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Indirection

In computer programming, indirection is the act of manipulating a value through its address. For example, accessing a variable through the use of a pointer to it is a type of indirection (often called dereferencing[?]).

In the C/C++ programming languages, the asterisk (*) is the indirection operator. When placed before a pointer, it refers to the value pointed to.

A stored pointer that exists to provide a reference to an object by double indirection is called an indirection node.