Cpp.PointerDeclarator Class

Namespace: Cpp
Superclasses: AstNodeProperties

Represents the pointer_declarator nodes in the syntax tree of your code

Since R2026a

Description

The PQL class PointerDeclarator represents the node pointer_declarator in the syntax tree of your code.

int *a;
int * const b = nullptr;

The sample shows pointer declarators *a and * const b that are matched by this class.

Predicates

expand all

Type

Type	Raisable	Printable
`PointerDeclarator`	Yes	Yes

Syntaxes

This class defines these predicates that act on the objects of this class. In addition, objects of this class can access the predicates defined by the base class AstNodeProperties. An object of this class is an object of AstNodeProperties class.

Predicates	Description	Example
`is(required PointerDeclarator &pd)`	Matches a `pointer_declarator` node and returns it as `pd`; use this to locate pointer declarators in the tree.	This PQL defect checks for pointer declarator nodes anywhere in the translation unit. defect find_pointer = when Cpp.PointerDeclarator.is(&pd) and pd.nodeText(&txt) raise "Found pointer declarator: \"{txt}\"" on pd In this C++ code, the defect finds each pointer declarator such as `a` and ` const b`. int a; int const b = nullptr;
`cast(Cpp.Node.Node node, required PointerDeclarator &cast)`	Checks whether a generic `Cpp.Node.Node` is a `pointer_declarator`. If so, returns it as `cast` for further pointer-specific queries.	This PQL defect checks whether a given generic node is specifically a `pointer_declarator`. defect cast_node_to_pointer = when Cpp.Node.is(&node, &,&,&) and Cpp.PointerDeclarator.cast(node, &pd) and pd.nodeText(&txt) raise "Node cast to pointer_declarator: \"{txt}\"" on pd In this C++ code, the defect finds that the generic node for `c` is actually a `pointer_declarator`. int c;
`isa(Cpp.Node.Node node)`	Returns true if the given `Cpp.Node.Node` is a `pointer_declarator`; useful in boolean checks or negation.	This PQL defect checks whether a node is a `pointer_declarator` and flags when it is not. defect not_a_pointer = when Cpp.Node.is(&node, &,&,&) and not Cpp.PointerDeclarator.isa(node) raise "Node is not a pointer_declarator" on node In this C++ code, the defect finds all syntax nodes that are not a pointer declarator. int x = 5; int *p = &x;
`declarator(PointerDeclarator self, Cpp.Node.Node &child)`	Matches the child `declarator` node under a `pointer_declarator`, i.e., the identifier or nested declarator after the `*`.	This PQL defect checks for the inner declarator (identifier) within a `pointer_declarator`. defect pointer_declarator_has_declarator = when Cpp.PointerDeclarator.is(&pd) and pd.declarator(&decl) and decl.nodeText(&txt) raise "Pointer declarator contains declarator: \"{txt}\"" on pd In this C++ code, the defect inspects the identifier `a` and `b` that follow ``. int a; int * const b = nullptr;
`typeQualifier(PointerDeclarator self, Cpp.Node.Node &child)`	Matches a `type_qualifier` child (like `const` or `volatile`) attached to a `pointer_declarator`.	This PQL defect checks for `const`/`volatile` qualifiers applied to the pointer itself. defect pointer_has_type_qualifier = when Cpp.PointerDeclarator.is(&pd) and pd.typeQualifier(&qual) and qual.nodeText(&txt) raise "Pointer has type qualifier: \"{txt}\"" on pd In this C++ code, the defect finds the `const` qualifier on the pointer in `int * const b`. int * const b = nullptr;
`msPointerModifier(PointerDeclarator self, Cpp.Node.Node &child)`	Matches Microsoft-specific pointer modifiers present in the pointer declarator.	This PQL defect checks for MS pointer modifiers attached to pointers. defect ms_pointer_modifier_found = when Cpp.PointerDeclarator.is(&pd) and pd.msPointerModifier(&mod) and mod.nodeText(&txt) raise "MS pointer modifier: \"{txt}\"" on pd In this C++ code, the defect detects the MS modifier `__restrict` preceding the `` in `int __restrict p;`. int * __restrict p;
`msBasedModifier(PointerDeclarator self, Cpp.Node.Node &child)`	Matches Microsoft `__based(...)` modifiers applied to the pointer declarator.	This PQL defect checks for MS `__based(...)` modifiers attached to pointers. defect ms_based_modifier_found = when Cpp.PointerDeclarator.is(&pd) and pd.msBasedModifier(&mod) and mod.nodeText(&txt) raise "MS based modifier: \"{txt}\"" on pd In this C++ code, the defect finds the `__based(something)` modifier used with `d`. int __based(something) d;
`getEnclosingPointerDeclarator(Cpp.Node.Node child, required PointerDeclarator &parent)`	Finds the nearest enclosing `pointer_declarator` ancestor of `child` and returns it as `parent`.	This PQL defect checks for the closest `pointer_declarator` that surrounds a given child node. defect find_enclosing_pointer = when Cpp.Node.is(&inner, &,&,&) and Cpp.PointerDeclarator.getEnclosingPointerDeclarator(inner, &parent) and parent.nodeText(&txt) raise "Enclosing pointer declarator: \"{txt}\"" on parent In this C++ code, the defect locates the pointer declarator that encloses the identifier `a` in `int a`. int a;
`isEnclosedInPointerDeclarator(Cpp.Node.Node child)`	Matches every `pointer_declarator` ancestor of `child`.	This PQL defect checks for all pointer declarator ancestors of a given node. defect all_enclosing_pointers = when Cpp.Node.is(&inner, &,&,&) and Cpp.PointerDeclarator.isEnclosedInPointerDeclarator(inner) and inner.nodeText(&txt) raise "Node has ancestor pointer declarator: \"{txt}\"" on inner In this C++ code, the defect locates the pointer declarator that are ancestor of the identifier `a` in `int a`. int a;

Version History

Introduced in R2026a