1. 基本概念-

当你申报如下:-

1. Char *ch -(称为字符指针) - ch为单个字符的地址。 - (*ch)将解引用字符的值。

2. Char **ch - 'ch'包含字符指针数组的地址。(如1) '*ch'包含单个字符的地址。(注意它与1不同，因为声明不同)。 (**ch)将解引用到字符的确切值..

添加更多指针将扩展数据类型的维度，从字符扩展到字符串，再扩展到字符串数组，等等……你可以把它和一维，二维，三维矩阵联系起来。

指针的用法取决于你如何声明它。

这是一个简单的代码..

int main()
{
    char **p;
    p = (char **)malloc(100);
    p[0] = (char *)"Apple";      // or write *p, points to location of 'A'
    p[1] = (char *)"Banana";     // or write *(p+1), points to location of 'B'

    cout << *p << endl;          //Prints the first pointer location until it finds '\0'
    cout << **p << endl;         //Prints the exact character which is being pointed
    *p++;                        //Increments for the next string
    cout << *p;
}

2. 双指针的另一个应用 (这也包括引用传递)

假设您想从函数中更新一个字符。如果你尝试以下方法:-

void func(char ch)
{
    ch = 'B';
}

int main()
{
    char ptr;
    ptr = 'A';
    printf("%c", ptr);

    func(ptr);
    printf("%c\n", ptr);
}

输出为AA。这是行不通的，因为您已经将“按值传递”传递给了函数。

正确的做法是-

void func( char *ptr)        //Passed by Reference
{
    *ptr = 'B';
}

int main()
{
    char *ptr;
    ptr = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * 1);
    *ptr = 'A';
    printf("%c\n", *ptr);

    func(ptr);
    printf("%c\n", *ptr);
}

现在扩展这个要求，更新字符串而不是字符。 为此，需要将函数中的形参作为双指针接收。

void func(char **str)
{
    strcpy(str, "Second");
}

int main()
{
    char **str;
    // printf("%d\n", sizeof(char));
    *str = (char **)malloc(sizeof(char) * 10);          //Can hold 10 character pointers
    int i = 0;
    for(i=0;i<10;i++)
    {
        str = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * 1);         //Each pointer can point to a memory of 1 character.
    }

    strcpy(str, "First");
    printf("%s\n", str);
    func(str);
    printf("%s\n", str);
}

在本例中，method使用双指针作为参数来更新字符串的值。

Pointers to pointers also come in handy as "handles" to memory where you want to pass around a "handle" between functions to re-locatable memory. That basically means that the function can change the memory that is being pointed to by the pointer inside the handle variable, and every function or object that is using the handle will properly point to the newly relocated (or allocated) memory. Libraries like to-do this with "opaque" data-types, that is data-types were you don't have to worry about what they're doing with the memory being pointed do, you simply pass around the "handle" between the functions of the library to perform some operations on that memory ... the library functions can be allocating and de-allocating the memory under-the-hood without you having to explicitly worry about the process of memory management or where the handle is pointing.

例如:

#include <stdlib.h>

typedef unsigned char** handle_type;

//some data_structure that the library functions would work with
typedef struct 
{
    int data_a;
    int data_b;
    int data_c;
} LIB_OBJECT;

handle_type lib_create_handle()
{
    //initialize the handle with some memory that points to and array of 10 LIB_OBJECTs
    handle_type handle = malloc(sizeof(handle_type));
    *handle = malloc(sizeof(LIB_OBJECT) * 10);

    return handle;
}

void lib_func_a(handle_type handle) { /*does something with array of LIB_OBJECTs*/ }

void lib_func_b(handle_type handle)
{
    //does something that takes input LIB_OBJECTs and makes more of them, so has to
    //reallocate memory for the new objects that will be created

    //first re-allocate the memory somewhere else with more slots, but don't destroy the
    //currently allocated slots
    *handle = realloc(*handle, sizeof(LIB_OBJECT) * 20);

    //...do some operation on the new memory and return
}

void lib_func_c(handle_type handle) { /*does something else to array of LIB_OBJECTs*/ }

void lib_free_handle(handle_type handle) 
{
    free(*handle);
    free(handle); 
}


int main()
{
    //create a "handle" to some memory that the library functions can use
    handle_type my_handle = lib_create_handle();

    //do something with that memory
    lib_func_a(my_handle);

    //do something else with the handle that will make it point somewhere else
    //but that's invisible to us from the standpoint of the calling the function and
    //working with the handle
    lib_func_b(my_handle); 

