Why does everybody on this website who asks about C programming ask about pointers?

Answer 1

Not everybody asks about pointers, however pointers are a fundamental data type in C and can be difficult to understand when you come from a language that does not support a native pointer type. It is extremely low-level but in higher level languages, such as Java, pointers are abstracted away using references. Moreover, the close relationship between a pointer and an array in C means that it is vital we understand what a pointer is and why we need them.

Answer 2

They don't; there's more to C than just pointers. However, programmers who are not familiar with machine code, assembly language or low-level programming in general will often struggle with the concept of pointers. Most high-level languages use resource handles which are undoubtedly easier to work with, but they impose an abstraction overhead that is often unnecessary. In order to improve efficiency, programmers need to get "closer-to-the-machine" and pointers are fundamental to that concept. However, C provides no safety mechanisms, the onus is entirely upon the programmer to ensure pointers are used correctly. C++ is no different, but the programmer can use object-oriented principals to create lightweight "smart" pointers that are easier to use but no less efficient than a "raw" pointer; the underlying memory management is handled automatically by the resource handle, placing the onus of responsibility upon the compiler, not the programmer.