C++ FAQs, Second Edition

Chapter 38. Pointers to Member Functions

FAQ 38.01 What is the type of a pointer to a nonstatic member function?

The most important thing to understand is that the type is different from that of a pointer to a C-style (non-member) function. Simply understanding that they are completely different and have incompatible types will prevent the most common and dangerous errors with pointers to member functions.

A pointer to the nonstatic member function with signature void Fred::f(int) has type void(Fred::*)(int). In particular, the type of the pointer to a nonstatic member function includes the class of the member function because nonstatic member functions have an implicit parameter that points to the object (the this pointer).

Here's an example. ...