In C, a pointer array is an array whose elements are pointers to other objects. Each slot stores a memory adress, which makes this strcuture ideal for hendling variable‑length strings or collections of dynamically allocated data.

The following example defines a small array of integer pointers and a string pointer array. Elements are dereferenced and printed inside loops.

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    int x = 11, y = 22, z = 33;

    int *ptr_arr[] = {&x, &y, &z};
    const char *words[] = {"alpha", "beta", "gamma", "delta"};

    for (int idx = 0; idx < 2; idx++) {
        printf("ptr_arr[%d] -> %d\n", idx, *ptr_arr[idx]);
    }

    for (int k = 0; k < 4; k++) {
        printf("words[%d] = %s\n", k, words[k]);
    }

    return 0;
}

Output:

ptr_arr[0] -> 11
ptr_arr[1] -> 22
words[0] = alpha
words[1] = beta
words[2] = gamma
words[3] = delta

An array pointer points to an entire array rather than to a single element. It is commonly used with multi‑dimensional arrays or when an entire array needs to be passed to a function.

The code below creates a 3×4 integer matrix and a pointer that can step through whole rows. Two equivalent dereferencing styles are shown.

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
    int grid[3][4] = {
        { 1,  2,  3,  4},
        { 5,  6,  7,  8},
        { 9, 10, 11, 12}
    };

    int (*row_ptr)[4] = grid;

    for (int r = 0; r < 3; r++) {
        for (int c = 0; c < 4; c++) {
            // both lines produce identical output
            printf("grid[%d][%d]: %d\n", r, c, *(row_ptr[r] + c));
            // printf("grid[%d][%d]: %d\n", r, c, row_ptr[r][c]);
        }
    }

    return 0;
}

Output:

grid[0][0]: 1
grid[0][1]: 2
grid[0][2]: 3
grid[0][3]: 4
grid[1][0]: 5
grid[1][1]: 6
grid[1][2]: 7
grid[1][3]: 8
grid[2][0]: 9
grid[2][1]: 10
grid[2][2]: 11
grid[2][3]: 12

Pointer arrays hold multiple addresses that may point to scattered13