Pointer

Abstract

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• A variable whose value is Memory Address

Pointee

• The actual data that a pointer points-to inside the Heap Segment

Pointer Dereference

• The process of accessing Pointee of a Pointer

Null Pointer

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• Pointer that doesn’t point to any memory location, basically contains a invalid Memory Address
• In C, it is represented by 0 or nullptr
• In Java, it is represented by null, Custom Datatype can be null

Void Pointer

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• A Pointer without type aka a pre-defined size
• Used when we aren’t sure what the exact size of a variable like the return type of malloc
• We should always try to cast it to a type whenever it is possible

Rust

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Rust Box

• A smart Pointer that represents Rust Ownership of values allocated on the Heap Segment

Rust References

• Non-owning pointers that points to Rust Box, thus they do not own the data they point to.
• Powers Rust Borrowing