Records (structs) and
Pointers in C++
Records (structs)
• struct: collection of variables (members),
accessed by name
– Members may be of different types
• Syntax:
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 2
Records (structs)
• A struct is a definition, not a declaration
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Accessing struct Members
• The syntax for accessing a struct
member is:
• The dot (.) is an operator, called the
member access operator
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Accessing struct Members
• To initialize the members of newStudent:
[Link] = 0.0;
[Link] = "John";
[Link] = "Brown";
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Accessing struct Members
• More examples:
cin >> [Link];
cin >> [Link] >>
[Link];
score = ([Link] +
[Link]) / 2;
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Accessing struct Members
if (score >= 90)
[Link] = 'A';
else if (score >= 80)
[Link] = 'B';
else if (score >= 70)
[Link] = 'C';
else if (score >= 60)
[Link] = 'D';
else
[Link] = 'F';
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Assignment
• Value of one struct variable can be
assigned to another struct variable of
the same type using an assignment
statement
• The statement:
student = newStudent;
copies the contents of newStudent into
student
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Assignment
• The assignment statement:
student = newStudent;
is equivalent to the following statements:
[Link] = [Link];
[Link] = [Link];
[Link] = [Link];
[Link] = [Link];
[Link] = [Link];
[Link] = [Link];
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Comparison (Relational Operators)
• Compare struct variables member-wise
– No aggregate relational operations allowed
If(student>newStudent) is not allowed
• To compare the values of student and
newStudent:
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Input/Output
• No aggregate input/output operations on a struct
variable, it is not allowed to use cin>>newStudent
• Data in a struct variable must be read one member at
a time
• The contents of a struct variable must be written one
member at a time
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#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
struct Records //global structure
{
int id;
char gender;
} ahmed, mohamed; //global variables of type struct
int main()
{
Records Said={1111,'m'}; // one way to initialize members
[Link]=2222;// another way using dot operator to access the
members
[Link]='m';
mohamed=ahmed;
cout<<[Link]<<endl;
system ("pause");
return 0;
}
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 12
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
struct Records
{
int id;
char gender;
};
Records Said, ahmed, mohamed;
[Link]=2222;
[Link]='m';
mohamed=Said;
cout<<[Link]<<endl;
system ("pause");
return 0;
}
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 13
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
struct Records //LOCAL STRUCTURE
{
int id;
char gender;
};
Records Said={5555, 'm'}, ahmed, mohamed; // one way to
inilize members
[Link]=2222; // using dot operator to access the
members
[Link]='m';
mohamed=Said;
cout<<[Link]<<endl;
system ("pause");
return 0;
}
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struct Variables and Functions
• A struct variable can be passed as a parameter by
value or by reference
• A function can return a value of type struct
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// Example
//Create a global structure with global variable, read
its members, and print it.
#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
using namespace std;
struct Time
{ // structure definition
int hour; // 0-23 (24-hour clock format)
int minute; // 0-59
int second; // 0-59
}; // end struct Time
Time dinnerTime;
void readTime(Time t);
void DisplayTime(Time t); // prototype
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int main()
{
cout << "Dinner will be held at ";
readTime( dinnerTime );
DisplayTime( dinnerTime );
cout << " universal time"<<endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
} // end main
void DisplayTime(Time t) // print time in universal-time
format
{
cout << setw( 2 ) << [Link] << ":"
<< setw( 2 ) << [Link] << ":"
<< setw( 2 ) << [Link];
}
void readTime(Time t) // print time in universal-time
format
{
[Link] = 18; // set hour member of dinner Time
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[Link] = 30; // set minute member of dinner
Arrays in structs
• Two key items are associated with a list:
– Values (elements)
– Length of the list
• Define a struct containing both items:
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Arrays in structs
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structs in Arrays
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structs in Arrays
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structs in Arrays
