Can we reassign the reference in C++? - c++

I have read everywhere that a reference has to be initialized then and there and can't be re-initialized again.
To test my understanding, I have written the following small program. It seems as if I have actually succeeded in reassigning a reference. Can someone explain to me what is actually going on in my program?
#include <iostream>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <conio.h>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int i = 5, j = 9;
int &ri = i;
cout << " ri is : " << ri <<"\n";
i = 10;
cout << " ri is : " << ri << "\n";
ri = j; // >>> Is this not reassigning the reference? <<<
cout << " ri is : " << ri <<"\n";
getch();
return 0;
}
The code compiles fine and the output is as I expect:
ri is : 5
ri is : 10
ri is : 9

ri = j; // >>> Is this not reassigning the reference? <<<
No, ri is still a reference to i - you can prove this by printing &ri and &i and seeing they're the same address.
What you did is modify i through the reference ri. Print i after, and you'll see this.
Also, for comparison, if you create a const int &cri = i; it won't let you assign to that.

It seems as if I have actually succeeded in reassigning a reference.
Is that true?
No, you haven't. You are actually reassigning the value, and you are not rebinding the reference.
In your example, when you do int &ri = i;, ri is bound to i for its lifetime. When you do ri = j;, you are simply assigning the value of j to ri. ri still remains a reference to i! And it results in the same outcome as if you had instead written i = j;
If you understand pointers well, then always think of the reference as an analogical interpretation of T* const where T is any type.

When you assign something to a reference you actually assign the value to the object the reference is bound to. So this:
ri=j;
has the same effect as
i = j;
would have because ri is bound to i. So any action on ri is executed on i.

You cannot "reseat" a reference(https://isocpp.org/wiki/faq/references#reseating-refs).
One useful mantra with references in C++ is that the references are the object they refer to. Any change you make to it is to make change to what ever they refer to. Using the mantra you can probably see what's happening when you do ri = j, i now is j.

You are not reassigning the reference when executing ri = j;. You're actually assigning j to i. Try printing i after the line and you'll see that i changed value.

OP asked for altering the referenced object through assignment to the reference and was very correctly told that this changed the reference object, not the reference.
Now I did a more poignant attempt at really changing the reference and found potentially nasty stuff.
First the code. It attempts to reassign to the reference var a newly created object, then alters the reference aka referenced object, finds that this is not reflected in the apparently referenced objects and concludes that we may have a case of a dangling pointer in C++. Sorry for the hastily composed code.
using namespace std;
vector<int>myints;
auto &i = myints.emplace_back(); // allocate and reference new int in vector
auto myintsaddr = &myints; auto myintfrontaddr = &myints.front(); // for future reference
i = 1; // assign a value to the new int through reference
cout << hex << "address of i: 0x" << &i << " equals " << "address of
myints.back(): 0x" << &myints.back() << '.' << endl; // check reference as expected
i = myints.emplace_back(); // allocate new int in vector and assign to old reference variable
i = 2; // give another value to i
cout << "i=" << i << ", myints={" << myints[0] << ", "<< myints[1] << '}' << endl; // any change to potentially referenced objects?
cout << hex << "&i: 0x" << &i << " unequal to " << "&myints.back(): 0x" << &myints.back() << " as well as &myints.front(): 0x" << &myints.front() << endl;
cout << "Myints " << (myintsaddr== &myints?"not ":"") << "relocated from " << myintsaddr << " to " << &myints << endl;
cout << "Myints front() " << (myintfrontaddr == &myints.front() ? "not " : "") << "relocated from " << myintfrontaddr << " to " << &myints.front() << endl;
Output:
address of i: 0x0063C1A0 equals address of myints.back(): 0x0063C1A0.
i=2, myints={1, 0}
&i: 0x0063C1A0 unequal to &myints.back(): 0x0063F00C as well as &myints.front(): 0x0063F008
Myints not relocated from 0039FE48 to 0039FE48
Myints front() relocated from 0063C1A0 to 0063F008
Conclusion: at least in my case (VS2017) the reference has kept the exact same address in memory, but the referenced values (part of the vector) have been reallocated elsewhere. Reference i may be dangling.

