C dynamically growing array

Question

I have a program that reads a \"raw\" list of in-game entities, and I intend to make an array holding an index number (int) of an indeterminate number of entities, for proce

Answer 1

When you're saying

make an array holding an index number (int) of an indeterminate number of entities

you're basically saying you're using "pointers", but one which is a array-wide local pointer instead of memory-wide pointer. Since you're conceptually already using "pointers" (i.e. id numbers that refers to an element in an array), why don't you just use regular pointers (i.e. id numbers that refers to an element in the biggest array: the whole memory).

Instead of your objects storing a resource id numbers, you can make them store a pointer instead. Basically the same thing, but much more efficient since we avoid turning "array + index" into a "pointer".

Pointers are not scary if you think of them as array index for the whole memory (which is what they actually are)