What is a pointer in C Explain the concept of null pointer and dangling pointer?

The dangling pointer errors can be avoided by initializing the pointer to the NULL value. If we assign the NULL value to the pointer, then the pointer will not point to the de-allocated memory. Assigning NULL value to the pointer means that the pointer is not pointing to any memory location.

What is the difference between a void pointer and a null pointer in C C++?

Void refers to the type. Basically the type of data that it points to is unknown. Null refers to the value. It’s essentially a pointer to nothing, and is invalid to use.

What is dangling pointer explain with example?

Dangling pointers arise during object destruction, when an object that has an incoming reference is deleted or deallocated, without modifying the value of the pointer, so that the pointer still points to the memory location of the deallocated memory.

What does null pointer point to?

A null pointer has a reserved value that is called a null pointer constant for indicating that the pointer does not point to any valid object or function. You can use null pointers in the following cases: Initialize pointers. Represent conditions such as the end of a list of unknown length.

WHAT IS null pointer in CPP?

A pointer that is assigned NULL is called a null pointer. However, the memory address 0 has special significance; it signals that the pointer is not intended to point to an accessible memory location. But by convention, if a pointer contains the null (zero) value, it is assumed to point to nothing.

WHAT IS null pointer in C?

A Null Pointer is a pointer that does not point to any memory location. It stores the base address of the segment. The null pointer basically stores the Null value while void is the type of the pointer. A null pointer is a special reserved value which is defined in a stddef header file.

IS null pointer same as uninitialized pointer?

A null pointer should not be confused with an uninitialized pointer: a null pointer is guaranteed to compare unequal to any pointer that points to a valid object. However, depending on the language and implementation, an uninitialized pointer may not have any such guarantee.

What is dangling pointer and null pointer in C?

Dangling (or wild) pointer: a pointer that points somewhere, but not to a valid object. Null pointer: a pointer that points to a specially designated out-of-bounds location that programs will never legally store data in. Special class of dangling pointer.

How do you avoid dangling pointer errors?

Avoiding Dangling Pointer Errors The dangling pointer errors can be avoided by initializing the pointer to the NULL value. If we assign the NULL value to the pointer, then the pointer will not point to the de-allocated memory. Assigning NULL value to the pointer means that the pointer is not pointing to any memory location.

What is the difference between null pointer and void pointer?

NULL vs Uninitialized pointer – An uninitialized pointer stores an undefined value. A null pointer stores a defined value, but one that is defined by the environment to not be a valid address for any member or object. NULL vs Void Pointer – Null pointer is a value, while void pointer is a type

How many types of dangling pointers are there?

Most of the times there are only 3 different types/ways where the pointer will act as one of the dangling pointers. They are De-allocation of memory, Function Call, and Variable goes out of the scope. These dangling pointers are used when the memory management and pointers is having most of the common bugs.