Sams Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours, Third Edition

Pointers to Functions

Just as an array name is a constant pointer to the first element of the array, a function name is a constant pointer to the function. It is possible to declare a pointer variable that points to a function, and to invoke the function by using that pointer. This can be very useful; it allows you to create programs that decide which functions to invoke based on user input.

The only tricky part about function pointers is understanding the type of the object being pointed to. A pointer to int points to an integer variable, and a pointer to a function must point to a function of the appropriate return type and signature.

In the declaration

long (* funcPtr) (int);

funcPtr is declared to be a pointer (note the * in front of the ...