error: request for member (maybe you meant to use '->' ?) while using '->' already

c++, compiler-errors, dynamic-allocation, pointers, syntax

Solution

PRINTER_INFO_2 structure is defined as:

typedef struct _PRINTER_INFO_2 {
  // ...
} PRINTER_INFO_2, *PPRINTER_INFO_2;

so `PPRINTER_INFO_2` is pointer to `PRINTER_INFO_2`. When you do

printerInfo = (PPRINTER_INFO_2*) malloc(bufferSize);

`printerInfo` actually becomes a pointer to pointer to `PRINTER_INFO_2`. I'm not sure whether this was an intention or just a mistake, but if it's intended to be `PPRINTER_INFO_2*` then proper usage is:

(*printerInfo)->Attributes

Problem

Is there an easy explanation for what this error means? error: request for member 'Attributes' in '* printerInfo', which is of pointer type 'PPRINTER_INFO_2 {aka _PRINTER_INFO_2A*}' (maybe you meant to use '->' ?) ``` PPRINTER_INFO_2* printerInfo = NULL; void ChangedPrinter() { ... DWORD attributesPrinterInfo; printerInfo = (PPRINTER_INFO_2*) malloc(bufferSize); attributesPrinterInfo = printerInfo->Attributes; // error free(printerInfo); } ``` What am I doing wrong???

Original source