Thread: pointers to functions

Hi guys please guide me in the right direction with pointers to functions where would you use them ect...

/* In the following code why is a pointer to a function required */
/* when we could have just created the array in main, called amend */
/* and from there called display both with array name passed to them */


#include<stdio.h>
#define ARRAYSIZE 5

int *create(void); /* pointer to function */
void amend(int *i_ptr);
void display(int *i_ptr);

void main()
{
int *pass_ptr;

pass_ptr=create(); /* call function return pointer */

amend(pass_ptr);
display(pass_ptr);
}

int *create(void)
{
static int values[ARRAYSIZE];
int i;

for(i=0;i<ARRAYSIZE;i++)
{
printf("Enter integer value for position %d >",i+1);
scanf("%d",&values[i]);
}

return(values); /* return static pointer */
}

void amend(int *i_ptr) /* points to array */
{
int i,new_val;

for(i=0;i<ARRAYSIZE;i++)
{
printf("\nEnter new value to store in array position %d >",i+1);
scanf("%d",&new_val);

*i_ptr=new_val;
i_ptr++;
}
}

void display(int *i_ptr)
{
int i;

printf("\nNew values stored in the array are :\n");
printf("\n\tPosition\t\tValue\n");

for(i=0;i<ARRAYSIZE;i++)
printf("\n\t%d\t\t\t%d",i+1,*i_ptr++);
}

THANKS FOR THE HELP.
learner wanting to be a master.

You can consider too that the name of a function is by itself a pointer to that function : it points to the first word of memory where is stored the function.
A pointer to a function will store that address too

A very simple example :

#include <stdio.h>

int realfunction(void)
{printf("Using function realfunction\n");}

int main(void)
{
int i;
int (*foo)(void); /*pointer to a function which has
same return value type and
same argument types as the function*/
foo = realfunction;
for(i=0;i<5;i++)
foo();
return 0;
}