C++ Pointer operators (& and *)

C++ Operator

C++ It provides two pointer operators, one is the address-of operator & and one is the indirect addressing operator *.

A pointer is a variable that contains the address of another variable. You can say that a variable that contains the address of another variable is "pointing to" another variable. The variable can be of any data type, including objects, structures, or pointers.

Address-of operator &

& is a unary operator that returns the memory address of the operand. For example, if var is an integer variable, then &var is its address. This operator has the same precedence as other unary operators, and it is executed from right to left in the order of operation.

You can read the & operator as"address-of operator"This means that,&var Read as "the address of var".

Indirect addressing operator *

The second operator is the indirect addressing operator *It is a supplement to the & operator.* It is a unary operator that returns the value of the variable specified by the operand.

Please see the following example to understand the usage of these two operators.

#include　<iostream>
　
using　namespace　std;
　
int　main　()
{
　　　int　　var;
　　　int　　*ptr;
　　　int　　val;
　　　var　=　3000;
　　　//　Get the address of var
　　　ptr = &var;
　　　//　Get the value of ptr
　　　val =　*ptr;
　　　cout << "The value of var: " << var << endl;
　　　cout << "The value of ptr: " << ptr << endl;
　　　cout << "The value of val: " << val << endl;
　　　return 0;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it will produce the following results:

The value of var:3000
The value of ptr: 0xbff64494
The value of val:3000

C++ Operator