The arrow (->) operator is used to access members of a Structures or Unions through a pointer. It combines pointer dereferencing and member access into a single operator.
- Used when a pointer points to a structure or union instead of a direct variable.
- It is a shorthand for (*pointer).member, making the code simpler and more readable.
#include <iostream>
struct Student {
int id;
};
int main() {
Student s = {101};
Student *ptr = &s;
std::cout << ptr->id;
return 0;
}
#include <stdio.h>
struct Student {
int id;
};
int main() {
struct Student s = {101};
struct Student *ptr = &s;
printf("%d", ptr->id);
return 0;
}
Output
101
Syntax
(pointer_name)->(variable_name)
Operation: The -> operator in C or C++ gives the value held by variable_name to structure or union variable pointer_name.
Examples
some examples of Arrow operator are:
Arrow operator in structure
// C++ program to show Arrow operator
// used in structure
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
// Creating the structure
struct student {
char name[80];
int age;
float percentage;
};
// Creating the structure object
struct student* emp = NULL;
// Driver code
int main()
{
// Assigning memory to struct variable emp
emp = (struct student*)
malloc(sizeof(struct student));
// Assigning value to age variable
// of emp using arrow operator
emp->age = 18;
// Printing the assigned value to the variable
cout <<" "<< emp->age;
return 0;
}
// This code is contributed by shivanisinghss2110
// C program to show Arrow operator
// used in structure
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
// Creating the structure
struct student {
char name[80];
int age;
float percentage;
};
// Creating the structure object
struct student* emp = NULL;
// Driver code
int main()
{
// Assigning memory to struct variable emp
emp = (struct student*)
malloc(sizeof(struct student));
// Assigning value to age variable
// of emp using arrow operator
emp->age = 18;
// Printing the assigned value to the variable
printf("%d", emp->age);
return 0;
}
// JavaScript program to show Arrow operator used in structure
let emp = null;
// Creating the structure
class Student {
constructor(name, age, percentage) {
this.name = name;
this.age = age;
this.percentage = percentage;
}
}
// Assigning memory to struct variable emp
emp = new Student('', 0, 0);
// Assigning value to age variable
// of emp using arrow operator
emp.age = 18;
// Printing the assigned value to the variable
console.log(' ' + emp.age);
Output
18
Arrow operator in unions
// C++ program to show Arrow operator
// used in structure
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
// Creating the union
union student {
char name[80];
int age;
float percentage;
};
// Creating the union object
union student* emp = NULL;
// Driver code
int main()
{
// Assigning memory to struct variable emp
emp = (union student*)
malloc(sizeof(union student));
// Assigning value to age variable
// of emp using arrow operator
emp->age = 18;
// DIsplaying the assigned value to the variable
cout <<""<< emp->age;
}
// This code is contributed by shivanisinghss2110
// C program to show Arrow operator
// used in structure
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
// Creating the union
union student {
char name[80];
int age;
float percentage;
};
// Creating the union object
union student* emp = NULL;
// Driver code
int main()
{
// Assigning memory to struct variable emp
emp = (union student*)
malloc(sizeof(union student));
// Assigning value to age variable
// of emp using arrow operator
emp->age = 18;
// DIsplaying the assigned value to the variable
printf("%d", emp->age);
}
Output
18
Related Article: Difference between Dot(.) and Arrow(->) operatorÂ
