Question

Given a pointer to int, how can I obtain the actual int?

I don’t know if this is possible or not, but can someone please advise me?

Answer 1

Use the * on pointers to get the variable pointed (dereferencing).

int val = 42;
int* pVal = &val;

int k = *pVal; // k == 42

If your pointer points to an array, then dereferencing will give you the first element of the array.

If you want the “value” of the pointer, that is the actual memory address the pointer contains, then cast it (but it’s generally not a good idea) :

int pValValue = reinterpret_cast<int>( pVal );