Pass by pointer & Pass by reference [duplicate]

Answer 1

A reference is semantically the following:

T& <=> *(T * const)

const T& <=> *(T const * const)

T&& <=> [no C equivalent] (C++11)

As with other answers, the following from the C++ FAQ is the one-line answer: references when possible, pointers when needed.

An advantage over pointers is that you need explicit casting in order to pass NULL. It's still possible, though. Of the compilers I've tested, none emit a warning for the following:

int* p() {
    return 0;
}
void x(int& y) {
  y = 1;
}
int main() {
   x(*p());
}

Answer 2

In fact, most compilers emit the same code for both functions calls, because references are generally implemented using pointers.

Following this logic, when an argument of (non-const) reference type is used in the function body, the generated code will just silently operate on the address of the argument and it will dereference it. In addition, when a call to such a function is encountered, the compiler will generate code that passes the address of the arguments instead of copying their value.

Basically, references and pointers are not very different from an implementation point of view, the main (and very important) difference is in the philosophy: a reference is the object itself, just with a different name.

References have a couple more advantages compared to pointers (e. g. they can't be NULL, so they are safer to use). Consequently, if you can use C++, then passing by reference is generally considered more elegant and it should be preferred. However, in C, there's no passing by reference, so if you want to write C code (or, horribile dictu, code that compiles with both a C and a C++ compiler, albeit that's not a good idea), you'll have to restrict yourself to using pointers.

Answer 3

Pass by pointer is the only way you could pass "by reference" in C, so you still see it used quite a bit.

The NULL pointer is a handy convention for saying a parameter is unused or not valid, so use a pointer in that case.

References can't be updated once they're set, so use a pointer if you ever need to reassign it.

Prefer a reference in every case where there isn't a good reason not to. Make it const if you can.

Answer 4

Use references all the time and pointers only when you have to refer to NULL which reference cannot refer.

See this FAQ : http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/references.html#faq-8.6

Answer 5

Here is a good article on the matter - "Use references when you can, and pointers when you have to."