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• An example, to read from file and store in
structure
Smith Jack 60 45 98
Harry Hisk 45 40 78
Kay Jacob 35.5 23
45
Dos hed 23 20 35
Noa Tom 55 12 32
Joe Peni 57 49 78
Vin San 25.6 23
65.5
Jes Dan 24.3 12 78
Zi Lee 56 49 99
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Angi Dev 57 48 97
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <fstream>
using namespace std;
int main(){
const int SIZE=15;
int i;
struct Records {
string firstname;
string secondname;
float test1mark;
float midtestmark;
float annualmark;
};
Records record[SIZE];
ifstream in("[Link]");
if (!in){
cout<< "File can't be opened! " << endl;
system("PAUSE");
exit(1);
}
for (int i=0; i < SIZE; i++){
in >> record[i].firstname >> record[i].secondname
>>record[i].test1mark >> record[i].midtestmark >> record[i].annualmark ;
}
for (int i=0;i< SIZE;i++) {
cout << record[i].firstname<<" "<< record[i].secondname<<" "<<
record[i].test1mark<<" "<< record[i].midtestmark << " " << record[i].annualmark <<
" ";
cout<<endl;
}
system ("pause");
return 0;
}
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#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
struct Person
{
char name[50];
int age;
float salary;
};
void displayData(Person ); // Function declaration, variable name is not there, it is optional
int main()
{
Person p;
cout << "Enter Full name: ";
[Link]([Link], 50); // cin>>[Link]
cout << "Enter age: ";
cin >> [Link];
cout << "Enter salary: ";
cin >> [Link];
// Function call with structure variable as an argument
displayData(p);
return 0;
}
void displayData(Person p)
{
cout << "\nDisplaying Information." << endl;
cout << "Name: " << [Link] << endl;
cout <<"Age: " << [Link] << endl;
cout << "Salary: " << [Link];
}
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#include<iostream.h>
#include<conio.h>
struct distance
{ int feet;
int inches;
};
void prnsum(distance l1, distance l2); // function prototype
void main()
{
clrscr();
distance length1, length2; // two structures of type distance declared
/* Read values for length1 */
cout<<"Enter length 1:\n";
cout<<"Feet: ";
cin>>[Link];
cout<<"\nInches: ";
cin>>[Link];
/* Read values for length2 */
cout<<"\n\nEnter length 2:\n";
cout<<"Feet: ";
cin>>[Link];
cout<<"\nInches: ";
cin>>[Link];
prnsum(length1, length2); // print sum of length1 and length2
getch();
} // end of main()
void prnsum(distance l1, distance l2)
{ distance l3; // new structure
[Link]=[Link]+[Link]+([Link]+[Link])/12; // 1 feet=12 inches
[Link]=([Link]+[Link])%12;
cout<<"\n\nTotal Feet: "<<[Link]<<"\n";
cout<<"Total Inches: "<<[Link];
} C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 26
#include <iostream> //return structure from function
using namespace std;
struct student
{
char name[50];
int age;
};
// function prototype
struct student getInformation();
int main()
{
student s;
s = getInformation();
cout<<"\nDisplaying information\n";
cout<< [Link]<<endl;
cout<<[Link];
system("pause");
return 0;
}
struct student getInformation()
{
student s1; //You can use s instead
of s1
cout<<"Enter name:"<<endl;
cin>> [Link];
cout<<"Enter age:"<<endl;
cin>>[Link];
return s1;
}
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structs within a struct
versus
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//Example
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
struct Address
{
char HouseNo[25];
char City[25];
char PinCode[25];
};
struct Employee
{
int Id;
char Name[25];
float Salary;
struct Address Add;
};
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int main()
{
int i;
Employee E;
cout << "\n\tEnter Employee Id : ";
cin >> [Link];
cout << "\n\tEnter Employee Name : ";
cin >> [Link];
cout << "\n\tEnter Employee Salary : ";
cin >> [Link];
cout << "\n\tEnter Employee House No : ";
cin >> [Link];
cout << "\n\tEnter Employee House PinCode No : ";
cin >> [Link];
cout << "\nDetails of Employees";
cout << "\n\tEmployee Id : " << [Link];
cout << "\n\tEmployee Name : " << [Link];
cout << "\n\tEmployee Salary : " << [Link];
cout << "\n\tEmployee House No : " <<
[Link];
cout << "\n\t House PinCode No : " <<
[Link];
system("pause");
return 0; Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition
C++ Programming: 30
}
Consider the following statements:
personalInfoType person;
personalInfoType classList[100];
nameType student;
Mark the following statements as valid or invalid. If a statement is invalid, explain why.
a) [Link] = "William";
b) cout << [Link] << endl;
c) classList[1] = person;
d) classList[20].pID = 0011100;
e) student = [Link];
f) cin >> student;
struct nameType { struct dateType { struct
string first; int month; personalInfoType {
string last; int day; nameType name;
}; int year; int pID;
}; dateType dob;
};
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Pointers
Chapter – 13
What is a pointer
• The pointer is a variable that holds an
address of another variable.
