C Function Pointers

C function pointers

Created By: chatGPT

Function pointers are a powerful feature in C that allow you to store the address of a function in a variable. This enables you to easily pass functions as arguments, return them from other functions, or create arrays of functions. To declare a function pointer, you follow the syntax: return_type (*PointerName)(parameter_types);. This means you can treat the pointer as if it were the function itself.

int (*funcPtr)(int, int);

Here’s a simple example where we define a function that adds two integers and then use a function pointer to call it. First, we define the function:

int add(int a, int b) {
    return a + b;
}

Next, we define a function pointer and assign the address of the add function to it. We then call the function using the pointer.

int main() {
    int (*funcPtr)(int, int) = add;
    int result = funcPtr(5, 3);
    printf("Result: %d\n", result);
    return 0;
}

Output from this program will be Result: 8. You can also create an array of function pointers.

int subtract(int a, int b) {
    return a - b;
}

int main() {
    int (*operations[2])(int, int);
    operations[0] = add;
    operations[1] = subtract;
    int sum = operations[0](5, 3);
    int diff = operations[1](5, 3);
    printf("Sum: %d, Difference: %d\n", sum, diff);
    return 0;
}

In this example, operations is an array of function pointers that point to both add and subtract. You can then call these functions via their corresponding index in the array.

Output:
Sum: 8, Difference: 2