Lesson 078
Memory & Pointers
Addresses · & and * · Dereferencing
1:00How programs point to data in memory — addresses, the & and * operators, pass-by-pointer, and the null/dangling/wild pitfalls.
By the end, you can
- Explain what a memory address is and why each variable has one.
- Distinguish a pointer from the data it points to.
- Use `&` to obtain an address and `*` to follow one (read or write).
- Trace what happens when a function receives and writes through a pointer parameter.
- State the size of a pointer on a 64-bit machine and explain why it is constant.
- Identify and distinguish null, dangling, and wild pointers by their defining symptoms.
- Apply the fix for each pointer pitfall (NULL check, set-to-NULL after free, initialize before use).
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