Thread: Difference between '->' and '.'

I was wondering, when making programs with structures, what is the difference when calling the structure's members using the '.' operator and the '->' operator? It seems like they would be the same thing. I've tried looking this up on the FAQ's but can't seem to find an answer.

Also, if they are the same then is one standard and one is not?

My code runs fine when I use '->' and I get this error when I use the '.':

error: request for member 'format' in something not a structure or union

Basically . is used to get a member of a struct or union. -> is used to dereference a pointer to a struct or union and get a member from it. -> is the same as (*obj).member

Thanks Thantos, helpful as always.