Pointers to Objects

[Jayhawker07]

What is the benefit of using a pointer to a class? Speed? Flexibility?\
ex:

//Parser.h
class Parser
{
     public:
        void load_file()
        {
             //load the file
        }
};

//main.cpp
#include "Parser.h"
int main()
{
     Parser file;
     file.load_object();

     //vs
    
     Parser *PtoFile;
     PtoFile->load_object();
}

[cire]

The code you posted results in undefined behavior. No benefit there!

[TheGrayWolf]

Some idioms (like PIMPL) and design patterns (Singleton, for example) rely heavily on pointers to implementation or to a given instance of a class. Also, it helps you in separating the interface from the implementation (in case you have to work with many classes).