References Vs Pointers...

Reading through the thread on templates, it got me thinking about when should I use pointers or references. As you may know I am currently at the stage learning about pointers.

The way I see it, as a novice, is that I should use references wherever possible unless I directly have to manipulate memory? So, on the whole, I would pass function parameters by reference, etc.

Is this correct or a very over simplistic view?

Thanks,

Darren.

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The way I see it, as a novice, is that I should use references wherever possible unless I directly have to manipulate memory?

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I'd do that at any level of skill.
There is one school of thought that says you should use pointers for all possibly changing arguments, because taking the address at the call site makes it clear that this argument may get changed. But I'm not of that school.

Okay, thanks. I think I will stick with references where possible and revert to pointers where absolutely necessary.

Cheers.

[8] References, C++ FAQ Lite

This might help.