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Everything about Dangling pointer

Pointer that does not point to a valid object

Dangling pointers and wild pointers in computer programming are pointers that do not point to a valid object of the appropriate type. These are special cases of memory safety violations. More generally, dangling references and wild references are references that do not resolve to a valid destination. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: Dangling pointerA 5-minute orientation
  2. Pick up a classic book: Modern Operating SystemsThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  3. Read the landmark paper: Efficient detection of dangling pointer error for C/C++ programsCited 0 times
  4. Go sideways: Pointer (computer programming)A closely related topic
  5. Go sideways: C dynamic memory allocationA closely related topic

đź“– Definitions

Noun A pointer (variable that holds the address of a memory location) that does not reference a valid object.

Noun A pointer referencing memory that was previously deallocated.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Cause of dangling pointers
  2. Manual deallocation without dangling reference
  3. Cause of wild pointers
  4. Security holes involving dangling pointers
  5. Avoiding dangling pointer errors
  6. Dangling pointer detection

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

đź“š Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

đź”— Related topics