What is the difference between -> and dot [closed]

Question

Closed. This question does not meet Stack Overflow guidelines. It is not currently accepting answers.

---

This question appears to be off-topic because it lacks sufficient information to diagnose the problem. Describe your problem in more detail or include a minimal example in the question itself.

Closed 9 years ago.

Improve this question

In a C program, when i define a struct.

under which circumstances would i use "->" and under which "." ?

for example

typedef struct foo foo;

struct foo{

  double bar;
  double bar2;
}

foo barbar;

when would I use barbar.bar and when would i use barbar->bar ?

Answer 1

Left of -> should be pointer type, while normal variables/instances for ..

• If you have a struct foo myFoo, you should use myFoo. or (&myFoo)->.
• If you have a struct foo *myFoo, you should use myFoo-> or (*myFoo)..

Answer 2

Use a -> for a pointer to a struct as it dereferences the pointer, use a . for a struct