> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.syntblaze.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Go Dereference
The `*` operator in Go is a context-dependent token that serves three distinct syntactic and semantic functions: pointer indirection (dereferencing), pointer type declaration, and arithmetic multiplication.
## 1. Pointer Indirection (Dereferencing)
As a unary prefix operator, `*` performs indirection on a pointer operand. It resolves the memory address held by the pointer and yields the underlying value. The result of a pointer indirection is **addressable**, meaning it can be used both to evaluate the value at an address and to assign a new value to mutate the underlying memory. If the pointer operand evaluates to `nil`, evaluating or assigning to the indirection will cause a runtime panic.
```go theme={"dark"}
x := 10
ptr := &x // ptr is initialized with the address of x
var val int = *ptr // Evaluates the value at the memory address stored in ptr
*ptr = 42 // Mutates the memory at the address stored in ptr (x becomes 42)
```
## 2. Pointer Type Declaration
In type declarations, variable declarations, and function signatures, `*` acts as a type constructor. It denotes a composite type that represents a pointer to a specific base type. The base type dictates the memory layout, size, and alignment of the data being pointed to.
```go theme={"dark"}
type Node struct{}
type DataStruct struct{}
var p *int // Declares p as type "pointer to int"
type NodePtr *Node // Defines a custom pointer type
func process(data *DataStruct) *byte { // Used in parameter and return type signatures
return nil
}
```
## 3. Arithmetic Multiplication
As a binary infix operator, `*` performs arithmetic multiplication. It requires two numeric operands of identical types (or untyped constants that can be implicitly converted to a common type) and yields a product of that same type.
```go theme={"dark"}
var product float64 = 3.14 * 2.0 // Binary multiplication
```
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