pointer_basics.md

Pointer Basics

A pointer is a type that stores the address of an object. For example, int* is a pointer to an int, and will store the address of an int.

• the address-of operator & creates a pointer to an object
• the indirection operator * accesses the pointed-to object

Using these operators is called referencing and dereferencing, respectively.

int x = 50;
int* p = &x; // p ==   &x, *p == 50, x == 50
*p = 10;     // p ==   &x, *p == 10, x == 10
p = NULL;    // p == NULL, *p == ??, x == 10

Note: use nullptr instead of NULL in C++

See Also

• learncpp.com: Introduction to pointers
• cppreference.com: Pointer declaration
• stackoverflow.com: What exactly is nullptr?
• cdecl+ to experiment with pointer syntax
• howto pointer

?creditFooter 164892896514801664