If you're using ->, then yes, you're using a pointer. You're dereferencing the pointer (getting the address of where the pointer points to) and retrieving the value at the offset from the value of the pointer. So let's take an example. Let's say you have a struct that's like this: struct sampleStruct {
float fDouble1;
float fDouble2;
}
Generally we can work with it in three different ways: Value (sampleStruct myVar;)Pointer (sampleStruct* myVar;)Reference (sampleStruct& myVar;)Pointers are the only things which can be null, and if you try to dereference them (ie, get the address of where they're pointing to) you'll get an unhandled exception. Check with your debugger why they're null.