Programming Forums > Application Development > C

gamesage · Oct 2nd, 2004, 8:57 AM

Okay, this may be a stupid question, but what advantages do pointers have over references? I'm reading Learn C++ in 21 Days and, from what I've seen so far, reference syntax is much easier than pointer syntax. Sorry if its a stupid question, I haven't gotten to the really advanced topics yet.

Ravilj · Oct 2nd, 2004, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Myself (to lazy to retype it)

References are used mainly for passing large structures to functions. When passing data to functions you have 2 options:
1. Pass by value
This passes a new instance of the variable to the function.
2. Pass by reference
This passes the address of the varaible to the function.

Passing by reference is more efficient as well as it still allows you to use the variables name with out having to worry about dereferencing it. References also allow you to change the data of the variable passed without having to return it. This can be a good thing and a bad thing so 'const' is often used in conjunction with references.

References are choosen above pointers for this reason since they are easier to use. Pointers are gernerally left for dynamically allocating memory and such and referencing dynamic objects.

References vs. Pointers

Benoit · Oct 2nd, 2004, 12:16 PM

All this programming stuff gets confusing :blink:

gamesage · Oct 2nd, 2004, 2:24 PM

Thanks, Ravilj. I actually looked in the C++ section for a topic like this before I posted. I guess I'm just blind. :blink: :ph34r:

Mjordan2nd · Oct 2nd, 2004, 2:26 PM

No! Programming is the greatest thing in the world, except maybe basketball. God I'm a nerd.

Benoit · Oct 2nd, 2004, 2:50 PM

Yes programming is the best thing in the world...So logical

Oct 2nd, 2004, 8:57 AM	#11
gamesage Programmer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	Okay, this may be a stupid question, but what advantages do pointers have over references? I'm reading Learn C++ in 21 Days and, from what I've seen so far, reference syntax is much easier than pointer syntax. Sorry if its a stupid question, I haven't gotten to the really advanced topics yet. __________________ Free Porn!!

Oct 2nd, 2004, 12:16 PM	#13
Benoit Expert Programmer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 556 Rep Power: 5	All this programming stuff gets confusing :blink: __________________ Johnny was a chemist's son but Johnny is no more, for what Johnny thought was H2O was H2SO4

Oct 2nd, 2004, 2:24 PM	#14
gamesage Programmer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 35 Rep Power: 0	Thanks, Ravilj. I actually looked in the C++ section for a topic like this before I posted. I guess I'm just blind. :blink: :ph34r: __________________ Free Porn!!

Oct 2nd, 2004, 2:26 PM	#15
Mjordan2nd The Supreme Ruler Join Date: May 2004 Location: Houston Posts: 1,476 Rep Power: 6	No! Programming is the greatest thing in the world, except maybe basketball. God I'm a nerd. __________________ "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Oct 2nd, 2004, 2:50 PM	#16
Benoit Expert Programmer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 556 Rep Power: 5	Yes programming is the best thing in the world...So logical __________________ Johnny was a chemist's son but Johnny is no more, for what Johnny thought was H2O was H2SO4

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Programming Forums > Application Development > C

The Very Basics Of Pointers