quartz/content/notes/12-pointers-to-routines.md

title	aliases	tags
12-pointers-to-routines		cosc204 lecture

compiler ⇒ converts high level language description of program into assembly description of the program assembler ⇒ converts assebly language description into machine code description loader ⇒ loads program into memory, loaded at $4000

data has an address in memory, so does the application. Therefore functions must also have an address in memory which we can access

pointers to routines

int (*method)(int param)

to assign a pointer to a routine

method = square;

to call the routine

result = method(6);

basic example

pointer as member of a struct;

pointers to routines can beused anyqhere variables can

• member of struct

• parameter to other routine

modules

we can break programs into functional modules

• each modules excapsulates one behaviour
• give us a way of data hiding

add pointer to structs as parameters to methods in modules

• call this an abstract data type ADT
• we communicatre with an ADT via its public interface
  • so that the implementation details are hidden