Pointer Arithmetic

In C++, pointers can be incremented and decremented using pointer arithmetic. This allows us to navigate through arrays and perform various operations.

Let's start by looking at an example:

1#include <iostream>
2using namespace std;
3
4int main() {
5  int numbers[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
6  int* p = numbers;  // Pointing to the first element of the array
7
8  cout << "First element of the array: " << *p << endl;
9  p++;  // Incrementing the pointer
10  cout << "Second element of the array: " << *p << endl;
11  p--;  // Decrementing the pointer
12  cout << "Back to the first element of the array again: " << *p << endl;
13
14  return 0;
15}

In this example, we have an integer array numbers with elements [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. We declare a pointer p and set it to point to the first element of the array.

By using p++, we increment the pointer to point to the second element of the array. Similarly, p-- decrements the pointer back to the first element.

Executing the code will result in the following output:

1First element of the array: 1
2Second element of the array: 2
3Back to the first element of the array again: 1

As you can see, pointer arithmetic allows us to easily navigate through arrays and access different elements based on the current pointer position.

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#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

​

int main() {

  int numbers[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

  int* p = numbers;  // Pointing to the first element of the array

​

  cout << "First element of the array: " << *p << endl;

  p++;  // Incrementing the pointer

  cout << "Second element of the array: " << *p << endl;

  p--;  // Decrementing the pointer

  cout << "Back to the first element of the array again: " << *p << endl;

​

  return 0;

}