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C++ Member Operators

C++ Operators

The . (dot) operator and -> (arrow) operator are used to reference members of classes, structures, and unions.

The dot operator is applied to actual objects. The arrow operator is used with a pointer to an object. For example, suppose there is the following structure:

struct Employee {
  char first_name[16];
  int  age;
} emp;

The . (dot) Operator

The following code assigns the value "zara" to the first_name member of the object emp:

strcpy(emp.first_name, "zara");

The -> (arrow) Operator

If p_emp is a pointer to an object of type Employee, to assign the value "zara" to the **first_name** member of the object emp, you would write the following code:

strcpy(p_emp->first_name, "zara");

-> is called the arrow operator, which consists of a minus sign followed by a greater-than sign.

In summary, use the dot operator to access members of a structure, and use the arrow operator to access members of a structure through a pointer.

C++ Operators

❮ Cpp Intro Cpp Function Call By Value ❯