Pointers

A pointer is a variable that holds an address. The exact form of the pointer is of no consequence to the 'C' programmer, it may be similar to an unsigned integer or it may contain multiple parts, such as segment and offset (as on some Intel processors). Pointers can be used to indirectly reference data, often in a more compact and efficient way than a direct reference.

They are commonly used in C programming for the processing of arrays and are often essential for passing information out of a procedure. It can be difficult to avoid the use of pointers for some programming applications.

The indirect nature of pointers can lead to problems, however. Programs can be difficult to follow and program faults can be obscure. Debugging a program that has extensive use of pointers can be a difficult and time-consuming operation! C programming language, the pointer.