Note: Originally I posted C# code in this answer for purposes of illustration, since C# allows you to pass int parameters by reference with the ref keyword. I’ve decided to update it with actual legal Java code using the first MutableInt class I found on Google to sort of approximate what ref does in C#. … Read more
Here’s a detailed explanation which I hope will be helpful. Let’s begin with your program, as it’s the simplest to explain. int main() { char *p = “Hello”; while(*p++) printf(“%c”,*p); return 0; } The first statement: char* p = “Hello”; declares p as a pointer to char. When we say “pointer to a char“, what … Read more
++ is not an operator. It is two + operators. The + operator is the identity operator, which does nothing. (Clarification: the + and – unary operators only work on numbers, but I presume that you wouldn’t expect a hypothetical ++ operator to work on strings.) ++count Parses as +(+count) Which translates to count You … Read more
++x is called preincrement while x++ is called postincrement. int x = 5, y = 5; System.out.println(++x); // outputs 6 System.out.println(x); // outputs 6 System.out.println(y++); // outputs 5 System.out.println(y); // outputs 6
Same as in other languages: ++x (pre-increment) means “increment the variable; the value of the expression is the final value” x++ (post-increment) means “remember the original value, then increment the variable; the value of the expression is the original value” Now when used as a standalone statement, they mean the same thing: x++; ++x; The … Read more
C has the concept of undefined behavior, i.e. some language constructs are syntactically valid but you can’t predict the behavior when the code is run. As far as I know, the standard doesn’t explicitly say why the concept of undefined behavior exists. In my mind, it’s simply because the language designers wanted there to be … Read more