CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++variablesreferencedeclaration
Sadjad
Sadjad

Reputation: 23

change variable to reference even if it was not declared as reference

In C++ I can make myReference be a reference of myValue by using & in the declaration of myReference:

int myValue = 123;
int& myReference = myValue;

But if I declare a variable without &, can I later still make it hold the reference to the value of another variable rather than a copy of that value? In other words: Is it possible to change the address of a (non-pointer) variable to the address of another variable, so they both point to the same value? Or is that only possible with pointers?

Cheers, Sadjad

Upvotes: 2

Views: 1006

Answers (2)

Mark B
Mark B

Reputation: 96243

You can't do this in C++ (a reference must be declared as a reference, and immediately bound to a variable).

If you give us more context on what you are really trying to do here we can offer specific suggestions.

Upvotes: 3

filmor
filmor

Reputation: 32182

This is not possible. You have to remember that things like types don't exist on the machine-level, so they don't exist during the execution of your program, and variables and references behave very differently.

Upvotes: 2

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