# Bounded pointer

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In [computer science](/source/Computer_science), a **bounded pointer** is a [pointer](/source/Pointer_(computer_programming)) that is augmented with additional information that enable the storage bounds within which it may point to be deduced.[1] This additional information sometimes takes the form of two pointers holding the upper and lower [addresses](/source/Memory_address) of the storage occupied by the object to which the bounded pointer points.

Use of bound information makes it possible for a [compiler](/source/Compiler) to generate code that performs [bounds checking](/source/Bounds_checking), i.e. that tests if a pointer's value lies within the bounds prior to dereferencing the pointer or modifying the value of the pointer. If the bounds are violated some kind of [exception](/source/Exception_(computing)) may be raised. This is especially useful for data constructs such as [arrays](/source/Array_data_structure) in [C](/source/C_(programming_language)).

## See also

- [Bounds-checking elimination](/source/Bounds-checking_elimination)

- [Smart pointer](/source/Smart_pointer)

- [Tagged pointer](/source/Tagged_pointer)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Reese, Richard (2013). [*Understanding and Using C Pointers: Core Techniques for Memory Management*](https://books.google.com/books?id=K4P32IpvyNMC). O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 167. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781449344566](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781449344566).

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