instruction pointer
nounUK /ɪnˈstrʌkʃən ˈpɔɪntə/
US /ɪnˈstrʌkʃən ˈpɔɪntər/
A tiny marker inside a computer that shows which step to do next.
When the program jumped to a new function, the instruction pointer changed to the address of that function.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A register in a CPU that holds the memory address of the next instruction to be executed.
The debugger displayed the instruction pointer so the programmer could see where the crash happened.
3. In virtual machines or emulators, a variable that tracks the current position in the bytecode being interpreted.
The interpreter updated its instruction pointer after each bytecode operation.
4. A pointer variable in a program that stores the address of the next machine instruction to run.
The exploit overwrote the saved instruction pointer to redirect execution to malicious code.