Pointers and Basic Structures in C++
Terms
Pointer
-
A variable that holds an address, or location in memory.
Address
-
A location in the computer's memory.
Pass by Value
-
The process by which a function receives a copy of a variable; the variable's value in the
caller cannot be changed by the called function.
Pass by Reference
-
Passing by reference means passing a variable's address to a function. By defining a
function that accepts pointers, one gains the ability to change the parameter's value
in the calling function (ie. outside the scope of the current function).
Struct
-
A struct is a structure that groups together related variables, thus forming a new data
type.
NULL
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A special pointer value that indicates that the pointer does not refer to a valid
location in memory.
New
-
The new operator tells the C++ compiler to allocate a space in memory that will host
the specified variable type.
Delete
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The delete operator frees memory allocated with new.
Array
-
An array is a basic data structure with a fixed number of elements.
Arrays allow fast access to their elements using bracket notation.
Index
-
The index of an array element is the element's number in the array. Indices begin
at 0, so an array of size n will have indices from 0 to n - 1.
Element
-
An element of an array is one of the values that the array holds.
