chapter 3 pointers and array-based lists dr. youssef harrath

Chapter 3

Pointers and Array-Based Lists

Dr. Youssef [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Outline

1. Pointer Data Types and Pointer Variables• Declaring Pointer Variables

• Address of Operator (&)

• Dereferencing Operator (*)

• Classes, structs, and Variables

• Initializing Pointer Variables

• Dynamic Variables

• Operations on Pointer Variables

• Dynamic Arrays

• Function and Pointers

• Classes and Pointers: Some Pecularities

2. Array-Based Lists

2Dr. Youssef Harrath – University of Bahrain – ITCS 215 – 2010/2011

Declaring Pointer Variables

A pointer variable is a variable whose content is an

address (memory location).

Syntax: dataType *identifier;

Example1: int *p; // the content of p pointers to a

memory location of the type int

Example2: int* p, q; // only p is a pointer variable

Example 3: int *p, *q; // both p and q are pointer

variables


Address of Operator (&)

In C++, the symbol & is a unary operator that returns

the address of its operand.


int x = 25;

int *p;

p = &x; // assigns the address of x to p, that is x and the value of p

// refer to the same memory location

cout<<*p<<endl; // prints the value pointed by p which is 25

*p = 55; // changes the content of the memory location pointed by

// p, that is x = 55

Dereferencing Operator (*)


int *p;

int num;

Main Memory

p 1200

num 1800

Main Memory

p 1200

num 1800

Main Memory

p 1200

num 1800

Main Memory

p 1200

num 1800

…

…

78

…

…

…

…

…

1800

…

78

…

…

1800

…

24

…

num = 78; p = &num; *p = 24;

p 1400

x 1750



int *p;

int x;

Main Memory

p 1400

x 1750

…

…

…

Symbol Value

&p 1400

p ???

*p ???

&x 1750

x ???

x = 50;

Main Memory

…

…

50

…

Symbol Value

&p 1400

p ???

*p ???

&x 1750

x 50

p 1400

x 1750



int *p;

int x;

Main Memory

p 1400

x 1750

…

…

…

Symbol Value

&p 1400

p ???

*p ???

&x 1750

x ???

x = 50;

p = &x;

Main Memory

…

1750

…

50

…

Symbol Value

&p 1400

p 1750

*p 50

&x 1750

x 50

p 1400

x 1750



int *p;

int x;

Main Memory

p 1400

x 1750

…

…

…

Symbol Value

&p 1400

p ???

*p ???

&x 1750

x ???

x = 50;

p = &x;

*p = 38;

Main Memory

…

1750

…

50

…

Symbol Value

&p 1400

p 1750

*p 38 50

&x 1750

x 38 50

Classes, structs, and Variables

We can declare and manipulate pointers to other data

types, such as classes.

Both classes and structs have the same capabilities;

the only difference is that, by default, all members of a

class are private and all members of a struct are public.

Therefore, the pointers can be discussed similarly for

classes and structs.




struct studentType

{

char name[27];

double gpa;

int sID;

char grade;

};

studentType student; //student is an object of type studentType

studentType* studentPtr; // studentPtr is a pointer variable of the type studentType

studentPtr = &student; // stores the address of student in studentPtr

(*studentPtr).gpa = 3.9; // stores 3.9 in the component gpa of the object student

// equivalent to studentPtr ->gpa = 3.9;



class classExample{public:

void setX(int a);void print();

private:int x;

};void classExample::setX(int a){

x = a;} void classExample::print(){

cout<<“x = “<<x<<endl;}

int main(){

classExample *cExpPtr; classExample cExpObject;cExpPtr = &cExpObject;cExpPtr ->setX(5);cExpPtr->print(); return 0;

}

Output: x = 5

Initializing Pointer Variables

C++ doesn’t automatically initialize variables.

Pointers must be initialized to avoid them pointing

anything.

p = 0 ; or p = NULL; are equivalent and initialize p to

nothing.


Dynamic variables

Variables that are created during program execution are

called dynamic variables.

With the help of pointers, C++ creates dynamic

variables.

C++ provides two operators new and delete to create

and destroy, respectively, dynamic variables.


Dynamic variables


new dataType; // to allocate a single variablenew dataType[intExp]; // to allocate an array of variables

new allocates memory of the desired type and returns a pointer (the address) to it.

int *p;char *q;

int x;p = &x; // store the address of x in p but no new memory is allocated.

p = new int; // allocate memory space of the type int and store the // address of the allocated memory in p.

q = new char[16]; // create an array of 16 char and stores the base address of the array in q.

