Part 6. Pointers and Memory

Memory is where a program keeps its data while it runs.

12 items

Section	Title
1	Memory Model Basics
2	Single Item Pointers
3	Many Item Pointers
4	Slices
5	Optional Pointers
6	Pointer Arithmetic
7	Alignment
8	Sentinel-Terminated Arrays
9	Stack vs Heap
10	Dangling Pointers
11	Memory Safety in Zig
12	Volatile and Atomic Memory

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Memory Model Basics

Memory is where a program keeps its data while it runs.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Single Item Pointers

A pointer is a value that stores the address of another value.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Many Item Pointers

A many item pointer is a pointer that can move across several values of the same type.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Slices

A slice is a view into a sequence of values.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Optional Pointers

An optional pointer is a pointer that may have no value.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Pointer Arithmetic

Pointer arithmetic means moving a pointer forward or backward through memory.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Alignment

Alignment is a rule about where a value may be placed in memory.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Sentinel-Terminated Arrays

A sentinel-terminated array is an array with a special value at the end.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Stack vs Heap

Zig programs use memory in different places. The two most important places are the stack and the heap.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Dangling Pointers

A dangling pointer is a pointer that refers to memory that is no longer valid.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Memory Safety in Zig

Memory safety means using memory only while it is valid, only through the right type, and only inside the allowed range.

Writes › Book › Zig › Part 6. Pointers and Memory ›

Volatile and Atomic Memory

Most memory in Zig is ordinary memory.