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You can also alter the object to which a returned pointer points. This means that I can change the hero’s inventory through pStr.
*pStr = "Healing Potion";
Because pStr points to the element in position 1 of inventory, this code changes inventory[1] so it’s equal to "Healing Potion". To prove this, I display the element with the following line, which does indeed show Healing Potion.
cout << inventory[1] << endl;
For an abstract representation, check out Figure 7.7, which shows the status of the variables after the assignment.
Hin t
If you want to protect an object pointed to by a returned pointer, make sure to restrict the pointer. Return either a pointer to a constant or a constant pointer to a constant.
244 Chapter 7 n Pointers: Tic-Tac-Toe 2.0
Figure 7.7
inventory[1] is changed through the returned pointer stored in pStr.