that pointers are used to access, including structures and unions, before concluding with an examination of the source code format of C language. This monograph is intended for both beginning and experienced C language programmers.