In theoretical computer science, a pointer machine is an atomistic abstract computational machine whose storage structure is a graph. A pointer algorithm could also be an algorithm restricted to the pointer machine model.[1]
Some particular types of pointer machines are called a linking automaton, a KU-machine, an SMM, an atomistic LISP machine, a tree-pointer machine, etc.[2]
Pointer machines do not have arithmetic instructions. Computation proceeds only by reading input symbols, modifying and doing various tests on its storage structure—the pattern of nodes and pointers, and outputting symbols based on the tests. In this sense, the model is similar to the Turing machine.