What is "pointer"

Point \Point\, n. [F. point, and probably also pointe, L. punctum, puncta, fr. pungere, punctum, to prick. See Pungent, and cf. Puncto, Puncture.]

1. That which pricks or pierces; the sharp end of anything, esp. the sharp end of a piercing instrument, as a needle or a pin.

2. An instrument which pricks or pierces, as a sort of needle used by engravers, etchers, lace workers, and others; also, a pointed cutting tool, as a stone cutter's point; -- called also pointer.

3. Anything which tapers to a sharp, well-defined termination. Specifically: A small promontory or cape; a tract of land extending into the water beyond the common shore line.

4. The mark made by the end of a sharp, piercing instrument, as a needle; a prick.

5. An indefinitely small space; a mere spot indicated or supposed. Specifically: (Geom.) That which has neither parts nor magnitude; that which has position, but has neither length, breadth, nor thickness, -- sometimes conceived of as the limit of a line; that by the motion of which a line is conceived to be produced.

6. An indivisible portion of time; a moment; an instant; hence, the verge.

   When time's first point begun Made he all souls.
   --Sir J. Davies.

7. A mark of punctuation; a character used to mark the divisions of a composition, or the pauses to be observed in reading, or to point off groups of figures, etc.; a stop, as a comma, a semicolon, and esp. a period; hence, figuratively, an end, or conclusion.

   And there a point, for ended is my tale.
   --Chaucer.

   Commas and points they set exactly right.
   --Pope.

8. Whatever serves to mark progress, rank, or relative position, or to indicate a transition from one state or position to another, degree; step; stage; hence, position or condition attained; as, a point of elevation, or of depression; the stock fell off five points; he won by tenpoints. ``A point of precedence.''
   --Selden. ``Creeping on from point to point.''
   --Tennyson.

   A lord full fat and in good point.
   --Chaucer.

9. That which arrests attention, or indicates qualities or character; a salient feature; a characteristic; a peculiarity; hence, a particular; an item; a detail; as, the good or bad points of a man, a horse, a book, a story, etc.

   He told him, point for point, in short and plain.
   --Chaucer.

   In point of religion and in point of honor.
   --Bacon.

   Shalt thou dispute With Him the points of liberty ?
   --Milton.

10. Hence, the most prominent or important feature, as of an argument, discourse, etc.; the essential matter; esp., the proposition to be established; as, the point of an anecdote. ``Here lies the point.''
    --Shak.

    They will hardly prove his point.
    --Arbuthnot.

11. A small matter; a trifle; a least consideration; a punctilio.

    This fellow doth not stand upon points.
    --Shak.

    [He] cared not for God or man a point.
    --Spenser.

12. (Mus.) A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time; as:

    1. (Anc. Mus.) A dot or mark distinguishing or characterizing certain tones or styles; as, points of perfection, of augmentation, etc.; hence, a note; a tune. ``Sound the trumpet -- not a levant, or a flourish, but a point of war.''
       --Sir W. Scott.

    2. (Mod. Mus.) A dot placed at the right hand of a note, to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half, as to make a whole note equal to three half notes, a half note equal to three quarter notes.

13. (Astron.) A fixed conventional place for reference, or zero of reckoning, in the heavens, usually the intersection of two or more great circles of the sphere, and named specifically in each case according to the position intended; as, the equinoctial points; the solstitial points; the nodal points; vertical points, etc. See Equinoctial Nodal.

14. (Her.) One of the several different parts of the escutcheon. See Escutcheon.

15. (Naut.)

    1. One of the points of the compass (see Points of the compass, below); also, the difference between two points of the compass; as, to fall off a point.

    2. A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails. See Reef point, under Reef.

16. (Anc. Costume) A a string or lace used to tie together certain parts of the dress.
    --Sir W. Scott.

17. Lace wrought the needle; as, point de Venise; Brussels point. See Point lace, below.

18. pl. (Railways) A switch. [Eng.]

19. An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer.

20. (Cricket) A fielder who is stationed on the off side, about twelve or fifteen yards from, and a little in advance of, the batsman.

21. The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game; as, the dog came to a point. See Pointer.

22. (Type Making) A standard unit of measure for the size of type bodies, being one twelfth of the thickness of pica type. See Point system of type, under Type.

23. A tyne or snag of an antler.

24. One of the spaces on a backgammon board.

25. (Fencing) A movement executed with the saber or foil; as, tierce point.

26. (Med.) A pointed piece of quill or bone covered at one end with vaccine matter; -- called also vaccine point.

27. One of the raised dots used in certain systems of printing and writing for the blind. The first practical system was that devised by Louis Braille in 1829, and still used in Europe (see Braille). Two modifications of this are current in the United States:

    New York point founded on three bases of equidistant points arranged in two lines (viz., : :: :::), and a later improvement,

    American Braille, embodying the Braille base (:::) and the New-York-point principle of using the characters of few points for the commonest letters.

