Coding style about pointer

I read a lot ebooks about C++. There are 2 way to declare a pointer, I don't know we should use which way although they are similar? And give me a reason.

Code:

---

char* str;
or
char *str;

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Thanks.

There's also a third way:

Code:

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char * str;

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An it really doesn't matter which one you choose, as long as you use it consistently.

I second jacek on this. This is a very small thing and consistency is what matters. I just want to point out that Qt used the second notation that is char *str;

Rationale:

Code:

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char* str1, str2;    // here str1 is a char* and str2  is a char; 
 
char  *str1, str2;   //  Here the declaration is more clear since the * is attached with the variable

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and FYI Qt uses the char *str; notation

It really doesn't matter :) The parser regognizes non-alphanumeric characters as token boundaries, so you may put as much spaces or other characters there. These all are valid as well:

Code:

---

char
*
str1,
str2
;

---

Code:

---

char *str1
,str2;

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Code:

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x=5;

---

Code:

---

x = 5;

---

Code:

---

x
=5;

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It is all just about source code readability.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wysota

It is all just about source code readability.

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Exactly !!

The point is that char *str1, str2 seems to be more clear ( to me ). That is it. And I found this practice in Qt Sources.