In simple words,
ri = j; <- You are writing value of j in x(ri) memory. And ri will still hold or point to x.

Related

what is the difference between a normal reference and a read-only reference in c++ [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
What are the differences between a pointer variable and a reference variable?
(44 answers)
C++ Difference Between Const Reference to Non Const Object and Non Const Reference to Non Const Object
(6 answers)
Closed 3 years ago.
I'm new to C++ and I'm confused about the differences between a normal ordinary reference to a read-only reference. The following two points are from http://www.lmpt.univ-tours.fr/~volkov/C++.pdf.
A reference must be initialized when it is declared, and cannot be modified subsequently. In other words, you cannot use the reference to address a different variable at a later stage.
A reference that addresses a constant object must be a constant itself, that is, it must be defined using the const keyword to avoid modifying the object by reference.
I was wondering, how to understand it? A normal reference is different to a read-only (or constant) reference; because a read-only reference can point to a constant object, in contrast to a normal reference. But the above two points are really confusing...Especially, "a reference must be initialized when it is declared, and cannot be modified later".
EDIT: sorry that I did not make it clear earlier. What I intended to ask is that, what is the difference between a normal reference and a read-only reference? It has nothing to do with pointers for now.
EDIT again: I finally figure it out. For completeness, the following is the code and comments.
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
int main(){
string line(50, '-');
/* a constant reference, non-constant object */
int i=42; // a non-constant object
const int& r1 =i; // a constant reference r1, which reference the earlier defined variable i
//r1 = 6*9; // Error: tried to change the reference r1
i = 50;
cout << "r1: " << r1 << endl;
cout << "i: " << i << endl;
/* a constant reference, constant object */
const int j = 40;
// int& r2 = j; // Error, because j is a constant, it requires a constant reference
const int& r2 = j;
// j = 45; // Error, because j is a constant
//r2 = 20; // Error, because r2 is a constant reference
/* non constant reference, non constant object */
int k = 30;
int& r3 = k;
r3 = 10; // update
cout << "r3: " << r3 << endl;
cout << "k: " << k << endl;
cout << line << endl;
k = 40; // update
cout << "r3: " << r3 << endl;
cout << "k: " << k << endl;
return 0;
}
EDIT again again: Now, I'm confused with "a reference must be initialized when it is defined, and cannot be modified later".
/* how to understand a reference can not be used to address a different variable */
int a = 1;
int b = 2;
int& r = a; // r is a reference, which references variable (object) a
r = b; // expect an error, but did not get an error
cout<< "a: " << a << endl; //2
cout<< "b: " << a << endl; //2
cout<< "r: " << a << endl; //2

Pointer Syntax Within Condition

After a pointer is initialized, do you have to use the * dereference operator to call the pointer in a condition?
Example:
int main()
{
int var = 10;
int *ptr = &var;
if(ptr) // does this need to be if(*ptr) ???
{.......}
}
And can I have a short explanation as to why?
Thank you.
if (ptr)
check if the pointer is not Null but
if (*ptr)
check if the value it points to is not zero (in this example is 10)
So for checking the value you shoud add *.
It depends on what you want to do.
if(ptr) checks if the pointer value is nullptr or not. Note that this is shorthand for if(ptr != nullptr).
if(*ptr) checks if what the pointer points to is nullptr (or 0) - and in that case, since you dereference (follow) the pointer to answer the question, the pointer itself had better not be nullptr in that case.
First of all, a pointer is only a variable. However, there are different contexts in which you can use it.
As any other variable you can access the pointers content (which is the adress of the underlying memory) as follows:
int i = 1;
int * p = &i;
std::cout << p << std::endl
this would output the adress of i since this is what is stored in p
If you however want to access the content of the underlying memory (the value of i), you need to dereference the pointer first by using the * operator:
std::cout << *p << std::endl;
This would print the value of iso 1.
of course you can also access the pointer's adress (since the adress of i is a numeric value as well and needs to be stored somewhere too):
std::cout << &p << std::endl;
That would output the adress of p so the adress where the adress of i is stored :)
As a little example try to run this code:
#include <iostream>
int main() {
int i = 1;
int * p = &i;
std::cout << "Value of i(i): " << i << std::endl
<< "Adress of i(&i): " << &i << std::endl
<< "Value of p(p): " << p << std::endl
<< "Dereferenced p(*p): " << *p << std::endl
<< "Adress of p(&p): " << &p << std::endl
<< "Dereferenced adress of p(*(&p)): " << *(&p) << std::endl;
}

