Thread: Return by reference

>Can I run this code in C
No, C doesn't support references

-Prelude

You will need to use pointers, but even then the code will not work because the value that you are returning is that of a local variable that will go out of scope once the function exits. You would either want to pass a pointer to the variable you will be changing into the function, make the variable a global, or make the variable declaration within the function "static".

Code:

int& f() /* Returns a reference, invalid C */
{ 
  int x; 
  return x; /* Returns a local variable, incorrect C */
}

Code:

/* This is correct, but has a potential bug */
int *f ( void )
{
  static int x;
  return &x;
}

-Prelude

As already discussed,

int& f()
{
int x;
return x;
}

is incorrect C, because there don't exist references ( int& = reference to int ) in C, only in C++.