Declaring the pointer type, naming pointers, and assigning addresses

The following are the most basic aspects of pointers:

• We can declare a variable of the pointer type.
• We can assign an already-declared named location to it.
• We can perform a limited number of operations on pointers.

So, while a pointer is a variable and can change, we do not assign values to it willy-nilly. A pointer should only be assigned a value that is an already-declared and named location. This means that a pointer must point to something that already exists in memory.

Because pointers give us values somewhat differently than simple variables, we also need to consider some naming conventions that set them apart from regular variables. These are conventions only and are intended to make the purpose of the variable as a pointer clear.

Declaring the pointer type

A pointer is a variable. Therefore, it has a type and an identifying name. It is distinguished...