C Program to Print Address and Character of String Using Pointer

In C programming, pointers are powerful tools that let you access and manipulate memory directly. In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to use a pointer to print each character of a string along with its memory address.

---

Objective

• Use a pointer to traverse a string.
• Print the character and its address using pointer arithmetic.

---

Example C Program

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char str[] = "Hello";
    char *ptr;

    ptr = str; // Pointer points to the first character

    printf("Character  |  Address\n");
    printf("---------------------\n");

    while (*ptr != '\0') {
        printf("    %c      |  %p\n", *ptr, ptr);
        ptr++;
    }

    return 0;
}

---

Sample Output

Character  |  Address
---------------------
    H      |  0x7ffee5b8c730
    e      |  0x7ffee5b8c731
    l      |  0x7ffee5b8c732
    l      |  0x7ffee5b8c733
    o      |  0x7ffee5b8c734

(Note: The actual address values will differ each time you run the program.)

---

Explanation

• char str[] = "Hello"; creates a string.
• char *ptr = str; sets the pointer to the beginning of the string.
• The loop continues until *ptr is '\0', the null terminator.
• *ptr prints the character, ptr prints the address.

---

Pointer Concepts Used

• Pointer arithmetic (ptr++)
• Dereferencing (*ptr)
• String traversal using a pointer

---

Key Takeaways

• Pointers can directly access memory locations of characters.
• Strings in C are arrays of characters ending with \0.
• This method is useful for understanding how strings are stored in memory.

---

Conclusion

Using pointers to print characters and their addresses gives you a deeper understanding of how strings are stored and accessed in C. It’s an essential concept for working with arrays, dynamic memory, and low-level data handling in C.