Can I assign any integer value to a pointer variable directly?

Question

Since addresses are numbers and can be assigned to a pointer variable, can I assign any integer value to a pointer variable directly, like this:

int *pPtr = 60000;

Answer 1

You can with an explicit cast:

int *pPtr = (int *)60000;

But unless you're developing for an embedded device with known memory addresses with a compiler that explicitly allows it, attempting to dereference such a pointer will invoke undefined behavior.

You should only assign the address of a variable or the result of a memory allocation function such as malloc, or NULL.