Difference between & and * operator in C

A beginner to Pointers in C often perplexed by different operators & and *
Let’s see what it really is and how simple it is.

& – This operator gives ‘the address of’ a variable
* – This operator gives ‘the value at address’ of a variable

(Note! Note! Note! Not the other way round! By heart it any way!)

Let’s codes speak…

#include
main()
{

	int myVariable = 25;

	printf("n Address of myVariable = %u", &myVariable);
	printf("n Value of myVariable = %u", myVariable);
	printf("n Value of myVariable = %u", *(&myVariable));
}

 

So… the output…

Guess?

Address of myVariable = 7589
//7589 is the address in memory of the variable myVariable

Value of myVariable = 25
//It simply printed the ‘myVariable’ which contains 25

Value of myVariable = 25
// Please do note that it printed ‘the value at address’ of ‘myVariable’
// Address is passed via &myVariable

🙂