Question

When you pass an array name as an argument to a function, what is actually being passed?

Short answer

Answer: When an array name is passed as an argument to a function, the memory address (pointer) of the first element in the array is actually being passed. This allows the function to access and manipulate the array elements efficiently in terms of memory and processing time.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding Arrays and Functions

In programming, an array is a data structure that can store multiple elements of the same type. A function, on the other hand, is a reusable piece of code that can take input, perform specific operations, and return output. We can pass an array to a function to perform operations on the elements of the array.

Array Name as a Pointer

When you pass an array name as an argument to a function, you are actually passing the address (memory location) of the first element of the array. In other words, the array name acts as a pointer to the first element in the array. The function uses this address to access and manipulate the elements of the array.

Advantages of Passing Array Name

Since passing the array name to a function only involves passing the memory address of the first element, it saves time and memory. If we were to pass the entire array, it would consume more memory and processing time, especially for large arrays.

Accessing Array Elements in Functions

Once the address of the array's first element is passed to the function, the function can use pointer arithmetic to access other elements in the array. For example, if the array name points to the first element, adding 1 to the pointer would point to the second element, adding 2 would point to the third element, and so on.

Conclusion

When passing an array name as an argument to a function, we are actually passing the memory address (pointer) of the first element in the array. This allows the function to access and manipulate the array elements efficiently in terms of memory and processing time.