Passing around an object in C++ by reference [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
What are the differences between a pointer variable and a reference variable?
(44 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
I have objects that I put into a std::vector. Later on I need to iterate through the vector and change some member variables in the objects in each position.
I think I want to pass the object once I have it by reference to a function to operate on it, but I seem to be getting an error:
Non-const lvalue reference to type 'Object' cannot bind to a value of unrelated type 'Object *'
Here is the general gist with code between omitted:
Object* o1 = Object::createWithLocation(p.x, p.y);
v.push_back(o1);
// later on
for (int f=0; f < v.size(); f++)
{
Object* obj1 = v.at(f);
addChild(h->createLayer(obj1), 3); // add the HUD
}
createLayer is defined at:
static PlantingHUD* createLayer(Object &o);
Can anyone explain my confusion between pointers and passing by reference? Do I have to do a cast of some sort?
static PlantingHUD* createLayer(Object &o);
this method need a reference to Object as the parameter,
but your input is a pointer.
Object* obj1 = v.at(f);
addChild(h->createLayer(obj1), 3); // add the HUD
That's the problem.
void foo(Object o)
Declares a function, foo, which will begin execution with a fresh, new, instance of class 'Object' called 'o'.
This is called "passing by value", but it's more accurately 'copying' because what foo receives is it's own, personal copy of the Object instances we call foo with. When "foo" ends, the "Object o" it knew, fed and put through school, will cease to be.
void foo(Object& o)
Declares a function, foo, which will begin executing with a reference to an existing instance of an 'Object', this reference will be called 'o'. If you poke or prod it, you will be changing the original.
This is called "pass by reference".
void foo(Object* o)
Declares a function, foo, which will begin executing with a variable, called "o", containing the address of what is supposed to be an instance of "Object". If you change this variable, by doing something like "o = nullptr", it will only affect the way things look inside foo. But if you send Samuel L Jackson to the address, he can deliver furious vengance that lasts beyond the lifetime of foo.
void foo(Object*& o)
Declares a function, foo, which will begin executing with a variable called "o", which is a reference to a pointer to an instance of object o - it's like an alias, except that without compiler optimization, it's actually implemented by the compiler using a sort of pointer.
Lets try these separately.
#include <iostream>
#include <cstdint>
struct Object
{
int m_i;
void event(const char* what, const char* where)
{
std::cout <<
what<< " " << (void*)this <<
" value " << m_i <<
" via " << where <<
std::endl;
}
// Construct an object with a specific value.
Object(int i) : m_i(i)
{
event("Constructed", "Operator(int i)");
}
// This is called the copy constructor, create one object from another.
Object(const Object& rhs) : m_i(rhs.m_i)
{
event("Constructed", "Operator(const Object&)");
}
// This is how to handle Object o1, o2; o1 = o2;
Object& operator=(const Object& rhs)
{
m_i = rhs.m_i;
event("Assigned", "operator=");
return *this;
}
// Handle destruction of an instance.
~Object() { event("Destructed", "~Object"); }
};
void foo1(Object o)
{
std::cout << "Entered foo1, my o has value " << o.m_i << std::endl;
// poke our local o
o.m_i += 42;
std::cout << "I changed o.m_i, it is " << o.m_i << std::endl;
}
void foo2(Object* o)
{
std::cout << "Foo2 starts with a pointer, it's value is " << (uintptr_t)o << std::endl;
std::cout << "That's an address: " << (void*)o << std::endl;
std::cout << "m_i of o has the value " << o->m_i << std::endl;
o->m_i += 42;
std::cout << "I've changed it tho, now it's " << o->m_i << std::endl;
}
void foo3(Object& o)
{
std::cout << "foo3 begins with a reference called o, " << std::endl <<
"which is sort of like a pointer but the compiler does some magic " << std::endl <<
"and we can use it like a local concrete object. " <<
std::endl <<
"Right now o.m_i is " << o.m_i <<
std::endl;
o.m_i += 42;
std::cout << "Only now, it is " << o.m_i << std::endl;
}
void foo4(Object*& o)
{
std::cout << "foo4 begins with a reference to a pointer, " << std::endl <<
"the pointer has the value " << (uintptr_t)o << " which is " <<
(void*)o <<
std::endl <<
"But the pointer points to an Object with m_i of " << o->m_i << std::endl <<
"which we accessed with '->' because the reference is to a pointer, " <<
"not to an Object." <<
std::endl;
o->m_i += 42;
std::cout << "I poked o's m_i and now it is " << o->m_i << std::endl;
// Now for something really dastardly.
o = new Object(999);
std::cout << "I just changed the local o to point to a new object, " <<
(uintptr_t)o << " or " << (void*)o << " with m_i " << o->m_i <<
std::endl;
}
int main()
{
std::cout << "Creating our first objects." << std::endl;
Object o1(100), o2(200);
std::cout << "Calling foo1 with o1" << std::endl;
foo1(o1);
