GATE EXAM PREPARATION IN "C" - Pointer Basics

Output of following program?
# include <stdio.h>
void fun(int *ptr)
{
    *ptr = 30;
}

int main()
{
  int y = 20;
  fun(&y);
  printf("%d", y);

  return 0;
}
(A) 20
(B) 30
(C) Compiler Error
(D) Runtime Error


Answer: (B) 

Explanation: The function fun() expects a pointer ptr to an integer (or an address of an integer). It modifies the value at the address ptr. The dereference operator * is used to access the value at an address. In the statement ‘*ptr = 30’, value at address ptr is changed to 30. The address operator & is used to get the address of a variable of any data type. In the function call statement ‘fun(&y)’, address of y is passed so that y can be modified using its address.