Dynamic variables


char *name; // name is a pointer of the type char

name = new char[5]; // allocate memory for an array of 5 char

// elements and stores the base address of the array in name

strcpy(name, “John”); // stores John in name

delete [] name; // destroy the space memory allocated for the array name.

Operations on Pointer Variables


int *p, *q;

char *ch;

double *d;

p = q; // p and q points to the same memory location. Any changes

// made to *p automatically change the value of *q and vice

versa

if(p ==q) // evaluates to true if p and q point to the same memory location.

if(p!=q) // evaluates to true if p and q point to different memory locations.

p++; // increments the value of p by 4 bytes

d++; // increments the value of p by 8 bytes

ch++; // increments the value of p by 1 byte

Dynamic Arrays

Static arrays have fixed size.

One of the limitations of a static array is that every time you

execute the program, the size of the array is fixed (we have to

change the size whenever we need)

Dynamic arrays are created during the execution.


Dynamic Arrays


int *p;

p = new int[10];

*p = 25;

p++;

*p = 35;

Address Valuep 25

p + 4 bytes 35

…

Functions and Pointers

A pointer variable can be passed as a parameter to a

function either by value or by reference.


void example(int* &p, double *q)

{

// both p and q are pointers. The parameter p is a

// reference parameter; the parameter q is a value

// parameter

…

}

Functions and Pointers

In C++ a function can return a value of the type

pointer.


int* testExp(…)

{

// the returned type of the function is a pointer of the

// type int

…

}

Classes and Pointers: Some Pecularities


class pointerDataClass{

public:…

private:int x;

int lenP;int *p;

};pointerDataClass objectOne;pointerDataClass objectTwo;



x

lenP

p

objectOne

x

lenP

p

objectTwo

…p = new int[10]; // dynamic array …

36 …5 24 15



class pointerDataClass{

public:~pointerDataClass(); // destructor to deallocate the dynamic array

// pointed by p…

private:int x;

int lenP;int *p;

};pointerDataClass:: ~pointerDataClass()

{delete [] p;

}



x

lenP

p

objectOne

x

lenP

p

objectTwo

…p = new int[10]; // dynamic array …objectTwo = objectOne;

36 …5 24 15

Problem

If objectTwo.p deallocates

the memory to which it

points, objectOne.p would

become invalid

Solution

Overload the assignment

operator



x

lenP

p

objectOne

x

lenP

p

objectTwo

36 …5 24 15 36 …5 24 15



General Syntax to overload the Assignment Operator (=) for a

Class: const className& operator=()const className&;

const className&::operator=(const className& rightObject){

// local declaration, if anyif(this != &rightObject) // avoid self-assignement

{// algorithm to copy rightObject into this object

}return *this; // return the object assigned

}



Example

Array-Based Lists

A list is a collection of elements of the same type.

The length of a list is the number of elements in the list.

Following are some operations performed on a list:

Create the list. The list is initialized to any empty state.

Determine whether the list is empty.

Determine whether the list is full.

Find the size of the list.

Destroy, or clear, the list.

Insert an item at a given position.

Search the list for a given item.

…


Array-Based Lists

Because all the elements of a list are of the same type, they will

be stored in an array.

To process a list in an array, we need the following three

variables:

The array holding the list elements.

A variable to store the length of the list (that is, the number of list

elements currently in the array).

A variable to store the size of the array (that is, the maximum number

of elements that can be stored in the array).


Array-Based Lists: UML diagram


arrayListType

#*list: elemType#length: int#maxSize: int

+isEmty(): bool+isFull(): bool+listSize(): int+maxListSize(): int+print() const: void+isItemAtEqual(int, const elemType&): bool+insertAt(int, const elemType&): void+insertEnd(const elemType&): void+removeAt(int): void+retrieveAt(int, elemType&): void+replaceAt(int, const elemType&): void+clearList(): void+seqSearch(const elemType&): int+insert(const elemType&): void+remove(const elemType&): void+arrayListType(int = 100)+arrayListType(const arrayListType<elemType>&)+~arrayListType()+operator=(const arrayListType<elemType>&): const arrayListType<elemType>&

Array-Based Lists: isEmpyt() and isFull()


template<class elemType>

bool arrayListType<elemType>::isEmpty()

{

return (length == 0);

}


bool arrayListType<elemType>::isFull()

{

return (length == maxSize);

}

Array-Based Lists: listSize() and maxListSize()



int arrayListType<elemType>::listSize()

{

return length ;

}


int arrayListType<elemType>::maxListSize()

{

return maxSize;

