A smal question(->? pointer?)

Hello, just a smal question, In some codes(In a tutoriao on this site too) I have seen this "->" with some kind of pointers, but I just can't understand what this do, what does it do? How do i use it? Please let me know, thanks ^_^

Code:

---

string *blah;

if((*blah).empty())
 return;

---

Is the same as:

Code:

---

string *blah;

if(blah->empty())
 return;

---

The -> operator merely dereferences the pointer so it can call a class function like an object.

it is a more visually pleasing way of accessing the members of a structure through a pointer .... see this example:

Code:

---

void print_person ( struct Person *pers )
{
  printf ( "Name:  %s\n", pers->name );
  printf ( "Age:    %d years\n", pers->age );
  printf ( "Height: %.2f feet\n", pers->height );
}

---

which is a function used to access this struct:

Code:

---

struct Person {
  char *name;
  int age;
  struct Height
};

---

it's all from the FAQ ... here just over half ways down