Description
Q&A with Richard Reese, author of "Understanding and Using C Pointers"
Q. Why is your book timely?
A. The C language continues to be a popular and widely used language. In addition, there are millions of lines of C code being maintained. Pointers are central to C and a solid understanding of them is important in crafting reliable and secure software. Understanding C pointers has always been important but they have not always been adequately covered. Their widespread usage in new and old applications begs a complete and comprehensive coverage.
Q. What do you hope that readers of your book will walk away with?
A. I hope that the experienced developer will be able to fill any holes in their understanding of C pointers. I hope that the less experienced developers will become more proficient and confident in their application of pointers.
Q. Can you give us a few tips on using pointers?
- Be careful when using pointers to void. If you cast a pointer to a pointer to void there is nothing preventing you from casting it to a different pointer type.
- When using function pointers the programmer must be careful to ensure it is used properly because C does not check to see if the correct parameters are passed.
- New code development should use the restrict keyword with most pointer declarations. This will enable better code optimization. Modifying existing code may not be worth the effort.
- Compilers do not always do a good job at reporting alias-related warnings. They can sometimes miss aliases and may sometimes report alias problems where they don't exist. It is ultimately up to the programmer to identify alias conditions.
- Remember NULL and NUL are different. NULL is used as a special pointer and is typically defined as ((void*)0). NUL is a char and is defined as '\0'. They should not be used interchangeably.
- Imp
Features
- Used Book in Good Condition