title: From C# to C++ The . Operator vs :: and ->
body: <p>I'm fairly new to C++.</p>
  
  <p>Going through some existing C++ code, I've seen :: , . , and -> operators used. The question is, what is the difference between them and when would you use one or the other?</p>
  
  <p>I've seen the :: operator on occasion in C#, but I always use . to access members, implicitly declaring the scope. Assuming those two are the equivalents in C++, I'm still not sure why we use the arrow -> operator and why it seems to be used interchangeably with the dot . operator. </p>
  
  <p>Thanks.</p>