Near Pointers

If you don't explicitly specify a memory model, Microsoft C/C++ defaults to the small model, which allots up to 64K for the code and another 64K for the data (see Figure 4.1).

When a small-model program runs, the CS and DS segment registers never change. All code pointers and all data pointers contain 16 bits because they remain within the 64K range.

These 16-bit pointers to objects within a single 64K segment are called “near pointers.” Accessing a near object is called “near addressing.”