C++ Pointers Full Guide

In this video, I will teach you all you need to know about pointers in C++.
This video is aimed both at beginner and advanced programmers 💪!
Beginner: 0:56
Intermediate: 5:54
Advanced: 10:46
#cpp #programming #learncpp #gamedev
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[@mahdijoharian2731]

Your teaching style is batter than most c++ UA-camrs for beginners.
It is mostly accurate.
This is what I seen that needed a bit of correction:
Well technically arrays are not pointers and if you use them like pointers they decay
So don't say that an array is a pointer .
The size of it is not normally the size of pointer .
They can be referenced like :
T (&ref)[N]
And this can not be a pointer reference so they are not the same.
Additionaly :
When you make a function with array arguments it is a pointer to the elements.
unless the arguments is a reference .
You can actually see this in msvc:
auto p="";
auto&&a="";
The types are:
const char *,
const char(&)[1]
and some parts about void* ers can led to undefined behavior if you use the wrong type.
And Additionaly you may use new and delete on their own but the catch is that your code is not exception safe .
make sure that at least the delete is in some kind of destructor to make it safer .
In fact you can make a custom( template ) class to hold a lambda and run that on destruction .
This will be handy I promise.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

yes it is true tho I think that's probably too much for a beginner 😂 but good points 💪

[@mahdijoharian2731]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330 @lowlevelgamedev9330 yeah 😅 .
And that's probably why the cherno has more subscribers that Cppcon and c++weekly combined .
😂😅

[@thepaulcraft957]

aint the last one just std::unique_ptr ?

[@mahdijoharian2731]

@@thepaulcraft957 it's not a replacement for unique ptr , this patern is more useful ,unique ptr just hides this work .

[@hexa3333]

Beginner: 0:56
Intermediate: 5:54
Advanced: 10:46

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

thanks, I have to add it in the description 💪

[@Maiuna-yc2uk]

Thanks for the video! This is a great video for an introduction to pointers!
I would like to add something to it though, like best practices, especially for beginners. Here's my take on it:
1. First of all never use *pointers*
2. If you need a dynamic memory, use *std::unique_ptr* instead for single ownership
3. In need of shared ownership? then look around your code, you probably structure your program badly
4. You absolutely need a shared ownership? use *std::shared_ptr* then
5. If you need a view to a memory/resource that you don't own, use a *reference* (borrowing)
6. If you need a view to a contiguous area of memory that you don't own, use *std::span* (*std::string_view* if it's a string)
7. Only if all the above not apply then you are probably okay using a *pointer*
Most of the time you want to use number 5 since dynamic memory allocation is not that common (always use the stack not the heap unless you need to).

[@satyamraj2476]

8:08 i always got confused at arrow operator now i understood it thanks for this video😊.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

glad to help 💪💪

[@1337purpose]

even after 15 years of using C, i havent seen an explanation like this before.

[@jorik170]

int* first;

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

let's goo first pointer of the video 💪

[@lukasjetu9776]

struct Comment {
//count
int likeCount = 0;
int dislikeCount = 0;
short replyCount = 0;
//date vars
short day;
short month;
short year;
//text
char* text;
char* user;
//bools
bool hearted = false;
struct Reply {
//count
int likeCount = 0;
int dislikeCount = 0;
//date vars
short day;
short month;
short year;
//string info
char* text;
char* user;
char* userReply; //only exists if you're replying to others
//bools
bool hasReplied = false;
bool hearted = false;
};
};
// i dont know if this would actually work but whatever

[@BobChess]

unsigned int* first;

[@King_sobb]

Unsigned const short int* first;

[@lukasjetu9776]

constexpr unsigned long long* first = 1;

[@not_vinkami]

So one of my university courses this semester actually requires me to make a text-based game in c++. This is actually so useful

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

yo check out the first videos of my winapi series, they show exactly that 💪

[@LBCreateSpace]

Learned a thing or two! Thank you for making this :D

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

glad to help 💪💪

[@ali_gd_0161]

Hey man, just asking whether you ever thought of making a video series teaching opengl, i really like the way you teach and think you're the perfect guy for this job

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

I might make some videos on the topic but I don't know if I'd do a full series, that takes a lot of time

[@draken2037]

make a video on memory allocation and smart pointers

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

yes it is comming 💪

[@GustavoPinho89]

​@@lowlevelgamedev9330 WHEN?!?!!!??!?! I know you're doing it for free, but that's not an excuse for stalling. 😂😂😂😂 Thanks for sharing your knowledge in a useful way.

[@joshuacox3644]

Simple way to abstract pointers is all they are literal pointers, you’re pointing to a value. Say if I’m pointing at a cat, the pointer isn’t the cat but my finger itself.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

good point, I like it 💪

[@washynator]

Let's goo! Next make a tutorial video about making an MmoRpgFpsPointAndClickAdventureMetroidVaniaZeldaInspiredMinecraftCloneRogueSoulsLike multiplayer c++ game, pretty please?

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

good idea, that was my plan actually 💪😎

[@washynator]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330 Yay!

[@4F6D]

When you know how variables work, you know how pointers work. Don't be too afraid of pointers.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

yes true 💪

[@popcultureprogrammer2171]

I just think of memory as a byte array and an address us an index. Programming languages just change the way we handle the pointer due to the (non-existent) type.