std::cout << "back in main, o1.m_i is " << o1.m_i << std::endl;
std::cout << "Calling foo2 with &o1" << std::endl;
foo2(&o1);
std::cout << "back in main, o1.m_i is " << o1.m_i << std::endl;
std::cout << "Calling foo3(o2), which looks like the way we called foo1." << std::endl;
foo3(o2);
std::cout << "back in main, o2.m_i is " << o2.m_i << std::endl;
std::cout << "Creating our pointer." << std::endl;
Object* optr;
std::cout << "Setting it to point to 'o2'" << std::endl;
optr = &o2;
std::cout << "optr now has the value " << (uintptr_t)optr <<
" which is the address " << (void*)optr <<
" which points to an Object with m_i = " << optr->m_i <<
std::endl;
foo4(optr);
std::cout << "back in main, o2 has the value " << o2.m_i << std::endl <<
"and now optr has the value " << (uintptr_t)optr << std::endl <<
"and optr->m_i is now " << optr->m_i <<
std::endl;
if (optr != &o2)
delete optr; // otherwise we'd technically be leaking memory.
return 0;
}
Live demo on ideone.com.
Passing by Value
This term confuses people early in their C++ development because, in lay terms, it sounds like this is what "Object& foo" would do.
The term "pass by value" actually arises from what the language has to do to call such a function, to value-wise copy the whole of the original object/struct onto the stack or, in the case where a copy ctor is available, forward them to a value-wise constructor and recreate a copy of the original, value-by-value.
Pass-by-value should be used for most simple cases where you do not want side-effects on the values in your current scope from the function you are calling.
bool checkWidthdrawl(Dollars balance, Dollars amountToWithdraw)
{
// it's safe for me to change "balance" here because balance is mine
}
vs
bool checkWidthdrawl(Dollars& balance, Dollars amountToWithdraw)
{
balance -= amountToWithdraw;
if (balance < 0)
std::complaint << "My account seems to be missing $" << amountToWithdraw;
}
However, passing by reference can become expensive.
struct FourK { char a[1024], b[1024], c[1024], d[1024]; }
If you pass this around by value all day, you risk blowing up your stack at some point, as well as spending daft amounts of time copying all those bytes.
void foo(int i); // Unless you need to see the changes to i, this is perfectly fine.
void foo(FourK f); // Someone should hunt you down and yell "PEANUT" in your ear.
Passing by reference
References are really a contract over the pointer system that allow the language to ensure you're really talking about a concrete instance of an object, and thus allow you to refer to a pre-existing instance of a value outside of a function.
Of course, there are ways to break this, but the language tries very, very hard to make them difficult to do. For example, try adding this to the above code:
Object& makeObjectNotWar(int i)
{
Object thisObjectGoesAway(i);
return thisObjectGoesAway /*right about now*/;
}
You can also provide callers with an assurance that the function won't have any side effects on a variable with the "const" modifier.
void fooc(const Object& o)
{
o.m_i += 42; // Error
}
You can even use that within a function as a hint to yourself (and the compiler) that you don't want to accidentally change a value, here's a case where it can provide an optimization hint to the compiler:
std::vector<int> foo;
add1000valuesTo(foo);
const size_t fooSize = foo.size();
for (size_t i = 0; i < fooSize; ++i) {
// ... stuff you're sure won't decrease foo.size()
}
Without the const fooSize
for (size_t i = 0; i < foo.size(); ++i) {
The compiler has to start by assuming that "foo.size()" could be changed at any given iteration of the loop. It can probably figure out that it doesn't, but by giving it the hint, you've saved a little compile time, possibly improved your performance, and made it easier for a human to tell exactly what behavior you expected. Downside: If your loop does actually change the size of foo, you'll find out by bug reports :(
One last thing to know about pass-by-reference is that C++ references aren't protected or "ref counted". The language only promises that a reference will be valid for the duration of its scope, so long as you don't do anything stupid like, say, call something that deletes the object.
// Author intended this function to be called
// by the owner of a Dog.
void doneWithFoo(Dog& dog)
{
Dog* deadDog = &dog;
delete deadDog;
}
Rover& Babysitter::babysitDog(Dog& rover, int hours)
{
rover.feed(FeedType::Donut);
if (rover.pooped())
doneWithDog(rover);
// ...
return rover; // I have a bad feeling about this.
}
Obviously, you're not expecting "babysitDog" to result in the dog being disposed of. But bear in mind that because we passed in a reference, it to "babysitDog" that it's also gone from the caller too, and if that was using a reference... rover's dead, Dave, dead.
As with pointers, if you're going to store references beyond the scope in which you have access to them, then you become responsible for making sure the objects being referenced stick around or that the references are removed from the container before the objects do go away.