28. In technical senses:

    1. In various games, a position of a certain player, or, by extension, the player himself; as: (1) (Lacrosse & Ice Hockey) The position of the player of each side who stands a short distance in front of the goal keeper; also, the player himself. (2) (Baseball) (pl.) The position of the pitcher and catcher.

    2. (Hunting) A spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run. [Colloq. Oxf. E. D.]

    3. (Falconry) The perpendicular rising of a hawk over the place where its prey has gone into cover.

    4. Act of pointing, as of the foot downward in certain dance positions.

       Note: The word point is a general term, much used in the sciences, particularly in mathematics, mechanics, perspective, and physics, but generally either in the geometrical sense, or in that of degree, or condition of change, and with some accompanying descriptive or qualifying term, under which, in the vocabulary, the specific uses are explained; as, boiling point, carbon point, dry point, freezing point, melting point, vanishing point, etc.

       At all points, in every particular, completely; perfectly.
       --Shak.

       At point, In point, At the point, In the point, or On the point, as near as can be; on the verge; about (see About, prep., 6); as, at the point of death; he was on the point of speaking. ``In point to fall down.''
       --Chaucer. ``Caius Sidius Geta, at point to have been taken, recovered himself so valiantly as brought day on his side.''
       --Milton.

       Dead point. (Mach.) Same as Dead center, under Dead.

       Far point (Med.), in ophthalmology, the farthest point at which objects are seen distinctly. In normal eyes the nearest point at which objects are seen distinctly; either with the two eyes together (binocular near point), or with each eye separately (monocular near point).

       Nine points of the law, all but the tenth point; the greater weight of authority.

       On the point. See At point, above.

       Point lace, lace wrought with the needle, as distinguished from that made on the pillow.

       Point net, a machine-made lace imitating a kind of Brussels lace (Brussels ground).

       Point of concurrence (Geom.), a point common to two lines, but not a point of tangency or of intersection, as, for instance, that in which a cycloid meets its base.

       Point of contrary flexure, a point at which a curve changes its direction of curvature, or at which its convexity and concavity change sides.

       Point of order, in parliamentary practice, a question of order or propriety under the rules.

       Point of sight (Persp.), in a perspective drawing, the point assumed as that occupied by the eye of the spectator.

       Point of view, the relative position from which anything is seen or any subject is considered.

       Points of the compass (Naut.), the thirty-two points of division of the compass card in the mariner's compass; the corresponding points by which the circle of the horizon is supposed to be divided, of which the four marking the directions of east, west, north, and south, are called cardinal points, and the rest are named from their respective directions, as N. by E., N. N. E., N. E. by N., N. E., etc. See Illust. under Compass.

       Point paper, paper pricked through so as to form a stencil for transferring a design.

       Point system of type. See under Type.

       Singular point (Geom.), a point of a curve which possesses some property not possessed by points in general on the curve, as a cusp, a point of inflection, a node, etc.

       To carry one's point, to accomplish one's object, as in a controversy.

       To make a point of, to attach special importance to.

       To make a point, or To gain a point, accomplish that which was proposed; also, to make advance by a step, grade, or position.

       To mark a point, or To score a point, as in billiards, cricket, etc., to note down, or to make, a successful hit, run, etc.

       To strain a point, to go beyond the proper limit or rule; to stretch one's authority or conscience.

       Vowel point, in Arabic, Hebrew, and certain other Eastern and ancient languages, a mark placed above or below the consonant, or attached to it, representing the vowel, or vocal sound, which precedes or follows the consonant.

Dog \Dog\ (d[o^]g), n. [AS. docga; akin to D. dog mastiff, Dan. dogge, Sw. dogg.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A quadruped of the genus Canis, esp. the domestic dog ( Canis familiaris).

   Note: The dog is distinguished above all others of the inferior animals for intelligence, docility, and attachment to man. There are numerous carefully bred varieties, as the akita, beagle, bloodhound, bulldog, coachdog, collie, Danish dog, foxhound, greyhound, mastiff, pointer, poodle, St. Bernard, setter, spaniel, spitz dog, terrier, German shepherd, pit bull, Chihuahua, etc. There are also many mixed breeds, and partially domesticated varieties, as well as wild dogs, like the dingo and dhole. (See these names in the Vocabulary.)

2. A mean, worthless fellow; a wretch.

   What is thy servant, which is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? -- 2 Kings viii. 13 (Rev. Ver. )

3. A fellow; -- used humorously or contemptuously; as, a sly dog; a lazy dog. [Colloq.]

4. (Astron.) One of the two constellations, Canis Major and Canis Minor, or the Greater Dog and the Lesser Dog. Canis Major contains the Dog Star (Sirius).

