A pointer in computer programming is an object that stores a memory address. This memory address can be that of another value located in computer memory or, in some cases, that of memory-mapped computer hardware. Pointers are used to reference a location in memory, and obtaining the value stored at that location is known as dereferencing the pointer. They are commonly used in programming languages that support direct memory manipulation, such as C and C++, and allow programmers to work with memory directly, enabling efficient memory management and the creation of more complex data structures like linked lists, trees, and graphs).
In simpler terms, a pointer can be thought of as an arrow that points to a specific spot in a computers memory, allowing for efficient memory access and manipulation).
