Difference between function pointers and pointer to function

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Hello Everyone,

can you please explain the difference between function pointers and pointer to function?

As I understand function pointer is a pointer variable that stores address of a function however pointer to a function is a function which takes function pointer as an argument.

Correct me if i am wrong.

Regards,
Joy

Posted 11-Dec-13 17:55pm

joyjhonson

Updated 1-Jun-17 2:36am

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2 solutions

Solution 4

Not at all. It is both the same: both are pointers, but strong typing is key to avoid problems.

On Windows often used with GetProcAdress and LoadLibrary.

A function which takes a pointer is a normal function. For example: the most string functions are working with pointers to char arrays (aka strings).

Posted 1-Jun-17 2:36am

KarstenK

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Richard MacCutchan 1-Jun-17 9:15am

Look at the date of the question.

Richard Deeming 1-Jun-17 9:16am

Did you notice that this question was solved in 2013? It only appeared on the "active" list because of solution #3.

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Aescleal · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-12T01:15:00

Solution 2

They're synonymous - "a function pointer" and "a pointer to a function" describe an object that can hold the address of a function.

Posted 12-Dec-13 1:15am

Aescleal

Comments

nv3 12-Dec-13 7:43am

5.

BobJanova 12-Dec-13 9:28am

Indeed. In fact this is a general thing, 'pointer to X' and 'X pointer' are two ways of saying the same thing - e.g. int* is either 'pointer to integer' or 'integer pointer'.