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C++ programmers strongly prefer references to pointers. References are cleaner and easier to use, and they do a better job of hiding information.
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References cannot be reassigned, however. If you need to point first to one object and then another, you must use a pointer. References cannot be null, so if there is any chance that the object in question may be null, you must not use a reference. You must use a pointer
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this was borrowed from "teach yourself c++ in 21 days"
while passing by value is another story, as it copy the value to a new variable of the same type and let the function deal with the copy not with the original variable, so it doesnt affect the original variable you pass to it
i hope its clear for u
