Sample Code

Link to solution on GitHub

// Written by Hanyuan Li from CSESoc Competitions
#include <stdio.h>
#define MAX_LENGTH 1000
void solve(int length, char *input) {
    int references = 0;
    for (int index = length - 1; index >= 0; index--) {
        char current = input[index];
        if (current == '*') {
            references--;
        } else if (current == '&') {
            references++;
        }
        if (references < 0) {
            printf("not possible\n");
            return;
        }
    }
    for (int count = 0; count < references; count++) {
        printf("pointer to ");
    }
    printf("c\n");
}
int main(void) {
    int length;
    char input[MAX_LENGTH];
    scanf("%d", &length);
    scanf("%1000s", input);
    solve(length, input);
    return 0;
}