Explain Arrays of Pointers with example
We can have arrays of pointers since pointers are variables.Example use:
Sort lines of text of different length.
NOTE: Text can't be moved or compared in a single operation.
Arrays of Pointers are a data representation that will cope efficiently and conveniently with variable length text lines.
How can we do this?:
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Store lines end-to-end in one
big char array as in following fig. \n will delimit lines.
·
Store pointers in a different
array where each pointer points to 1st char of each new line.
·
Compare two lines using strcmp()
standard library function.
·
If 2 lines are out of order --
swap pointer in pointer array (not text).
Fig.Arrays of Pointers (String Sorting Example)
This eliminates:
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complicated storage management.
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high overheads of moving lines.