What is a void pointer?

A void pointer is a C convention for “a raw address.” The compiler has no idea what type of object a void Pointer “really points to.” If you write int *ip; ip points to an int. If you write void *p; p doesn’t point to a void! In C and C++, any time you need a void pointer, you can use another pointer type. For example, if you have a char*, you can pass it to a function that expects a void*. You don’t even need to cast it. In C (but not in C++), you can use a void* any time you need any kind of pointer, without casting. (In C++, you need to cast it).  A void pointer is used for working with raw memory or for passing a pointer to an unspecified type. Some C code operates on raw memory. When C was first invented, character pointers (char *) were used for that. Then people started getting confused about when a character pointer was a string, when it was a character array, and when it was raw memory.  
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Ashwan

  • Jul 26th, 2007
 

Void Pointer or Generic Pointer is the one to which any datatype can be assigned.


eg.

main()
{
    int *p;
 
    void *vp;
 
    vp=p;
}

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ashish

  • Aug 18th, 2011
 

The pointer is easily convert into any other type of pointer variable is called void pointer.

Main ex-dynamic memory allocation function use void pointer to convert to type of pointer.

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