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Dictionary and Thesaurus entries for:

pointer

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pointer [n]
 
1)a mark to indicate a direction or relation
    Synonyms :arrow 
    See Also: mark  orient  point  indicate  shaft  head 
 
2)an indicator as on a dial
    Synonyms :
    See Also: indicator  orient  point  indicate  hand  electronic_stylus  needle 
 
3)(computer science) indicator consisting of a movable spot of light (an icon) on a visual display; moving the cursor allows the user to point to commands or screen positions
    Synonyms :cursor 
    See Also: indicator  computer_science  point  indicate 
 
4)a strong slender smooth-haired dog of Spanish origin having a white coat with brown or black patches; scents out and points game
    Synonyms :spanish_pointer 
    See Also: gun_dog  german_short-haired_pointer  hungarian_pointer 
 

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing: (http://www.foldoc.org/, Editor Denis Howe)

1. An address, from the point of view of a programming language. A pointer may be typed, with its type indicating the type of data to which it points.

The terms "pointer" and "reference" are generally interchangable although particular programming languages often differentiate these two in subtle ways. For example, Perl always calls them references, never pointers. Conversely, in C, "pointer" is used, although "a reference" is often used to denote the concept that a pointer implements.

Anthony Hoare once said:

Pointers are like jumps, leading wildly from one part of the data structure to another. Their introduction into high-level languages has been a step backward from which we may never recover.

[C.A.R.Hoare "Hints on Programming Language Design", 1973, Prentice-Hall collection of essays and papers by Tony Hoare].

2. (Or "mouse pointer") An icon, usually a small arrow, that moves on the screen in response to movement of a pointing device, typically a mouse. The pointer shows the user which object on the screen will be selected etc. when a mouse button is clicked.

(1999-07-07)



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