Pointer operations

There are two operators for pointers: address-of operator (&): Returns the memory address of its operand. Contents-of (dereference) operator (*): Returns the value of the variable located at the address specified by its operator.

int var = 20;
int *ptr;
ptr = &var;

cout << var << endl;
// Outputs 20 (The value of var)

cout << ptr << endl;
// Outputs 0x234f119 (var's memory location)

cout << *ptr << endl;
// Outputs 20(The value of the variable stored in the pointer ptr

The asterisk (*) is used in declaring a pointer for simple purpose of indicating that it is a pointer. Don’t confuse this with the dereference operator, which is used to obtain the value located at the specified address. They are simply two different things represented with the same sign.