Accessing Variable Value from String Representing Variable Name in C

In C , it is possible to obtain the value of a variable dynamically using its name as a string. This technique, commonly known as reflection, allows for flexible debugging and introspection capabilities.

To achieve this, you can utilize the following steps:

1. Obtain Variable Address:

   • Employ the "&" operator to retrieve the address of the variable. For example, &counter returns the memory location where counter is stored.

2. Cast to Pointer:

   • Cast the variable address to a pointer of the variable's type. This allows you to access the variable's value indirectly. For example: int* counterPtr = static_cast(&counter);

3. Access Value via Pointer:

   • Use the dereference operator (*) to access the variable's value through the pointer. For example: std::cout

4. Function Wrapper:

   • To make the process more convenient, you can create a function that takes a string representing the variable name and returns the variable's value. This function simplifies the steps outlined above:

     template 
     T valueOf(const std::string& varName) {
       T* varPtr = static_cast(std::addressof(varName));
       return *varPtr;
     }

Usage:

With the valueOf function, you can obtain variable values dynamically:

std::cout ("counter")