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  3. I was going to write an article about how pointers aren't confusing

I was going to write an article about how pointers aren't confusing

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  • H honey the codewitch

    What's so confusing about them? They point to a memory location. Think of an address as an index into a big array of bytes. No big. =)

    Real programmers use butterflies

    D Offline
    D Offline
    dandy72
    wrote on last edited by
    #13

    ...and that, right there, is pretty much all you need to know. For some reason I was overthinking the whole thing when I started learning about them. And it's only like 2 years into college that I finally wrapped my head around the whole, basic, fundamental idea. Never had a problem with them since. That being said, I haven't done anything pointer-related in over a decade...

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    • H honey the codewitch

      Until I realized in the process of trying to explain them that they probably are. Just because I find something intuitive doesn't mean I can make it intuitive to others. :doh: The secret with pointers is to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present. Aside from that, the rest is details.

      Real programmers use butterflies

      L Offline
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      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #14

      That points me to.... ääähm.... no can't explain it ;)

      It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question Chemists have exactly one rule: there are only exceptions

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      • D dandy72

        ...and that, right there, is pretty much all you need to know. For some reason I was overthinking the whole thing when I started learning about them. And it's only like 2 years into college that I finally wrapped my head around the whole, basic, fundamental idea. Never had a problem with them since. That being said, I haven't done anything pointer-related in over a decade...

        H Offline
        H Offline
        honey the codewitch
        wrote on last edited by
        #15

        I think that's a common trap. It doesn't help that misusing them causes faults because I think that makes them intimidating but all a fault is is an unhandled exception. Fear is a huge stumbling block to growth. It doesn't help that I've seen lots of articles (not necessarily here) rag on pointers and state that they're scary in so many words, probably from authors that never got comfortable with them themselves. A lot of times it's no different than accessing an array.

        Real programmers use butterflies

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        • L Lost User

          Au contraire printers are very confusing. ;P

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          raddevus
          wrote on last edited by
          #16

          If you ever PCL, then you know...blech! X|

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          • H honey the codewitch

            Until I realized in the process of trying to explain them that they probably are. Just because I find something intuitive doesn't mean I can make it intuitive to others. :doh: The secret with pointers is to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present. Aside from that, the rest is details.

            Real programmers use butterflies

            A Offline
            A Offline
            Amarnath S
            wrote on last edited by
            #17

            The most famous pointer of them all is ... Google. How? Well, given a search string, Google points us to the location(s), meaning website(s), where that search string is present. Agree?

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            • A Amarnath S

              The most famous pointer of them all is ... Google. How? Well, given a search string, Google points us to the location(s), meaning website(s), where that search string is present. Agree?

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              Johnny J
              wrote on last edited by
              #18

              Amarnath S wrote:

              Well, given a search string, Google points us to the location(s), meaning website(s), where that search string is present. Agree?

              If you're lucky... :doh:

              Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
              Anonymous
              -----
              The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
              Winston Churchill, 1944
              -----
              Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
              Mark Twain

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              • A Amarnath S

                The most famous pointer of them all is ... Google. How? Well, given a search string, Google points us to the location(s), meaning website(s), where that search string is present. Agree?

                H Offline
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                honey the codewitch
                wrote on last edited by
                #19

                I'd say the links it returns are the pointers, but you do you. :)

                Real programmers use butterflies

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                • H honey the codewitch

                  What's so confusing about them? They point to a memory location. Think of an address as an index into a big array of bytes. No big. =)

                  Real programmers use butterflies

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  Mike Hankey
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #20

                  Pointers are powerful and easy to use can lead to disaster when not used correctly, as can be seen when trying to debug a pointer problem.

                  I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27. JaxCoder.com

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                  • M Mike Hankey

                    Pointers are powerful and easy to use can lead to disaster when not used correctly, as can be seen when trying to debug a pointer problem.

                    I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27. JaxCoder.com

                    H Offline
                    H Offline
                    honey the codewitch
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #21

                    Yeah. There is that. It's easier to use them correctly though if you understand them intuitively. These days most of my pointer problems are caused by things i forget to initialize. :doh:

                    Real programmers use butterflies

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                    • H honey the codewitch

                      I'd say the links it returns are the pointers, but you do you. :)

                      Real programmers use butterflies

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                      D Offline
                      Daniel Pfeffer
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #22

                      honey the codewitch wrote:

                      links it returns are the pointers

                      So is Google a pointer factory, or a pointer dictionary?

                      Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.

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                      • D Daniel Pfeffer

                        honey the codewitch wrote:

                        links it returns are the pointers

                        So is Google a pointer factory, or a pointer dictionary?

