Pointers and Basic Structures in C++

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Terms

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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

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

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.

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