Pointer to an array

We can also point the whole array using pointers.

Using the array pointer, we can easily manipulate the multi-dimensional array.

Example

int arr[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
int (*ptr)[5];
ptr = &arr;

Where, ptr points the entire array.

Dereferencing the array pointer

Since ptr is an array pointer,

*ptr will be again an address which is the address of the first element in the array.

**ptr will be the value stored at the address.

Example

/*
 * Pointer to an array example
 */

#include<stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int arr[5]={10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
    int (*ptr)[5];    //pointer to an array of 5 integers

    ptr = &arr;      //ptr references the whole array

    printf("Address of the array = %p\n",ptr);
    printf("Address of the first element in the array = %p\n", *ptr);
    printf("Value of the first element = %d\n",**ptr);

    return 0;
}

ptr+1 vs *ptr+1

ptr + 1	*ptr + 1
ptr is a pointer to an entire array. So, if we move ptr by 1 position it will point the next block of 5 elements.	ptr is a pointer to the first element of the array.So, if we move ptr by 1 position it will point the second element.
If the array base address is 1000,ptr+1 will be 1000 + (5 * 4) which is 1020	If the array base address is 1000, *ptr+1 will be 1000 + 4 which is 1004

Example

/*
 * Pointer to an array
 */

#include<stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int arr[5]={10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
    int (*ptr)[5];    //pointer to an array of 5 integers

    ptr = &arr;      //ptr references the whole array

    /*
     *ptr is a pointer to the whole array
     *ptr+1 will point the next block of 5 elements
     */
    printf("ptr = %p \t ptr+1 = %p\n",ptr,ptr+1);

    /*
     *ptr is a pointer to the first element in the array
     *ptr+1 will point the next element in the array
     */
    printf("*ptr = %p \t *ptr+1 = %p\n",*ptr,*ptr+1);

    return 0;
}