What is the difference between Function pointer and pointer to function and how to represent each of them?

//-------POINTING TO A FUNCTION--------- // function declaration void FunctA(); void main() { // gives the declaration of a pointer (ptr) // to FunctA() int (*ptr)(); // address of FunctA() assigned to ptr ptr = FunctA; // calls the FunctA() function via the // derefereced pointer ptr (*ptr)(); } // function definition void FunctA() { } ------RETURNING A POINTER FROM A FUNCTION---- // *strn() will return a pointer that points // to a character variable char *strn(); void main() { printf("%s", strn()); } char *strn() { char *ptr1 = "It's a string"; // returns the Lvalue of the string // (the address of 'I') return(ptr1); } //--------PASSING A POINTER TO A FUNCTION--- // tells the compiler that we will pass a // pointer that points to a character void letter(char *ch); void main() { char *key = "a"; strn(key) } void letter(char *ch) { printf("my favorite letter is %c", ch); }

Function pointer is synonymous to Pointer to function. It is just a variation in the name convention. In the example quoted by GatorAid, a slight correction has to be made to the "Pointing to a Function". If you want to create a Pointer to Function, say, void FunctA() in the example above, then the declaration for it ought to be: void (*ptr)(); and not int (*ptr)(); The return type for both has to be identical.