Postfix Operator Overloading Order [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Closed 11 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
Undefined Behavior and Sequence Points
I'm having trouble understanding the order of actions when overloading the postfix operator. Let's examine the two small examples below:
int i = 0;
std::cout << std::endl << "i: " << i;
i = ++i;
std::cout << std::endl << "i: " << i;
i = i++;
std::cout << std::endl << "i: " << i;
MyClass myObject;
std::cout << std::endl << "myObject: " << myObject.getMyValue();
myObject = ++myObject;
std::cout << std::endl << "myObject: " << myObject.getMyValue();
myObject = myObject++;
std::cout << std::endl << "myObject: " << myObject.getMyValue();
Two very different behaviors emerge. The output is as follows:
i: 0
i: 1
i: 2
myObject: 0
myObject: 1
myObject: 1
Different behavior, you see. Here's the outline of my overloaded-operator methods.
MyClass & MyClass::operator++ ()
{
++myValue;
return *this;
}
MyClass MyClass::operator++ (int postfixFlag)
{
MyClass myTemp(*this);
++myValue;
return myTemp;
}
Alright. Prefix makes sense. You increment whatever you need to, then return the same object, now modified, in case of assignment. But postfix is what's tripping me up. It's supposed to assign, then increment. Here we're self assigning. So with the built-in integer type, it makes sense. I assign i's value to itself, then i gets incremented. Fair enough. But let's say MyClass is a recreation of the int. It starts out at 0, gets prefix-incremented, and becomes 1. Then, the key line. myObject = myObject++. That's the same thing as myObject = myObject.operator++(int postfixFlag). It gets called. myTemp gets initialized with the value 1. It's incremented to 2. Then we return the temp. That works, if we're assigning to another object. But here I'm self-assigning, so after the increment to 2, myObject is set equal to the returned temp object initialized with the initial value, and we're back to 1! That makes sense. But it's a fundamentally different behavior.
How do I work around it? How does int do it? How is this method generally written? Do you have any comments about C++ behavior and design relating to this? Etc. I'm a little perplexed right now, since books and online examples always seem to use a variant on the method above.
Thanks for reading, and any input will be appreciated!
As others have said, with int the behaviour is undefined. But I thought I'd try to explain why for your MyClass it is not ever getting to 2.
The trick is that you are taking the following three steps in the postfix version:
Making a copy of this called myTemp (with myValue == 1).
Incrementing this->myValue (so myTemp.myValue == 1; this->myValue == 2).
Returning myTemp (with myValue == 1).
So you are modifying this, but the code that calls myObject++ is never going to see this again. It's only going to look at the value returned, which is a copy of the old myObject.
The code for operator++ is fine. The problem is how you are using it -- you shouldn't be writing the result of a pre-increment or post-increment back to the same variable (behaviour is undefined). Here is some code that might be more instructive:
int i = 0;
std::cout << "i: " << i << std::endl;
int j = ++i;
std::cout << "i: " << i << ", j: " << j << std::endl;
int k = i++;
std::cout << "i: " << i << ", k: " << k << std::endl;
MyClass myObject;
std::cout << "myObject: " << myObject.getMyValue() << std::endl;
MyClass myObject1 = ++myObject;
std::cout << "myObject: " << myObject.getMyValue()
<< ", myObject1: " << myObject1.getMyValue() << std::endl;
MyClass myObject2 = myObject++;
std::cout << "myObject: " << myObject.getMyValue()
<< ", myObject2: " << myObject2.getMyValue() << std::endl;
This prints:
i: 0
i: 1, j: 1
i: 2, k: 1
myObject: 0
myObject: 1, myObject1: 1
myObject: 2, myObject2: 1
I changed your code so that rather than assigning back to itself, it assigns to a fresh variable each time. Note that in both the int and the MyClass cases, the main variable (i/myObject) is incremented both times. However, in the pre-increment case, the fresh variable (j/myObject1) takes on the new value, while in the post-increment case, the fresh variable (k/myObject2) takes on the old value.
Edit: Just answering another part of the question, "How does int do it?" I assume this question means "what does the pre-increment and post-increment code look like in the int class, and how can I make mine the same?" The answer is, there is no "int class". int is a special built-in type in C++ and the compiler treats it specially. These types aren't defined with ordinary C++ code, they are hard-coded into the compiler.
Note: For anyone who wants to try this themselves, here is the code for MyClass that the question didn't include:
class MyClass
{
private:
int myValue;
public:
MyClass() : myValue(0) {}
int getMyValue() { return myValue; }
MyClass& operator++();
MyClass operator++(int postfixFlag);
};

