backstop | HTTP service for submitting metrics to Graphite | Analytics library

If pointer points to a particular datatype, how does compiler knows (translates) all the properties (size,..., what are the others?) of that specific datatype?

If I have for example:

char* foo[] = {"abc", "123", "def"};, then the compiler must make double pointer (pointer to pointer) in order to have this array (of addresses) of arrays (of chars). But why is not rather datatype void* (as it is addressing -address datatype is void - to string), instead of datatype char?

As how i understand it right now - no matter how many address it has to dereference (char**, char***, ...), the datatype declared is for the VALUE finally find. So I understand it as a 'backstop' in the path, by finding the actual value by inspecting the final value size. So once the compiler derefence all the references - the path it makes - then it ONLY knows it find the value, because it is one byte long and terminated by null character - as char is (instead of continue dereferencing an address, which is 8 bytes long).

So the question is, how does compiler know a particular datatype. On what property does compiler decide what it is and how long it is. Does it make decision on something else? Or Is my conception correct?

PS: pointer arithmetic is not needed in this example.