C Pointers – Why Asterisk Before Variable Name

c++naming-conventionspointersvariables

Why do most C programmers name variables like this:

int *myVariable;

rather than like this:

int* myVariable;

Both are valid. It seems to me that the asterisk is a part of the type, not a part of the variable name. Can anyone explain this logic?

Best Answer

They are EXACTLY equivalent. However, in

int *myVariable, myVariable2;

It seems obvious that myVariable has type int*, while myVariable2 has type int. In

int* myVariable, myVariable2;

it may seem obvious that both are of type int*, but that is not correct as myVariable2 has type int.

Therefore, the first programming style is more intuitive.

Related Solutions

C++ – Placement of the Asterisk in Pointer Declarations

4, 5, and 6 are the same thing, only test is a pointer. If you want two pointers, you should use:

int *test, *test2;

Or, even better (to make everything clear):

int* test;
int* test2;

C Variable Naming – Reason for Using Underscore

Maybe this helps, from C99, 7.1.3 ("Reserved Identifiers"):

All identifiers that begin with an underscore and either an uppercase letter or another underscore are always reserved for any use.

All identifiers that begin with an underscore are always reserved for use as identifiers with file scope in both the ordinary and tag name spaces.

Moral: For ordinary user code, it's probably best not to start identifiers with an underscore.

(On a related note, I think you should also stay clear from naming types with a trailing _t, which is reserved for standard types.)

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C++ – Placement of the Asterisk in Pointer Declarations

C Variable Naming – Reason for Using Underscore

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