Pointers are objects which hold the address of another object.
Pointers are useful for holding a reference to another object, but we still want the reference to be optional.
Task
Read the code. Run the program and see the output.
Press the Run button.
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
int n = 10;
// Creates a pointer to int called p and sets the address to n's address using the address-of operator &.
int *p = &n;
// Gets the value pointed by p using the dereference operator *.
std::cout << *p << std::endl;
// Use the dereference operator again to change the value pointed by p to 20.
*p = 20;
// n is affected by *p = 20.
std::cout << n << std::endl;
}
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
int n = 10;
// Creates a pointer to int called p and sets the address to n's address using the address-of operator &.
int *p = &n;
// Gets the value pointed by p using the dereference operator *.
std::cout << *p << std::endl;
// Use the dereference operator again to change the value pointed by p to 20.
*p = 20;
// n is affected by *p = 20.
std::cout << n << std::endl;
}