Is int* ptr a valid pointer declaration in C++

Question

Heya,
I know that it compiles and runs but I want to know whether there are any conventions in C++ that wouldn't allow declaring a pointer like this.
As far as I know, this is a fully valid declaration but I'm not 100% sure.
Thanks for your answers.
Stay Healthy.

Answer 1

Nikhil That is incorrect, isn't it? For both declarations

int* a, b;

int *a, b;

'a' will be a pointer, but 'b' an integer. You can verify this by attempting to assign "nullptr" to 'b'. If you wanted both to be pointers, you would need to declare them the following way:

int *a, *b;

where both identifiers now refer to pointers. See for example:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13618282/declaring-multiple-object-pointers-on-one-line-causes-compiler-error

Lennart Krauch Your declaration is of course valid. In a pointer declaration, the asterisk may be placed after the type, inbetween, or before the identifier, and you will find a vast amount of discussions on the net regarding the best place for it.

Answer 2

Shadow wow :o

I was deleting my answer blindly trusting Nikhil but you seems to be agree with what I was thinking to know:

you could write:

int* ptr;

as well as:

int *ptr;

as much as:

int * ptr;

or even:

int*ptr;

number of spaces doesn't matter ^^

if that was your question/doubt...

why we often see:

int *ptr;

is because you could inline many pointer declarations, separated by comma:

int *p1, *p2;

and that sounds more logical (and readable) than:

int* p1,* p2;

Answer 3

Ah thank you didn't know that.

Answer 4

Ty everyone for your answers. I wasn't 100% sure ^^

Answer 5

Yes it is valid. you have to only add an asterisk before the variable name.