Thread: I don't understand this line in a linked list

The following code snippet is from:

http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/int/sx8.html

The code deletes a node from a linked list:

Code:

struct list **lpp;
	for(lpp = &list; *lpp != NULL; lpp = &(*lpp)->next)
		{
		if((*lpp)->item == i)
			{
			*lpp = (*lpp)->next;
			break;
			}
		}
	}

The part of the construction I don't really understand is

Code:

lpp = &(*lpp)->next

Can someone break this part piece by piece? Like explain why the & operator is necessary. Why we just can't do something like
lpp->next, etc.

Thanks
Chad

lpp is a pointer to a pointer to struct list, but presumably the next pointer is just a pointer to struct list, so the first thing that needs to be done is be able to get to the members by dereferencing the first pointer, thus (*lpp). Then you can use the arrow operator to get to next, (*lpp)->next. But because you're assigning the result to lpp, and lpp has an extra level of indirection, you need to get the address of the next pointer to add that level of indireciton, so you have &(*lpp)->next.

Ugghhh...... The concept of adding an extra layer of indirection. Another one of those quality topics that I'm struggling to understand.

I really thought it got easier after grasping pointers and data types.
Thanks

>I really thought it got easier after grasping pointers and data types.
Not really. It's like math. Once you grasp arithmetic they throw algebra at you, and once you finally get algebra, you get smacked in the head with calculus. The more you learn, the more you're expected to be able to handle, and pointers are no different.