ABSTRACT
A pointer is a variable that during execution can point to another variable; it can dynamically associate itself with another object. For a pointer variable only, the descriptor without the memory location is specified, and during the execution of the program, it is made to point to a memory location. In addition, a pointer can dynamically change its association during the execution of the program. A pointer may exist in three different states: undefined, null and associated. At the beginning of the program, the pointer is in the undefined state unless it is initialized along with its declaration. The behavior of stat and errmsg is slightly different when a pointer is allocated and a nameless array is created. The dummy pointer argument of a subprogram may have an intent attribute attached to it. Pointer p can point to any procedure having similar calling parameters as sub, and subsequently, the pointer may be used in place of the procedure name.
