It is only a half-truth that these two
uses of the * character
have nothing to do with each other. It is well
documented that the * character was chosen
for these different uses because both uses involve pointers
and therefore merit similar syntax.
The important point to come away with is that
using the * character in declarations:
float *fptr;is different from using it in expressions:
float fl; ... fl=82.3 + *fptr;
From this perspective, the two uses of the * character
have nothing to do with each other.