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Declaring Pointer Variables
• Syntax:
• Examples:
int *p;
char *ch;
• These statements are equivalent:
int *p;
int* p;
int * p;
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Declaring Pointer Variables
• In the statement:
int* p, q;
only p is the pointer variable, not q; here q
is an int variable
• To avoid confusion, attach the character *
to the variable name:
int *p, q;
int *p, *q;
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Address of Operator (&)
• The ampersand, &, is called the address of
operator
• The address of operator is a unary
operator that returns the address of its
operand
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Dereferencing Operator (*)
• When used as a unary operator, * is the
dereferencing operator or indirection operator
– Refers to object to which its operand points
• Example:
– To print the value of x, using p:
– To store a value in x, using p:
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Dereferencing Operator (*)
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Structs, and Pointer Variables
• You can declare pointers to other data types:
– student is an object of type studentType;
studentPtr is a pointer variable of type
studentType
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Structs, and Pointer Variables
• To store address of student in
studentPtr:
studentPtr = &student;
• To store 3.9 in component gpa of student:
(*studentPtr).gpa = 3.9;
– () used because dot operator has higher
precedence than dereferencing operator
– Alternative: use member access operator arrow
(->)
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Structs, and Pointer Variables
• The syntax for accessing a struct/class
member using the operator -> is:
• Thus,
(*studentPtr).gpa = 3.9;
is equivalent to:
studentPtr->gpa = 3.9;
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Initializing Pointer Variables
• C++ does not automatically initialize variables
• Pointer variables must be initialized if you do
not want them to point to anything
– Initialized using the constant value 0
• Called the null pointer
• Example: p = 0;
– Or, use the NULL named constant:
• p = NULL;
– The number 0 is the only number that can be
directly assigned to a pointer variable
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Dynamic Variables
• Dynamic variables: created during
execution
• C++ creates dynamic variables using
pointers
• Two operators, new and delete, to create
and destroy dynamic variables
– new and delete are reserved words
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Operator new
• new has two forms:
– where intExp is any expression evaluating
to a positive integer
• new allocates memory (a variable) of the
designated type and returns a pointer to it
– The address of the allocated memory
• The allocated memory is uninitialized
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Operator new
• The statement: p = &x;
– Stores address of x in p
• However, no new memory is allocated
• The statement: p = new int;
– Creates a variable during program execution
somewhere in memory, and stores the
address of the allocated memory in p
• To access allocated memory: *p
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Operator new
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 46
Operator new
• new allocates memory space of a specific
type and returns the (starting) address of
the allocated memory space
• If new is unable to allocate the required
memory space, then it throws bad_alloc
exception
– If this exception is not handled, it terminates
the program with an error message
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Operator delete
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Operator delete
• To avoid memory leak, when a dynamic
variable is no longer needed, destroy it
– Deallocate its memory
• delete is used to destroy dynamic variables
• Syntax:
– Tip: to avoid dangling pointers, set variable to
NULL afterwards
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Operations on Pointer Variables
• Assignment: value of one pointer variable can
be assigned to another pointer of same type
• Relational operations: two pointer variables of
same type can be compared for equality, etc.
• Some limited arithmetic operations:
– Integer values can be added and subtracted from
a pointer variable
– Value of one pointer variable can be subtracted
from another pointer variable
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Operations on Pointer Variables
• Examples:
int *p, *q;
p = q;
– In this case, p == q will evaluate to true,
and p != q will evaluate to false
int *p
double *q;// double takes 8 bytes memory
– In this case, q++; increments value of q by 8,
and p = p + 2; increments value of p by 8
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Operations on Pointer Variables
• Pointer arithmetic can be very dangerous
– The program can accidentally access the
memory locations of other variables and
change their content without warning
• Some systems might terminate the program with
an appropriate error message
• Always exercise extra care when doing
pointer arithmetic
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Functions and Pointers
• A pointer variable can be passed as a
parameter either by value or by reference
• To make a pointer a reference parameter
in a function heading, use &:
void pointerParameters(int &p, double *q)
{
. . .
}
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Pointers and Function Return Values
• A function can return a value of type
pointer:
int* testExp(...)
{
. . .
}
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 54
Given the first declaration statements,
mark the red statements as valid or invalid.
int x;
int *p;
int *q;
1. p = q;
2. *p = 56;
3. p = x;
4. *p = *q;
5. q = &x;
6. *p = q;
What is the output of the following C++
Program?
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int *p;
int *q;
p = new int;
q = new int;
*p = 27;
*q = 35;
cout << *p << " " << *q << endl;
*q = *p;
*p = 73;
cout << *p << " " << *q << endl;
p = new int;
*p = 36;
q = p;
cout << *p << " " << *q << endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
// Function prototype
void swap(int*, int*);
int main()
{
int a = 1, b = 2;
cout << "Before swapping" << endl;
cout << "a = " << a << endl;
cout << "b = " << b << endl;
swap(&a, &b);
cout << "\nAfter swapping" << endl;
cout << "a = " << a << endl;
cout << "b = " << b << endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
void swap(int* n1, int* n2)
{
int temp;
temp = *n1;
*n1 = *n2;
*n2 = temp;
}
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 57
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
// Function prototype
void swap(int*, int*);
int main()
{
int a = 1, b = 2;
int *p,*q;
p=&a;
q=&b;
cout << "Before swapping" << endl;
cout << "a = " << a << endl;
cout << "b = " << b << endl;
swap(p,q);
cout << "\nAfter swapping" << endl;
cout << "a = " << a << endl;
cout << "b = " << b << endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
void swap(int* n1, int* n2)
{
int temp;
temp = *n1;
*n1 = *n2;
*n2 = temp;
}
C++ Programming: Program Design Including Data Structures, Fifth Edition 58
What is the output of the following C++
code?
#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
void testMe(int p1, int p2)
{
p1 = 80;
p2 = p1;
}
int main(){
int i = 42, j = 80;
int *p1, *p2;
p1 = &i; p2 = &j;
testMe(*p1,*p2);
cout << *p1<<" - "<< *p2 <<endl;
system("pause");
return 0;
}
