Hi, the way I remember it is that * refers to a pointer if a datatype comes before it e.g. int*. If there is no type beforehand, then * is the dereference operation.

e.g. int* p, declares a pointer to an int. *p refers to the value stored at p.

Works for function definitions

int* somefunction(char* string)

Function takes in a pointer to a character and returns a pointer to an int.

Another helpful way to think of pointers is to think about houses:

• If you have a house, you can write down its address (using address = &house).
• If you follow an address, you can follow it to get to the house (using house = *address).
• You can write down the address to the same house multiple times.
• If you want work done on your house you need to pass your address.
• Just because two houses look the same doesn't mean they have the same address.