pointer confusion

[mxjabber]

my book isnt being very clear on this, so i figured i would come here for the answer. can pointers be used in functions that they arent declared? from what im understanding in my book, they should be able to, but when i try something like

void pointer_output();
int main()
{
int *pointer = new int;
*pointer = 50;

pointer_output();

return 0;
}

void pointer_output()
{
std::cout << *pointer;
}

i keep getting told that its an undeclared identifier by my compiler. i know that you have to declare variables within functions, but i thought that pointers were used everywhere, if im wrong then thats cool, im just trying to get this right.

[firedraco]

No, they can't. They are just like any other variable in that respect.

[mxjabber]

thanks, that helps a lot.