What's so bad about ref parameters?

Question

I\'m faced with a situation that I think can only be solved by using a ref parameter. However, this will mean changing a method to always accept a ref parameter when I only

Answer 1

A ref parameter won't cause problems per se. It's a documented feature of the language.

However it could cause social problems. Specifically, clients of your API might not expect a ref parameter simply because it's rare. You might modify a reference that the client doesn't expect.

Of course you can argue that this is the client's fault for not reading your API spec, and that would be true. But sometimes it's best to reduce surprise. Writing good code isn't just about following the rules and documenting stuff, it's also about making something naturally obvious to a human user.