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A function pointer, also called a subroutine pointer or procedure pointer, is a pointer referencing executable code, rather than data. Dereferencing the function pointer yields the referenced function, which can be invoked and passed arguments just as in a normal function call.
C functions are akin to the subroutines of Fortran or the procedures of Pascal. A definition is a special type of declaration. A variable definition sets aside storage and possibly initializes it, a function definition provides its body. An implementation of C providing all of the standard library functions is called a hosted implementation.
An autorelative pointer is a pointer whose value is interpreted as an offset from the address of the pointer itself; thus, if a data structure has an autorelative pointer member that points to some portion of the data structure itself, then the data structure may be relocated in memory without having to update the value of the auto relative ...
Thus, calling f x, where f:: a-> b-> c, yields a new function f2:: b-> c that can be called f2 b to produce c. The actual type specifications can consist of an actual type, such as Integer, or a general type variable that is used in parametric polymorphic functions, such as a, or b, or anyType. So we can write something like: functionName:: a ...
However, in formal usage (in language specifications), "declaration" includes both of these senses, with finer distinctions by language: in C and C++, a declaration of a function that does not include a body is called a function prototype, while a declaration of a function that does include a body is called a "function definition". In Java ...
Pointers to functions (function pointers) are useful for passing functions as arguments to higher-order functions (such as qsort or bsearch), in dispatch tables, or as callbacks to event handlers. [37] A null pointer value explicitly points to no valid location. Dereferencing a null pointer value is undefined, often resulting in a segmentation ...
A function prototype is always a declaration and never a definition. Also, in standard C, a function is always external, but some compiler extensions allow a function to be defined inside a function. An external variable must be defined, exactly once, outside of any function; this sets aside storage for it.
Forward declaration is used in languages that require declaration before use; it is necessary for mutual recursion in such languages, as it is impossible to define such functions (or data structures) without a forward reference in one definition: one of the functions (respectively, data structures) must be declared first. It is also useful to ...