Why do programmers use void*

Question

I'm learning about dynamics data structure e.g. malloc function. Why sometimes programmers use void* as a pointer parameter to (for example) dynamic variables of integers and chars? What are the differences? What are the advantages?

@user1 Unclear questions that demonstrate no research effort are not worth the time spent editing them. They end up closed anyway. — Pascal Cuoq, Oct 16 '15 at 05:05

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 16 '15 at 05:04

5

Every pointer type can be cast to void* safely. Generic functions that need to work with pointers of all sorts of objects, such as malloc and realloc can work only if they use void* in their interface.

answered Oct 16 '15 at 05:04

R Sahu

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There is not much more you can add to that. A complete explanation in 2-sentences -- those are rare in the world. – David C. Rankin Oct 16 '15 at 05:08
Thanks @DavidC.Rankin :) – R Sahu Oct 16 '15 at 05:14

Why do programmers use void*

1 Answers1