Difference Between ‘int *’ and ‘int **’ in C
|
Properties |
int *a; |
int **a; |
|---|---|---|
| Pointer Type | Points to an integer variable. | Points to a pointer to an integer. |
| Usage | Directly points to a value. | Points to a pointer that points to value. |
| Declaration | int *a; | int **a; |
| Initialization | int *a = &x; where x is an integer variable. | int **a = p; where p is a pointer to an integer. |
| Dereferencing | Access the value using *a. | Access the value using the **a. |
| Typical Use Cases | Commonly used for single values, arrays, and dynamic memory allocation. | Used when working with the multi-dimensional arrays, dynamic memory allocation, or functions that modify pointers. |
| Example | int x = 10; int *a = x; | int x = 10; int *px = x; int **a = px; |
Difference between int *a and int **a in C
In C, the declarations int *a and int **a represent two different concepts related to pointers. Pointers play a fundamental role in memory management and data manipulation in C programming so it is important to have a clear understanding of them.