C++ Programming Tutorial

Pointers and References

Pointers store memory addresses; references are aliases to existing variables. Use references for safe parameter passing; use pointers for optional values, arrays, and dynamic memory.

#include \n\nint main(){\n    int x = 10;\n    int* p = &x;      // pointer to x\n    int& r = x;       // reference to x\n\n    std::cout << *p << " " << r << "\n";\n\n    p = nullptr;      // pointer can be null, reference cannot\n    return 0;\n}

Notes

• Use `nullptr` instead of `NULL`.
• Prefer references for non-nullable parameters.
• For dynamic memory, prefer RAII and smart pointers (`std::unique_ptr`).