C++ Primer Plus

References as Function Parameters

Most often, references are used as function parameters, making a variable name in a function an alias for a variable in the calling program. This method of passing arguments is called passing by reference. Passing by reference allows a called function to access variables in the calling function. C++’s addition of the feature is a break from C, which only passes by value. Passing by value, recall, results in the called function working with copies of values from the calling program (see Figure 8.2). Of course, C lets you get around the passing by value limitation by using pointers.

Figure 8.2. Passing by value and passing by reference.

Let’s compare using references and using pointers in a common computer problem: ...