How do you draw a pointer to sf::Drawable?

[NGM88]

As we know, the virtual draw function draws stuff with this code

target.draw(sprItem, states);

Is it possible to draw a pointer to an sf::Drawable class? I tried pointer->draw but it didn't seem to work.

Here's a minimalistic example that shows why I need to do this:

class Item : public sf::Drawable, public sf::Transformable
{ };

class Helmet : public Item
{
        // has texture and sprite

        virtual void draw(sf::RenderTarget& target, sf::RenderStates states)const
        {
                states.transform *= getTransform();
                states.texture = &texItem;
                target.draw(sprItem, states);
        }
 };

class Player
{
        Item* pHeadSlot;
        Helmet objHelmet;

        // let's say I click on the helmet in my inventory, it's now being dragged by the mouse
        Item* pDrag;
        pDrag = &objHelmet;
       
        // let's equip the helmet by clicking on the helmet slot while dragging it
        pHeadSlot = pDrag;

        // now I want to draw the player with the helmet on (paperdoll)
        virtual void draw(sf::RenderTarget& target, sf::RenderStates states)const
        {
                states.transform *= getTransform();
                states.texture = &texEntity;
                target.draw(sprEntity, states);

                if (Head != nullptr) { target.draw(pHeadSlot, states); } // doesn't work because it's a pointer
        }
};

I had to create a separate sprite for the helmet instead (and all other equipment slots).

I would prefer to draw the pointer instead if it's possible.

Also, as a side question, is it wise to be using raw pointers in this code?

[eXpl0it3r]

I tried pointer->draw but it didn't seem to work.

That's not a problem description. What does not work? How do you know it doesn't work? What's the error message?

The documentation shows how to use sf::Drawable. If you mean when sprItem is a pointer, then you'll simply have to dereference the pointer (basic C++ pointer knowledge) to get the value the pointer points to: *sprItem

[NGM88]

error message: cannot convert from 'Item *const ' to 'const sf::Drawable'

looking into how to dereference.

sorry, I don't have any formal programming training, missing some basics. life's hard when you're self taught 

this is the exact line where I get the error:

target.draw(Head, states);

where "Head" is an Item* (class Item : public sf::Drawable, public sf::Transformable)

[NGM88]

OK problem solved. Thanks for telling me where to look eXpl0it3r