reference

references,, if i make a reference..does that mean that all im doing is making something that shares the same address? this isnt clearly stated in any tutorials im doing

Code:

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int  var;
int &ref = var;

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Yes.

Code:

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#include <iostream>

int main (void) {
    int  var = 42;
    int& ref = var;
   
    std::cout << "Address of var: " << &var
              << "\nAddress of ref: " << &ref
              << "\n\nValue of var: " << var
              << "\nValue of ref: " << ref;
    return 0;
}


/*
Address of var: 0x22ff74
Address of ref: 0x22ff74

Value of var: 42
Value of ref: 42
*/

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And is of the same type, yes.

That way you could use ref and var from your example interchangeably.

References are most often used in functions to take an object as an arguement, without making a copy of it.

Right.

The most common use of references is when function must change more than one variable. Most beginning books will show a Swap(X,Y) example, where the function swaps the X & Y values. In order to do that, you need to use references or pointers.

It's often useful to pass a reference to an array or structure into a function so that your function can change any of the variables in the array/structure.

Pointers and references both allow a function to "get to" the actual variable in memory. The syntax for references is simpler than pointers. And when you have a choice, references are generaly preferred over pointers.