Indirection

Pointer variables contain memory addresses as their values. Normally, a variable directly contains a specific value. A pointer contains the memory address of a variable that, in turn, contains a specific value. In this sense, a variable name directly references a value, and a pointer indirectly references a value (Fig. 8.1). Referencing a value through a pointer is called indirection. Diagrams typically represent a pointer as an arrow from the variable that contains an address to the variable located at that address in memory.

Fig. 8.1. Directly and indirectly referencing a variable.