What is the data type of a variable that can store addresses?

The correct answer is the option that identifies a variable type specifically designed to store memory addresses, which is referred to as a pointer. Pointers are a fundamental concept in programming languages such as C and C++. They allow for the manipulation of memory addresses directly, enabling efficient memory management and dynamic data structure manipulation.

Pointers hold the memory address of another variable, allowing the program to access and modify the data at that address. This capability is crucial for functions like dynamic memory allocation, array handling, and creating complex data structures such as linked lists and trees.

Understanding pointers also helps in grasping the concepts of reference passing versus value passing in function calls, which is a significant aspect of programming and memory management. As such, recognizing that pointers are the primary data type used for storing addresses is essential for programming in languages that support this concept.