What does it mean when a pointer is used in an if statement? Ans. Any time a pointer is used as a condition, it means 'Is this a non-null pointer?' A pointer can be used in an if, while, for, or do/while statement, or in a conditional expression. It sounds a little complicated, but it's not. Take this simple case: if ( p ) { /* do something */ } else { /* do something else */ } An if statement does the 'then' (first) part when its expression compares unequal to zero. That is, if ( /* something */ ) is always exactly the same as this: if ( /* something */ != 0 ) That means the previous simple example is the same thing as this: if ( p != 0 ) { /* do something (not a null pointer) */ } else { /* do something else (a null pointer) */ } This style of coding is a little obscure. It's very common in existing C code; you don't have to write code that way, but you need to recognize such code when you see it.