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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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  • 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...

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    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

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        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?

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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

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              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

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                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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                  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
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                    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
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                      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

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                        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

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                            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

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                              CPallini
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #28

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

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

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                              • C CPallini

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

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

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                                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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                                      • 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

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                                        User 13269747
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #33

                                        Quote:

                                        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.

                                        Anyone trying to debug pointer problems without using valgrind is probably a masochist.

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                                        • U User 13269747

                                          Quote:

                                          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.

                                          Anyone trying to debug pointer problems without using valgrind is probably a masochist.

                                          M Offline
                                          M Offline
                                          Mike Hankey
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #34

                                          Had never heard of Valgrind.

                                          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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