c++ - why pointer is placed with function in c ++?

Question

hello every one i was doing a C++ problem and found help on internet but one function confuse m that why we use pointer with function can any one explain me i am beginner in programming

char * replace_char( char *s, char source = 'a', char substitution = 'e' )
{
    if ( *s )
    {
        if ( *s == source ) *s = substitution;
        replace_char( s + 1, source, substitution );
    }

    return s;
}

Answer 1

指针是一种数据类型，可以像任何其他数据类型（int、float、double...）一样从函数返回。在您的情况下，指向 char 的指针表示一个字符串，c 风格的字符串（与 char[] 基本相同）。函数返回指向数组第一个元素的指针（地址）

Answer 2

该函数将返回与变量输入“char* s”相同的字符指针。
函数可以返回指向数组开头的指针。

编辑：函数也可以这样写：

//This function will return an integer to indicate the number of replaced characters
int replace_char( char *sourcePtr, char source = 'a', char substitution = 'e' )
{
    int NrOfReplaced = 0;
    for(int i = 0; sourcePtr[i] != '\0'; i++)
    {
        if ( sourcePtr[i] == source )
        {
            sourcePtr[i] = substitution;
            NrOfReplaced++;
        }
    }
    return NrOfReplaced;
}