Comment by rootbear

I think the issue is that programmers want a type "pointer to int", for example, but C doesn't directly provide that type. It has a type, int, with a modifier (asterisk) that can be applied to a declarator to make it a pointer to that type.

One way to create a pointer type in C would be to declare it using typedef:

    typedef int * int_p;

then one can write:

    int_p p, q, r;

and declare three pointers to int with perfect clarity, whereas using the C++ style, we'd get:

    int* p, *q, *r;

which is very confusing, or,

    int* p;
    int* q;
    int* r;

which is very verbose. I honestly don't know how C++ programmers typically handle this situation.

I have seen some code that strikes a middle ground:

    int * p;

which is a little more clear, but doesn't address the multiple declarator situation.

So why don't C++ programmers use typedef? I don't know, other than I understand Stroustrup doesn't like it (not without reason).

(Edited for formatting and minor clarity corrections.)