what is -> in c++

The '->' Operator in C++

In C++, the '->' operator is used to access a member of a structure or class through a pointer. It is an alternative to the '.' operator, which is used to access members directly from an object or instance.

When using the '->' operator, the left-hand side operand must be a pointer to a structure or class, while the right-hand side operand is the member being accessed.

Here is an example to illustrate the usage of the '->' operator:

#include <iostream>

struct Person {
    std::string name;
    int age;
};

int main() {
    Person* personPtr = new Person;
    personPtr->name = "John";
    personPtr->age = 25;

    std::cout << "Name: " << personPtr->name << std::endl;
    std::cout << "Age: " << personPtr->age << std::endl;

    delete personPtr;
    return 0;
}

In the above example, we define a structure called Person with two members: name and age. We then create a pointer to a Person object using the new keyword. By using the '->' operator, we can access the members of the Person object through the pointer. Finally, we delete the dynamically allocated object using the delete keyword.

The '->' operator is particularly useful when working with dynamically allocated objects or when accessing members of objects through pointers.

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