Us C++ 2021 04

C++: Pointers & Strings
Presenter: Dr. Ha Viet Uyen Synh.

Pointer
A pointer is a variable that holds the address of something
else.
 “&” operator gets the address of a variable.
 “*” operator gets a value of a pointer
int foo;
int *x;
foo = 123;
x = &foo;
foo = foo + 5;
// *x = *x+5;
Example
Assigning a value to a
dereferenced pointer
A pointer must have a value before you can
dereference it (follow the pointer).
int *x; int foo;

*x=3; int *x;
x = &foo;
*x=3;
Pointers to anything
x some int
int *x;
int **y; y some *int some int
double *z; z some double

Pointers and Arrays
An array name is basically a const pointer.
You can use the [] operator with a pointer:
int *x;
int a[10]; x is “the address of a[2] ”
x = &a[2];
for (int i=0;i<3;i++)
x[i]= x[i]+1;
x[i] is the same as a[i+2]
Pointer arithmetic
Integer math operations can be used with pointers.
If you increment a pointer, it will be increased by the
size of whatever it points to.
int *ptr = a;
*(ptr+2)
*(ptr+4)
*ptr
a[0] a[1] a[2] a[3] a[4]

int a[5];
Printing an array
void print_array(int a[], int len) {

for (int i=0;i<len;i++)
cout << "[" << i << "] = "
<< a[i] << endl;
}
void print_array(int *a, int len) {

for (int i=0;i<len;i++)
cout << "[" << i << "] = "
<< *a++ << endl;
}
String
A string is a null terminated array of characters.
null terminated means there is a character at the end of
the the array that has the value 0 (null).
Pointers are often used with strings:
char *msg = “RPI”;
char msg2[] = “RPI”;
char msg3[] =
{‘R’,’P’,’I’,0};
msg
'R' 'P' 'I' 0

Arrays of Pointers
const char * const suit[ 4 ] = { "Hearts", "Diamonds", "Clubs",
"Spades" };
Function
Readability: sqrt(5) is clearer than copy-pasting in an
algorithm to compute the square root
Maintainability: To change the algorithm, just change

the function (vs changing it everywhere you ever used
it)
Code reuse: Lets other people use algorithms you’ve

implemented
Function declarations need to occur before

invocations
Syntax
int add2ints(int a, int b) {

return(a+b);
}
Function parameters
The parameters are local variables inside the body of
the function.
When the function is called they will have the values
passed in.
The function gets a copy of the values passed in (we
will later see how to pass a reference to a variable).
Example
int add2nums( int int main(void) {
firstnum, int secondnum ) int y,a,b;
{
int sum; cout << "Enter 2
numbers\n";
cin >> a >> b;
sum = firstnum +
secondnum; y = add2nums(a,b);
// just to make a point cout << "a is " << a <<

firstnum = 0; endl;
secondnum = 0; cout << "b is " << b <<
endl;
return(sum); cout << "y is " << y <<
endl;
}
return(0);
}
Local & Global variables
Parameters and variables declared inside the
definition of a function are local.
They only exist inside the function body.
Once the function returns, the variables no longer
exist!
You can declare variables outside of any function

definition – these variables are global variables.
Any function can access/change global variables.
References
A reference variable is an alternative name for a
variable.
A reference variable must be initialized to reference
another variable.
Once the reference is initialized you can treat it just like
any other variable.
To declare a reference variable you precede the variable
name with a “&”:
int &foo;
char &c;
int count;
int &blah = count;
Example
void add10( int &x) {
x = x+10;
}
…
add10(counter);
void swap( int &x, int &y) {

int tmp;
tmp = x;
x = y;
y = tmp;
}
Any question?
Exercise 1
Write a function that prints a triangle
triangle(4); triangle(5);
* *
*** ***
***** *****
******* *******
*********
Exercise 2
Write a strcpy function that copys a
string to another one.
Write a strcmp function that compares 2 strings and
returns true if they are the same string, false if they
are not.
Write a strspc function that removes all spaces from a
string.
Exercise 3
(Square of Asterisks) Write a function that displays at
the left margin of the screen a solid square of asterisks
whose side is specified in integer parameter side. For
example, if side is 4, the function displays the following:
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
* * * *
(Square of Any Character) Modify the function created to

form the square out of whatever character inputted from
keyboard.
Exercise 4
Write a program that inputs three double-precision,
floating-point numbers and passes them to a function
that returns the smallest number.
Exercise 5
(Perfect Numbers) An integer is said to be a perfect
number if the sum of its divisors, including 1 (but not
the number itself), is equal to the number. For
example, 6 is a perfect number, because 6 = 1 + 2 +
3. Write a function isPerfect that determines whether
parameter number is a perfect number. Use this
function in a program that determines and prints all
the perfect numbers between 1 and 1000. Print the
divisors of each perfect number to confirm that the
number is indeed
Exercise 6
Write a function that prints a character 8
char8(5);
* * * * *
* *
* * * * *
* *
* * * * *
Exercise 7
Write a function that prints a solid inverse triangle
solinvtriangle(4);
*******
*****
***
*
Write a function that prints an inverse triangle
invtriangle(4);
*******
* *
* *
*
Exercise 8
Write a program to pass in a integer number. Output
2 numbers: one number includes the odd position
number characters, another includes the even
position number characters. Calculate the total of the
two numbers.
Ex:
Input: 245387
Output: 258 and 437
Total: 695
Any Questions?
 [email protected]
Quiz #4
(Prime Numbers) An integer is said to be prime if it’s
divisible by only 1 and itself. For example, 2, 3, 5 and 7
are prime, but 4, 6, 8 and 9 are not.
a) Write a function that determines whether a number is
prime.
b) Use this function in a program that determines and
prints all the prime numbers between 2 and 10,000.
How many of these numbers do you really have to test
before being sure that you’ve found all the primes?
c) Initially, you might think that n/2 is the upper limit for
which you must test to see whether a number is prime,
but you need only go as high as the square root of n.
Why? Rewrite the program, and run it both ways.
Estimate the performance improvement.

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C++: Pointers & Strings

Presenter: Dr. Ha Viet Uyen Synh.

int *x; int foo;

double *z; z some double

a[0] a[1] a[2] a[3] a[4]

void print_array(int a[], int len) {

void print_array(int *a, int len) {

'R' 'P' 'I' 0

Maintainability: To change the algorithm, just change

Code reuse: Lets other people use algorithms you’ve

Function declarations need to occur before

int add2ints(int a, int b) {

// just to make a point cout << "a is " << a <<

You can declare variables outside of any function

void swap( int &x, int &y) {

(Square of Any Character) Modify the function created to

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