    //do something with new memory chunk, but you don't have to think about the fact
    //that the memory has moved under the hood ... it's still pointed to by the "handle"
    lib_func_c(my_handle);

    //deallocate the handle
    lib_free_handle(my_handle);

    return 0;
}

希望这能有所帮助，

杰森

一个原因是你想要改变传递给函数的作为函数参数的指针的值，要做到这一点，你需要指针指向指针。

简单地说，当你想在函数调用之外保留(或保留)内存分配或分配的变化时，使用**。(因此，传递带有双指针arg的函数。)

这可能不是一个很好的例子，但会告诉你基本的用法:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

void allocate(int **p)
{
    *p = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int));
}

int main()
{
    int *p = NULL;
    allocate(&p);
    *p = 42;
    printf("%d\n", *p);
    free(p);
}

I have used double pointers today while I was programming something for work, so I can answer why we had to use them (it's the first time I actually had to use double pointers). We had to deal with real time encoding of frames contained in buffers which are members of some structures. In the encoder we had to use a pointer to one of those structures. The problem was that our pointer was being changed to point to other structures from another thread. In order to use the current structure in the encoder, I had to use a double pointer, in order to point to the pointer that was being modified in another thread. It wasn't obvious at first, at least for us, that we had to take this approach. A lot of address were printed in the process :)).

当你处理在应用程序其他地方被更改的指针时，你应该使用双指针。在处理返回和寻址给您的硬件时，您可能还会发现双指针是必须的。

下面是一个非常简单的c++示例，说明如果要使用函数将指针设置为指向对象，则需要一个指针指向指针。否则，指针将继续返回null。

(一个c++的答案，但我相信在C中也是一样的)

(同样，供参考:谷歌("pass by value c++") = "默认情况下，c++中的参数是按值传递的。当实参按值传递时，实参的值被复制到函数的形参中。”)

我们想让指针b等于字符串a。

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

void Function_1(std::string* a, std::string* b) {
  b = a;
  std::cout << (b == nullptr);  // False
}

void Function_2(std::string* a, std::string** b) {
  *b = a;
  std::cout << (b == nullptr);  // False
}

int main() {
  std::string a("Hello!");
  std::string* b(nullptr);
  std::cout << (b == nullptr);  // True

  Function_1(&a, b);
  std::cout << (b == nullptr);  // True

  Function_2(&a, &b);
  std::cout << (b == nullptr);  // False
}

// Output: 10100

在Function_1(&a, b);这条线上会发生什么?

The "value" of &main::a (an address) is copied into the parameter std::string* Function_1::a. Therefore Function_1::a is a pointer to (i.e. the memory address of) the string main::a. The "value" of main::b (an address in memory) is copied into the parameter std::string* Function_1::b. Therefore there are now 2 of these addresses in memory, both null pointers. At the line b = a;, the local variable Function_1::b is then changed to equal Function_1::a (= &main::a), but the variable main::b is unchanged. After the call to Function_1, main::b is still a null pointer.

在函数_2(&a， &b);这一行发生了什么?

The treatment of the a variable is the same: within the function, Function_2::a is the address of the string main::a. But the variable b is now being passed as a pointer to a pointer. The "value" of &main::b (the address of the pointer main::b) is copied into std::string** Function_2::b. Therefore within Function_2, dereferencing this as *Function_2::b will access and modify main::b . So the line *b = a; is actually setting main::b (an address) equal to Function_2::a (= address of main::a) which is what we want.

如果你想用一个函数来修改一个东西，无论是一个对象还是一个地址(指针)，你必须传递一个指向那个东西的指针。您实际传入的内容不能被修改(在调用范围内)，因为创建了本地副本。

(一个例外是如果形参是一个引用，例如std::string& a.但通常这些是const。一般来说，如果你调用f(x)，如果x是一个对象，你应该能够假设f不会修改x。但如果x是一个指针，那么你应该假设f可能修改x指向的对象。)

简单的例子，你可能已经见过很多次了

int main(int argc, char **argv)

在第二个参数中有它:指向char的指针的指针。

注意，指针表示法(char* c)和数组表示法(char c[])在函数参数中是可互换的。所以你也可以写char *argv[]。换句话说，char *argv[]和char **argv是可互换的。

上面所代表的实际上是一个字符序列数组(在启动时给予程序的命令行参数)。

有关上述函数签名的更多详细信息，请参见此回答。