The trick with a pointer definition, as with any complicated definition, is to read it starting at the identifier and work your way out. The const specifier binds to the thing it is “closest to.” So if you want to prevent any changes to the element you are pointing to, you write a definition like this:

Starting from the identifier, we read “u is a pointer, which points to a const int.” Here, no initialization is required because you’re saying that u can point to anything (that is, it is not const), but the thing it points to cannot be changed.

Here’s the mildly confusing part. You might think that to make the pointer itself unchangeable, that is, to prevent any change to the address contained inside u, you would simply move the const to the other side of the int like this:

It’s not all that crazy to think that this should read “v is a const pointer to an int.” However, the way it actually reads is “v is an ordinary pointer to an int that happens to be const.” That is, the const has bound itself to the int again, and the effect is the same as the previous definition. The fact that these two definitions are the same is the confusing point; to prevent this confusion on the part of your reader, you should probably stick to the first form.