A pointer array is an array of memory addressed data types that can contain any data type, structure, class, or function. It allows for efficient sorting and dynamic referencing of code, but has potential complications such as data corruption and memory overflow. High-level languages may not allow for pointer arrays in the same way as low-level languages.
A pointer array is a standard array data type that contains a sequence of memory addressed data types rather than containing other scalar types such as integers or floating point numbers. By using an array of pointers, a program is capable of having an array of almost any data type, data structure, class, or even function. Efficient sorting of an array of pointers is also possible so that, if desired, addresses can be aligned according to their physical location in computer memory. Some of the complications of using an array of pointers are that data is easily corrupted and that the type of data being pointed to must be handled internally to prevent memory overflow problems.
Not all programming languages allow for an array of pointers as the concept was originally conceived. High-level languages that automate memory management don’t use pointers the same way lower-level languages do, although technically an array of class objects in a high-level object-oriented language is an array of pointers; even so, they cannot be used or manipulated in the same way. In a low-level language, the array will actually contain an integer value which is the direct address of the pointer in the memory heap. In most high-level languages, this functionality is not possible, although alternative paradigms exist.
One of the things that makes a pointer array valuable as a programming tool is that pointers can refer to any available data type. The pointer is itself a data type, even if its only purpose is to point to another data type. This means that an array of pointers can actually contain a variety of data types in the same array, although the program should have some mechanism for keeping track of what each pointer refers to.
An important aspect of pointers is that they can actually point to program code compiled in memory. This allows an array to point to functions, not just data. A number of functions can allow dynamic numeric referencing of code. This can be useful when programming a language interpreter or other type of software that needs to call certain functions based on unpredictable input without the need for large conditional statements such as switch blocks.
Some problems presented by a pointer data array are the possibility of losing the address, preventing memory from being freed later, and the possibility that an address could be corrupted by an inadvertent operation such as adding. Attempts to access the wrong address could result in corrupt data reading or, in extreme cases such as failed initialization, a segmentation fault which could cause the program to quit unexpectedly. Careful planning can help mitigate the possibility of these events.
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