An integer value in pointer arithmetic represents the element to which the pointer points. When an integer is added to a pointer, the integer is automatically converted into the size of the pointer element in bytes and added to the pointer. This is equivalent to incrementing an array index. Put another way, incrementing a pointer is equivalent to incrementing the index of an array.
Even though pointers are nearly identical to integers—they are positive, whole numbers that can be added, subtracted, and compared—they are treated slightly differently from integers when pointer arithmetic is performed. The following cases illustrate the various results when operations on a pointer and an integer are mixed:
pointer + integer → pointer
integer + pointer → pointer
pointer – integer → pointer
pointer –...
