Question

Possible Duplicate:
What can I use instead of the arrow operator, ->?
What does -> mean in C++?

So I’m currently studying for a C++ exam about Data Structure and Algorithm Development. While looking though my teacher powerpoints, I’ve noticed that he’s used this “->” a lot. And I’m not sure what it means? Is it really a command you can do in c++?

Example 1

addrInfo *ptr = head;
while (ptr->next != NULL) 
{
        ptr = ptr->next;
}   
// at this point, ptr points to the last item

Example 2

if( head == NULL )
{
head = block;
block->next = NULL;
}

Answer 1

It is a combination dereference and member-access. This ptr->next is equivalent to (*ptr).next.