C++: What's the difference between a pointer and a reference?

[gopunk]

so pointers contain a memory address right? what do references contain? i know they're an "alias" but how does that work?

 

[linuxboy]

well, they're both objects that refer indirectly to another object.

the big difference is in the amount of control

you need to dereference a pointer with the * operator but you don't need to dereference & with any operator

it actually makes a bit of a difference when coding stuff like overloaded operators

of course then you get into null and const pointers.

In short, it doesn't really make a difference. Usually, it works out fine. Besides, use java and avoid all this crap 🙂

[edit]

just thought of something else. references can't be null. Pointers can be. That makes a difference. Say you need to pass an object to a function without allocating it any space. References have no null reference. This helps if you want to use an object in a function without testing if it exists. It saves a little hassle but these little things are easy to miss.

 

[HigherGround]

you can read the whole thing at embedded.com

 

[Molybedenum]

Actually, in C++, pointers and references are NOT objects.

A pointer is an integer that holds any memory address, including "null."
A reference is merely a pointer that holds the memory address of the beginning of an object or variable. You may pass anything by reference by using the "&."

A pointer is an actual datatype, whereas a reference is just a memory address.

 

[linuxboy]

oooh

good read 🙂