What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Designator vs Pointer - What's the difference?

designator | pointer |

As nouns the difference between designator and pointer

is that designator is a person who, or term that, designates while pointer is anything that points or is used for pointing.

designator

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A person who, or term that, designates
  • (historical, Roman antiquity) An officer who assigned to each his rank and place in public shows and ceremonies.
    • ----

    pointer

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Anything that points or is used for pointing.
  • A needle-like component of a timepiece or measuring device that indicates the time or the current reading of the device.
  • A breed of hunting dog.
  • (programming) A variable that holds the address of a memory location where a value can be stored.
  • (computing) An icon that indicates the position of the mouse; a cursor.
  • A tip, a bit of advice (usually plural.)
    • The instructor gave me some pointers on writing a good paper.
  • (in combinations) Something worth a given number of points.
    • a ten-pointer
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=September 18 , author=Ben Dirs , title=Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=After another penalty miss, Kvirikashvili finally found the target on 27 minutes before Flood hit back with a three-pointer of his own.}}

    Synonyms

    * (sense, teacher's pointer) fescue * (of a timepiece) hand * (of a measuring device) needle * (icon) mouse pointer * (programming) reference

    See also

    * (programming) dereference, address

    Derived terms

    * null pointer * white pointer * dangling pointer

    See also

    * *

    Anagrams

    * ----