}

Array-Based Lists: print() and isItemAtEqual()


template<class elemType>void arrayListType<elemType>::print() const

{for(int i = 0; i < length; i++)

cout<<list[i]<<“ “;cout<<endl;

}

template<class elemType>bool arrayListType<elemType>::isItemAtEqual(int location, const elemType& item)

{return(list[location] == item);

}

Array-Based Lists: insertAt()


template<class elemType>void arrayListType<elemType>::insertAt(int location, const elemType& insertItem)

{if(location < 0 || location >= maxSize)

cerr<<“The position of the item to be inserted is out of range.”<<endl;else

if(length >= maxSize) // the list is fullcout<<“Cannot insert in a full list.<<endl;

else{

for(int i = length; i > location; i--)list[i] = list[i-1]; // shift the elements each one position to the

rightlist[location] = insertItem; // insert the item at the specified position

length++;}

}

Array-Based Lists: insertEnd()



void arrayListType<elemType>::insertEnd(const elemType& insertItem)

{

if(length >= maxSize) // the list if full

cout<<“Cannot insert in a full list.<<endl;

else

{

list[length] = insertItem; // insert the item at the end

length++;

}

}

Array-Based Lists: removeAt()



void arrayListType<elemType>::removeAt(int location)

{

if(location < 0 || location >= length)

cout<<“The location of the item to be removed is out of range.”<<endl;

else

{

for(int i = location; i < length - 1; i++)

list[i] = list[i+1];

length--;

}

}

Array-Based Lists: retrieveAt() and replaceAt()


template<class elemType>void arrayListType<elemType>::retrieveAt(int location, elemType& retItem)

{if(location < 0 || location >= length)

cout<<“The location of the item to be retrieved is out of range.”<<endl;else

{ retItem = list[location];

}}

template<class elemType>void arrayListType<elemType>::replaceAt(int location, const elemType& repItem)

{if(location < 0 || location >= length)

cout<<“The location of the item to be retrieved is out of range.”<<endl;else

{ list[location] = repItem;

}}

Array-Based Lists: clearList() and arrayListType()


template<class elemType>void arrayListType<elemType>::clearList()

{length = 0;

}

template<class elemType>arrayListType<elemType>::arrayListType(int size)

{if(size < 0)

{cout<<“The array size must be positive. Creating of an array of size 100.”<<endl;

maxSize = 100;}

elsemaxSize = size;

length = 0;list = new elemType[maxSize];

assert(list != NULL); // capture programming error}

Array-Based Lists: ~arrayListType() and arrayListType()


template<class elemType>arrayListType<elemType>::~arrayListType() // destructor

{delete [] list;

}

template<class elemType>arrayListType<elemType>::arrayListType(const arrayListType<elemType>& otherList)

{maxSize = otherList.maxSize;

length = otherList.length;list = new elemType[maxSize];

assert(list != NULL); // capture programming error

for(int j = 0; j < length; j++)

list[j] = otherList[j]; }

Array-Based Lists: Overloading the Assignment Operator


template<class elemType>const arrayListType<elemType>& arrayListType<elemType>::operator=

(const arrayListType<elemType>& otherList){

if(this != &otherList){

delete [] list;maxSize = otherList.maxSize;

length = otherList.length;list = new elemType[maxSize];

assert(list != NULL);for(int i = 0; i < length; i++)

list[i] = otherList.list[i];}

return *this; }

Array-Based Lists: seqSearch()


template<class elemType>int arrayListType<elemType>::seqSearch(const elemType& item)

{int loc;

bool found = false;for(loc = 0; loc < length; loc++)

if(list[loc] == item){

found = true;break;

}if(found)

return loc;else

return -1;}

Array-Based Lists: insert()


template<class elemType>void arrayListType<elemType>::insert(const elemType& insertItem)

{ // insert insertItem if it is not in the listint loc;

if(length == 0)list[length++] = insertItem;

elseif(length == maxSize)

cout<<“Cannot insert in a full list.”<<endl;else

{loc = seqSearch(insertItem);

if(loc == -1)list[length++] = insertItem;

elsecout<<“Duplication is not allowed”<<endl;

}}

Array-Based Lists: remove()


template<class elemType>void arrayListType<elemType>::remove(const elemType& removeItem)

{ int loc;

if(length == 0)cout<<“Cannot remove from an empty list”<<endl;

else{

loc = seqSearch(removeItem);if(loc != -1)

removeAt(loc);else

cout<<“The item to be deleted is not in the list.”<<endl;}}

chapter 3 pointers and array-based lists dr. youssef harrath

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