ptr->hello(); /* VERSUS */ (*ptr).hello();

Question

I was learning about C++ pointers and the -> operator seemed strange to me. Instead of ptr->hello(); one could write (*ptr).hello();

Answer 1

Others have already answered regarding built-in pointers. With regards to classes, it is possible to overload operator->(), operator&(), and operator*() but not operator.().

Which means that an object may act differently depending on which syntax you call.