Linxutopia - Thinking in C++ - 3: The C in C++

Thinking in C++
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Using a function pointer

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Once you define a pointer to a function, you must assign it to a function address before you can use it. Just as the address of an array arr[10] is produced by the array name without the brackets (arr), the address of a function func() is produced by the function name without the argument list (func). You can also use the more explicit syntax &func(). To call the function, you dereference the pointer in the same way that you declared it (remember that C and C++ always try to make definitions look the same as the way they are used). The following example shows how a pointer to a function is defined and used:

//: C03:PointerToFunction.cpp
// Defining and using a pointer to a function
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

void func() {
  cout << "func() called..." << endl;
}

int main() {
  void (*fp)();  // Define a function pointer
  fp = func;  // Initialize it
  (*fp)();    // Dereferencing calls the function
  void (*fp2)() = func;  // Define and initialize
  (*fp2)();
} ///:~

After the pointer to function fp is defined, it is assigned to the address of a function func() using fp = func (notice the argument list is missing on the function name). The second case shows simultaneous definition and initialization.

Thinking in C++
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