When should i use references, and when ought to use pointers, C/C++ Programming

Assignment Help:

A: Use references when you can use, and use pointers when you have to.

References are generally preferred over pointers whenever you don't require "reseating". Usually this means that references are most useful in class's public interface. Typically references appear on the skin of an object, & pointers on the inside.

The exception to the above is where a function's parameter or return value require a "sentinel" reference a reference which does not refer to an object. Usually this is best done by returning/taking a pointer, & giving the NULL pointer this special significance (references must always alias objects, not dereferenced NULL pointer).

Note: Old line C programmers sometimes don't like references as they provide reference semantics which isn't explicit in the caller's code. However, after some C++ experience, one quickly realizes it is a form of information hiding, which is an asset instead of a liability. E.g., programmers must write code in the language of the problem instead of the language of the machine.

 


Related Discussions:- When should i use references, and when ought to use pointers

Define the system oriented data files, Define the System Oriented Data File...

Define the System Oriented Data Files? System-oriented data files are further closely related to the computer's operating system than Stream- oriented data files and they are s

Word counting, Task Your task is to write a program, words, that reports i...

Task Your task is to write a program, words, that reports information about the number of words read from its standard input. For example, if the file qbf.txtcontains the text th

Explain the bit fields portable or not, Explain the  bit fields portable o...

Explain the  bit fields portable or not? - No, Bit fields aren't portable. - As Bit fields can't span machine words and number of bits in a machine word is different on diff

What is the conditional expression operator, The Conditional Expression Ope...

The Conditional Expression Operator An alternate method to using a simple if-else construct is the conditional expressions operator, ?:   A conditional expression operato

What are the different steps in executing a c program, Question 1 What are...

Question 1 What are the different steps in executing a C program? Explain Question 2 What are the commonly used input/output functions in C? How are they accessed?

Friendly function and rules of friend function, F r i e n dly Function...

F r i e n dly Function: A class can have public members and private members.   The public member can be used through the class using dot operator.   Where as private me

How to write program, how to write a program for all the types of beam reac...

how to write a program for all the types of beam reactions

Why php is also known as scripting language, Why PHP is also known as scrip...

Why PHP is also known as scripting language? PHP is fundamentally a general purpose language, which is used to write scripts. Scripts are normal computer files which comprises

code, direction[] = {L,R,R,L,L,R,R,R,R,L,Z} length[]= {2,2,1,1,1,2,5,2,2,3...

direction[] = {L,R,R,L,L,R,R,R,R,L,Z} length[]= {2,2,1,1,1,2,5,2,2,3,1}

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd