pointerception in C

This is something that I still have a hard time, so I'll leave here two clear explanations from stackoverflow user Charles Bailey

c++ - Spiral rule and 'declaration follows usage' for parsing C expressions - Stack Overflow

You just have to build it up in steps.

char *X();  // X =~ (*(*a[N])())

Function returning char*

char *(*Y())();  // Y =~ (*a[N])

Function returning pointer to function returning char*.
In a declaration, just as in an expression (declaration follow usage), postfix [] has a higher precedence that unary * so *a[N] is equivalent to *(a[N]), not (*a)[N].

char *(*(*Z)())();  // Z =~ a[N]

Pointer to function returning pointer to function returning char*.

char *(*(*a[N])())();

Array of N pointers to functions returning a pointer to function returning char*.

c - what's the meaning of this piece of code? void (signal(int sig, void (func)(int)))(int); - Stack Overflow

#include <signal.h>
void (*signal(int sig, void (*func)(int)))(int);

It's the declaration of a function taking an int and a pointer to a function (taking int returning void) and returning a pointer to a function (taking int and returning void).

Explanation, or guide to interpretation

You can interpret by treating everything in parentheses as a single entity and then working inwards using the "declaration follows usage" rule.

void (*signal(int sig, void (*func)(int)))(int);

The entity in the brackets looks like a function taking int and returning void.

Stripping away the outer part:

*signal(int sig, void (*func)(int))

So, signal takes some parameters and returns something that can be dereferenced (due to the leading *) to form a function taking int and returning void.

This means signal is a function returning a pointer to a function (taking int and returning void).
Looking at the parameters it takes an int (i.e. sig) and void (*func)(int) which is a pointer to a function (taking int and returning void).

The guy deserves the 128 thousand points of reputation.