How to convert int* to int

Question

Given a pointer to int, how can I obtain the actual int?

I don\'t know if this is possible or not, but can someone please advise me?

Answer 1

You should differentiate strictly what you want: cast or dereference?

  int x = 5;
  int* p = &x;    // pointer points to a location.
  int a = *p;     // dereference, a == 5
  int b = (int)p; //cast, b == ...some big number, which is the memory location where x is stored.

You can still assign int directly to a pointer, just don't dereference it unless you really know what you're doing.

  int* p = (int*) 5;
  int a = *p;      // crash/segfault, you are not authorized to read that mem location.
  int b = (int)p;  // now b==5

You can do without the explicit casts (int), (int*), but you will most likely get compiler warnings.