What does *a mean in c++

*a in C represents a pointer reference, pointing to the memory address of variable a. This pointer can be used to access and modify variable values, dynamically allocate memory, and create data structures.

*a in C

In the C programming language, *a represents a pointer reference to variable a.

The meaning of pointer

A pointer is a special type of variable that stores the memory address of another variable. This allows you to access and modify the value of other variables through pointers.

Grammar

*a’s syntax is as follows:

<code class="cpp">type *variable_name;</code>

where:

• type Is the type of variable pointed to by the pointer.
• variable_name is the name of the pointer variable.

Usage

*a can be used for the following purposes:

• Access and modify the value of a variable without directly referencing the variable .
• Dynamically allocate memory.
• Create data structures such as linked lists and trees.

Example

The following code creates a pointer to the integer variable a:

<code class="cpp">int a = 10;
int *ptr = &a;</code>

Now, it can be accessed and modified through the pointer ptr Variable a:

<code class="cpp">*ptr = 20; // 将 a 的值更改为 20
int value = *ptr; // 获取 a 的值，该值为 20</code>

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