[@jneo_misc7378]

the minecraft song in the beginner :D

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

good stuff 😌

[@ChikenGaming_Offical]

Great video, and i would love to see a tutorial on memory allocation : )

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

noted, third request already, I think I will make it 💪

[@rikkoo]

nice, very cool
Edit: i want the smart pointer video!

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

ok noted, 💪

[@tsarman2182]

Thank you so much, super informative!

[@viper49626]

So i have a one question about pointers and references
when should i use a pointers to pass some data to a function and when should i use references?
void fun(int* ptr)
void fun1(int& ref)
This is confusing because they are very similar besides some sytax sugar.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

good question, so they do the same thing but a refference can't be null. The language forces you to refference it to something. So I use pointers in function arguments when it is something optional, and refference when it isn't optional

[@baptFulbion]

I still don't get why people prefer using pointers when they do a bit of object-oriented... Maybe you'll tell us a bit more about this in your video about memory allocation 👍 I don't think I learnt something in this video, but it was explained very well, so congrats for "popularizing" this quite advanced concept, especially with these great metaphors!

[@v01d_r34l1ty]

first thing that comes to mind is copy size. moving 8 bytes is much cheaper than moving a 24 byte or more object for instance.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

again, that's not a reason to do it, you can always make a refference and a new pointer if you want, pluss 24 bytes still takes no time to copy

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

Well I don't know either, those are the facts and I think people do it just out of poor habit :((

[@v01d_r34l1ty]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330 a reference is an underlying pointer :)

[@v01d_r34l1ty]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330 24 bytes isn't that much but in my project i have a single context struct that is probably hundreds of bytes big for Vulkan and it's passed to every function

[@nevokrien95]

The last example works safely but has so much type system bullshit and UB potential that i sont th8nk its worth showing.

[@Brad_Script]

"I don't use smart pointer", that must have triggered a lot of C++ developers.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

yes I know 😂😂

[@QWin-ir6yq]

How come you don’t use smart pointers?

[@ericlizama8552]

Wait, I was taught int could be 2 bytes or 4 bytes. What data type do I use to always use 4 bytes?

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

int is always 4 bytes

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

but you can also use std::int32_t

[@sekki2554]

GREAT Video. Absolutly great.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

thanks 💪

[@hamzahawash3063]

i demand a video to understand what is the difference between coding and programming and how to understand programming like i have no idea how the gui works and how to get into game development .
and what the hell are algorithms and data structures and data bases dude 😭😭
my head is gonna explode with how much info i am having to deal with ,
for i in range(1000) :
print("i need help")

[@ali_gd_0161]

woomp woomp
Edit: its not that hard actually, i recommend watching Harvard CS50x, its a great online course that explains everything you need to get started with programming (btw, its just the harvard computer science lectures recorded, but its magnificent)

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

this is the exact channel for this, check out my full game guide in c++, or my videos about how to start or continue learning cpp or how to learn cpp for gamedev, I have several

[@hamzahawash3063]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330
thank you brother
you have no idea how much im thankful

[@Dazed_04]

I came here expecting some beginner stuff. Although i knew all of these, it really was an in-depth video about pointers. Specially things like funtion pointers that most beginners don't even know exist.
Another question that beginners ask is why arrays start from index 0, this could easily be added to when you talk about pointer arithmetic while accessing the array.
Overall a great video and something I'd recommend to people already familiar with the language incase they want to refresh their memory.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

thanks bro 💪 I'm glad you liked it

[@Andy_B.]

its ok,
but you def. should explain the syntax (very shortly),
before beginning the intermediate explanation.
I know the syntax, just saw that you already used syntax in your pics before explaining it.

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

fair point, I'll be more carefull next time

[@Andy_B.]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330👍

[@Gabezen101]

Is the information about the heap the same for C?

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

yes, that has to do with the os more than the programming language

[@Gabezen101]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330 thank you very much! so if i design functions in C to call by reference, should I use void add(int *i, int *j) hypothetically or can i use void add(int &i, int &j) just the same with better performance?

[@rz2374]

@@Gabezen101 c doesnt have references so you have to use pointers

[@bruhzzer]

5:51 negotiable*

[@bruhzzer]

8:14 reference*

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

thanks 😭 I'm bad at spelling

[@rz2374]

why dont you use smart pointers

[@DalandanReal]

I dont know what the hell did the creator of c++ to make confusing about const in pointers 💀

[@m4rt_]

... I knew all of this already

[@Brainwizard.2]

The last part was messy. I still don’t understand it.

[@EStartive]

int *second = &first;

[@jorik170]

haha

[@simonhenriquez4590]

int **third = &second;

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

😂😂 epic

[@zackwumpus9364]

Smart pointers..

[@eagle32349]

12 53 12 12

[@silloo2072]

C is high level only assembly is low level

[@mihaelasimerea9700]

What about binary?

[@silloo2072]

@@mihaelasimerea9700 also low😃

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

fair enough but for some people even c is too low level for them 😂

[@silloo2072]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330 you replied to me 😳

[@silloo2072]

@@lowlevelgamedev9330 yep

[@Anmol_pp]

Say hello

[@lowlevelgamedev9330]

say amongus 🔫💀

[@neeyjaa1]

huh?