Pointer: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:36, 31 July 2009

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-[[Category:Variables]][[Category:Glossary]]
+#redirect [[Accessing other entities#Pointers]]
-{{stub}}
-'''Pointers''' are special in C++. '''Pointers''' can be used to point to a [[variable]] instead of becoming a variable.  Here is an example: There are 5 [[integer]] [[variable]]s. Each one is named accordingly (anInteger1, anInteger2, etc.).  However we have a [[function]] that uses whatever [[integer]] the user chooses.
-Enter '''pointer'''s.
-When running the program, the user makes his choice to pick whatever [[integer]] he wants.  When that happens, the '''pointer''' is pointed toward that [[integer]].  Finally, whenever the user is ready, he will continue to the next stage, where a [[function]] is run to return the value of the [[integer]] he has chosen.
-The function will automatically pick whatever [[integer]] we have the '''pointer''' aimed at.
-The main advantage to pointer is that they almost don't waste memory. In the function, we are working with the actual integer variable, rather than a copy of it.  This has its disadvantages however.  If we will be editing the entered integer value, but do not wish to edit the original variable, pointers will not suffice.
-== Pointers in scripting ==
-There are also pointers used in scripting (i.e. !activator). See [[targetname]] for a list of them.
-== External links ==
-[[Wikipedia:Pointer|Wikipedia information on pointers]]