Pointers in C: Types of Pointers

What is a Pointer?

A pointer is a variable that stores the memory address of another variable.

Basic Pointer Syntax

int a = 10;
int *p = &a;      // p stores the address of a
printf("%d", *p);  // dereferencing: prints 10

Types of Pointers

• Null pointer — points to nothing, e.g. int *p = NULL;
• Void pointer — generic pointer that can point to any data type.
• Wild pointer — an uninitialized pointer pointing to an unknown location.
• Dangling pointer — points to memory that has already been freed.
• Function pointer — stores the address of a function.
• Pointer to pointer — a pointer that stores the address of another pointer.