5. An iron for holding wood in a fireplace; a firedog; an andiron.

6. (Mech.)

   1. A grappling iron, with a claw or claws, for fastening into wood or other heavy articles, for the purpose of raising or moving them.

   2. An iron with fangs fastening a log in a saw pit, or on the carriage of a sawmill.

   3. A piece in machinery acting as a catch or clutch; especially, the carrier of a lathe, also, an adjustable stop to change motion, as in a machine tool.

7. an ugly or crude person, especially an ugly woman. [slang]

8. a hot dog. [slang]

   Note: Dog is used adjectively or in composition, commonly in the sense of relating to, or characteristic of, a dog. It is also used to denote a male; as, dog fox or g-fox, a male fox; dog otter or dog-otter, dog wolf, etc.; -- also to denote a thing of cheap or mean quality; as, dog Latin.

   A dead dog, a thing of no use or value.
   --1 Sam. xxiv. 14.

   A dog in the manger, an ugly-natured person who prevents others from enjoying what would be an advantage to them but is none to him.

   Dog ape (Zo["o]l.), a male ape.

   Dog cabbage, or Dog's cabbage (Bot.), a succulent herb, native to the Mediterranean region ( Thelygonum Cynocrambe).

   Dog cheap, very cheap. See under Cheap.

   Dog ear (Arch.), an acroterium. [Colloq.]

   Dog flea (Zo["o]l.), a species of flea ( Pulex canis) which infests dogs and cats, and is often troublesome to man. In America it is the common flea. See Flea, and Aphaniptera.

   Dog grass (Bot.), a grass ( Triticum caninum) of the same genus as wheat.

   Dog Latin, barbarous Latin; as, the dog Latin of pharmacy.

   Dog lichen (Bot.), a kind of lichen ( Peltigera canina) growing on earth, rocks, and tree trunks, -- a lobed expansion, dingy green above and whitish with fuscous veins beneath.

   Dog louse (Zo["o]l.), a louse that infests the dog, esp. H[ae]matopinus piliferus; another species is Trichodectes latus.

   Dog power, a machine operated by the weight of a dog traveling in a drum, or on an endless track, as for churning.

   Dog salmon (Zo["o]l.), a salmon of northwest America and northern Asia; -- the gorbuscha; -- called also holia, and hone.

   Dog shark. (Zo["o]l.) See Dogfish.

   Dog's meat, meat fit only for dogs; refuse; offal.

   Dog Star. See in the Vocabulary.

   Dog wheat (Bot.), Dog grass.

   Dog whelk (Zo["o]l.), any species of univalve shells of the family Nassid[ae], esp. the Nassa reticulata of England.

   To give to the dogs, or To throw to the dogs, to throw away as useless. ``Throw physic to the dogs; I'll none of it.''
   --Shak.

   To go to the dogs, to go to ruin; to be ruined.

mid-14c., "a tiler" (early 13c. as a surname), agent noun from point (v.). From c.1500 as "maker of needlepoint lace." From 1570s as "thing that points;" meaning "dog that stands rigid in the presence of game, facing the quarry" is recorded from 1717. Meaning "item of advice" first recorded 1883.

n. 1 Anything that points or is used for pointing. 2 A needle-like component of a timepiece or measuring device that indicates the time or the current reading of the device. 3 A breed of hunting dog. 4 (context programming English) A variable that holds the address of a memory location where a value can be stored. 5 (context computing English) An icon that indicates the position of the mouse; a cursor. 6 A tip, a bit of advice (usually plural.) 7 (context in combinations English) Something worth a given number of points.

1. n. a mark to indicate a direction or relation [syn: arrow]

2. an indicator as on a dial

3. (computer science) indicator consisting of a movable spot of light (an icon) on a visual display; moving the cursor allows the user to point to commands or screen positions [syn: cursor]

4. a strong slender smooth-haired dog of Spanish origin having a white coat with brown or black patches; scents out and points game [syn: Spanish pointer]

The Pointer, often called the English Pointer, is a medium to large-sized breed of dog developed in England as a gun dog. It is one of several pointing breeds.

A pointer or pointing stick is a solid rod used to point manually, in the form of a stick, but always finished off or artificially produced.

The typical pointer is simply a long, slender, often flexible stick made in a strong material, designed to indicate places on maps, words on blackboards etc. In addition it may be used like any ordinary stick for other purposes, e.g. for punitive caning (compare rulering).

Some are telescopic and can be carried in a pocket like a pen.

In computer science, a pointer is a programming language object, whose value refers to (or "points to") another value stored elsewhere in the computer memory using its memory address. A pointer references a location in memory, and obtaining the value stored at that location is known as dereferencing the pointer. As an analogy, a page number in a book's index could be considered a pointer to the corresponding page; dereferencing such a pointer would be done by flipping to the page with the given page number.

