What is a reference variable in C++?

Question

What would be a brief definition of a reference variable in C++?

Answer 1

A reference variable and a pointer variable are the exact same thing to the machine (the compiler will generate the same machine code).

The most obvious advantages of using a reference variable over a pointer variable in my knowledge:

1. Easy to understand (no address, de-reference all kinds of headache things)
2. Saves you a tiny bit of typing, adn thus probably less error-prone.

In the code below, the left side is using a reference variable, and the right side is using a pointer variable. They are the same thing to the machine, but you see the using reference variable saves you a little bit of typing.

Reference variable           Pointer variable
int a = 1;         ~~~~~~    int a = 1;
int &b = a;        ~~~~~~    int *b = &a;
b = 2;             ~~~~~~    *b = 2;
cout << a << '\n'  ~~~~~~    cout << a << '\n'
==============================================
2                  ~~~~~~    2