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C and C++ also support the pointer to void type (specified as void *), but this is an unrelated notion. Variables of this type are pointers to data of an unspecified type, so in this context (but not the others) void * acts roughly like a universal or top type .
A method returns to the code that invoked it when it completes all the statements in the method, reaches a return statement, or throws an exception, whichever occurs first. You declare a method's return type in its method declaration. Within the body of the method, you use the return statement to return the value.
In the C and C++ programming languages, an inline function is one qualified with the keyword inline; this serves two purposes: . It serves as a compiler directive that suggests (but does not require) that the compiler substitute the body of the function inline by performing inline expansion, i.e. by inserting the function code at the address of each function call, thereby saving the overhead ...
In C and C++, the type signature is declared by what is commonly known as a function prototype. In C/C++, a function declaration reflects its use; for example, a function pointer with the signature (int)(char, double) would be called as:
The void pointer, or void*, is supported in ANSI C and C++ as a generic pointer type. A pointer to void can store the address of any object (not function), [ a ] and, in C, is implicitly converted to any other object pointer type on assignment, but it must be explicitly cast if dereferenced.
Specifically, C allows a void* pointer to be assigned to any pointer type without a cast, while C++ does not; this idiom appears often in C code using malloc memory allocation, [9] or in the passing of context pointers to the POSIX pthreads API, and other frameworks involving callbacks. For example, the following is valid in C but not C++:
Most C code can easily be made to compile correctly in C++ but there are a few differences that cause some valid C code to be invalid or behave differently in C++. For example, C allows implicit conversion from void * to other pointer types but C++ does not (for type safety reasons).
The C and C++ syntax given above is the canonical one used in all the textbooks - but it's difficult to read and explain. Even the above typedef examples use this syntax. However, every C and C++ compiler supports a more clear and concise mechanism to declare function pointers: use typedef, but don't store