Pointers to data significantly improve performance for repetitive operations such as traversing strings, lookup tables, control tables and tree structures. In particular, it is often much cheaper in time and space to copy and dereference pointers than it is to copy and access the data to which the pointers point.

Pointers are also used to hold the addresses of entry points for called subroutines in procedural programming and for run-time linking to dynamic link libraries (DLLs). In object-oriented programming, pointers to functions are used for binding methods, often using what are called virtual method tables.

A pointer is a simple, more concrete implementation of the more abstract reference data type. Several languages support some type of pointer, although some have more restrictions on their use than others. While "pointer" has been used to refer to references in general, it more properly applies to data structures whose interface explicitly allows the pointer to be manipulated (arithmetically via pointer arithmetic) as a memory address, as opposed to a magic cookie or capability where this is not possible. Because pointers allow both protected and unprotected access to memory addresses, there are risks associated with using them particularly in the latter case. Primitive pointers are often stored in a format similar to an integer; however, attempting to dereference or "look up" a pointer whose value was never a valid memory address would cause a program to crash. To alleviate this potential problem, as a matter of type safety, pointers are considered a separate type parameterized by the type of data they point to, even if the underlying representation is an integer. Other measures may also be taken (such as validation & bounds checking, to verify the contents of the pointer variable contain a value that is both a valid memory address and within the numerical range that the processor is capable of addressing).

Pointer may refer to:

• A dial indicator, that points to a value on a dial or scale
• Pointer (rod), an object used to point manually
• Pointing stick, an isometric joystick used as a pointing device
• Point man, one who takes the front position in a combat military formation
• Pointer (journal), the official journal of the Singapore Armed Forces
• Priscilla Pointer, American actress
• The Pointer Sisters, an American R&B vocal group formed in 1969
• Pointer, a kind of pencil sharpener used for diameter lead

In :

• Pointer Telocation, an Israeli company specializing in stolen vehicle recovery
• Pointer (wireless phone), a short-lived mobile phone service in Finland in the 1980s
• Volkswagen Pointer, a Brazilian car (built in the 1990s)
• Pointer Insecticide, a brand of injected Imidacloprid for systemic insect control in trees

In :

• The Pointers (South Shetland Islands), a pair of rocks off Antarctica
• In astronomy, one of two pairs of stars popularly called "The Pointers": Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri, which point to the Southern Cross; or Alpha Ursae Majoris (Dubhe) and Beta Ursae Majoris (Merak), which point to Polaris

In s:

• Pointing breed, a group of breeds of hunting dog breed trained to point at prey
• Pointer (dog breed), the English pointer dog

In :

• Pointer (computer programming), a data type used in programming
• Pointer (graphical user interfaces), the graphical image which echoes movements of the pointing device, commonly a mouse or touchpad

Pointer is the official journal of the Singapore Armed Forces. The magazine was established in 1975. It is issued quarterly, and read primarily by SAF officers, warrant officers, and civilian employees of the Ministry of Defense. It is also distributed to various international military and defense-related organizations.

The stated aim of Pointer is to "engage, educate and promote professional reading among SAF officers, and encourage them to think about, debate and discuss professional military issues."

Contributors are mostly SAF officers and local and foreign defense experts.

An annual competition, the CDF Essay Competition, is organized by Pointer. Contributors are invited to submit essays on a given topic; the top three essays are published.

Pointer was a mobile phone network of Finnish Posti- ja telelaitos (now TeliaSonera Finland) for a short time on the 1980s. The technology was similar to usual cordless phones, which could be used on hotspots around Finland, at least to make calls. Pointer phones lacked roaming capability. A sign on the wall would show the passers-by that there was a Pointer hotspot available.

There were hotspots on mail offices and there were probably plans to build more of them. When Pointer service was published, however, the NMT phones were beginning a rapid rise in popularity and displaced the Pointer before it had time to establish.

There still exist some signs showing that there was an availability of Pointer service, e.g., in Helsinki on a wall of a mail office on the Mechelininkatu street.

In computing, a pointer or mouse cursor (as part of a personal computer WIMP style of interaction) is a symbol or graphical image on the computer monitor or other display device that echoes movements of the pointing device, commonly a mouse, touchpad, or stylus pen. It signals the point where actions of the user take place. It can be used in text-based or graphical user interfaces to select and move other elements. It is distinct from the cursor, which responds to keyboard input. The cursor may also be repositioned using the pointer.

The pointer commonly appears as an angled arrow, (angled because historically that improved appearance on low resolution screens ) but it can vary within different programs or operating systems. The use of a pointer is employed when the input method, or pointing device, is a device that can move fluidly across a screen and select or highlight objects on the screen. In GUIs where the input method relies on hard keys, such as the five-way key on many mobile phones, there is no pointer employed, and instead the GUI relies on a clear focus state.