"UnConsting" const value via pointer

First, sorry for possible question redundancy.
Doing some little experiments with C/C++ pointers in GCC I encountered this somewhat weird behaviour when bypassing constantness of value at the pointer address.
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
using namespace std;
const double number = 100;
//bypassing constantess of pointed-to value
double * pointer_to_value = (double *) &number;
*pointer_to_value += 200;
cout << "Adress of number: " << &number << "\tValue of number: " << number << endl <<
" Pointer value: " << pointer_to_value << "\tDereferencing pointer: " << *pointer_to_value;
return 0;
}
I would expect both form of checking the value yielding same results. Location of value is same in both cases. Program generates following output, however:
Adress of number: 0x22ff30 Value of number: 100
Pointer value: 0x22ff30 Dereferencing pointer: 300
Anyone capable of explaining?
Thanks in advance.
It's undefined behaivor.
It's irrelevant why exactly it happens (actually because the compiler inlines the value).
"UnConsting” const value via pointer is a Undefined Behavior.
So it is not posible to define a behavior not defined by the Standard.
Compiler optimization. Compiler doesn't expect you to try and trick it like that, it knows that the value is const, so it just cached it. Try to compile it without any optimization, and see if it makes any difference.
Generally the meaning of const is:
constant - the object shall not be modified. Attempt to do so results in undefined behavior. On most of the compilers it is compile-time error.
Compiler optimization. You can overcome that by adding volatile keyword to the variable.
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
using namespace std;
volatile const double number = 100;
//bypassing constantess of pointed-to value
double * pointer_to_value = (double *) &number;
*pointer_to_value += 200;
cout << "Adress of number: " << &number << "\tValue of number: " << number << endl <<
" Pointer value: " << pointer_to_value << "\tDereferencing pointer: " << *pointer_to_value;
return 0;
}
My guess is that gcc has done some optimizations on your behalf, replacing the reference to << number with << 100. Should be possible to verify by looking at the generated asm code.