                        Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.

                        H Offline
                        H Offline
                        honey the codewitch
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #23

                        That's a fantastic question. :-D

                        Real programmers use butterflies

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                        • H honey the codewitch

                          Until I realized in the process of trying to explain them that they probably are. Just because I find something intuitive doesn't mean I can make it intuitive to others. :doh: The secret with pointers is to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present. Aside from that, the rest is details.

                          Real programmers use butterflies

                          F Offline
                          F Offline
                          Forogar
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #24

                          How hard can a pointer be? It points to a chunk of memory with stuff in it. Keep that fundamental concept in mind at all times and you shouldn't have any problems.

                          - I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.

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                          • H honey the codewitch

                            Until I realized in the process of trying to explain them that they probably are. Just because I find something intuitive doesn't mean I can make it intuitive to others. :doh: The secret with pointers is to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present. Aside from that, the rest is details.

                            Real programmers use butterflies

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            Marc Clifton
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #25

                            honey the codewitch wrote:

                            to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present.

                            True for so many things! :laugh:

                            Latest Articles:
                            Thread Safe Quantized Temporal Frame Ring Buffer

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                            • M Maximilien

                              They're not confusing at all. ( I removed the link ) use the wikipedia instead : [Pointer (dog breed) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointer\_(dog\_breed))

                              I'd rather be phishing!

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                              Nelek
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #26

                              My antivirus started to ring bells with that link. Just in case, don't visit it. https://static.searchiq.cc/js/2.2.57/sa.js Name of the thread: JS:Trojan.JS.Downloader.DOY Really sad if we can't trust the links of other old CPians in the lounge to webs that shouldn't be dangerous :sigh: :sigh: :sigh:

                              M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

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                              • H honey the codewitch

                                Until I realized in the process of trying to explain them that they probably are. Just because I find something intuitive doesn't mean I can make it intuitive to others. :doh: The secret with pointers is to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present. Aside from that, the rest is details.

                                Real programmers use butterflies

                                S Offline
                                S Offline
                                Southmountain
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #27

                                look forward to see your this article!:rose:

                                diligent hands rule....

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                                • H honey the codewitch

                                  Until I realized in the process of trying to explain them that they probably are. Just because I find something intuitive doesn't mean I can make it intuitive to others. :doh: The secret with pointers is to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present. Aside from that, the rest is details.

                                  Real programmers use butterflies

                                  C Offline
                                  C Offline
                                  CPallini
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #28

                                  Pointers are evil... ...evil is fun.

                                  "In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?" -- Rigoletto

                                  H 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • C CPallini

                                    Pointers are evil... ...evil is fun.

                                    "In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?" -- Rigoletto

                                    H Offline
                                    H Offline
                                    honey the codewitch
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #29

                                    But they're so cute and cuddly. Especially my precious little void*. Who's a good little typeless pointer? YOU ARE!

                                    Real programmers use butterflies

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                                    • N Nelek

                                      My antivirus started to ring bells with that link. Just in case, don't visit it. https://static.searchiq.cc/js/2.2.57/sa.js Name of the thread: JS:Trojan.JS.Downloader.DOY Really sad if we can't trust the links of other old CPians in the lounge to webs that shouldn't be dangerous :sigh: :sigh: :sigh:

                                      M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

                                      M Offline
                                      M Offline
                                      Maximilien
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #30

                                      weird, it passed out over zealous web nanny on my office computer. I removed the link and put the wikipedia link instead. :thumbsup:

                                      I'd rather be phishing!

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                                      • H honey the codewitch

                                        Until I realized in the process of trying to explain them that they probably are. Just because I find something intuitive doesn't mean I can make it intuitive to others. :doh: The secret with pointers is to enjoy the freedom they bring you rather than fearing the danger they present. Aside from that, the rest is details.

                                        Real programmers use butterflies

                                        Sander RosselS Offline
                                        Sander RosselS Offline
                                        Sander Rossel
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #31

                                        I guess your article should point that out ;p

                                        Best, Sander Azure DevOps Succinctly (free eBook) Azure Serverless Succinctly (free eBook) Migrating Apps to the Cloud with Azure arrgh.js - Bringing LINQ to JavaScript

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                                        • H honey the codewitch

                                          But they're so cute and cuddly. Especially my precious little void*. Who's a good little typeless pointer? YOU ARE!

                                          Real programmers use butterflies

                                          C Offline
                                          C Offline
                                          CPallini
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #32

                                          Quote:

                                          Especially my precious little void*

                                          No, that's the Mother Of All The Evil, and your really don't need it in C++.

                                          "In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?" -- Rigoletto

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