Sams Teach Yourself C++ in 24 Hours, fifth edition

Hour 10. Creating Pointers

What You’ll Learn in This Hour:

• What pointers are

• How to declare and use pointers

• What the heap is and how to manipulate memory

Understanding Pointers and Their Usage

One of the most powerful tools available to a C++ programmer is the pointer. Pointers provide the capability to manipulate computer memory directly. That power comes at a price: Pointers are one of the most difficult aspects of C++ for many beginners to learn.

A variable is an object that can hold a value. An integer variable holds a number. A character variable holds a letter. A pointer is a variable that holds a memory address.

Okay, so what is a memory address? To fully understand this, you must know a little about computer memory.

Computer ...