Explain call by reference, C/C++ Programming

Assignment Help:

Call by Reference

Passing variables(parameters) to a function in C can be done in two ways - pass by value, also called as call by value and pass by address or also known as call by address. C++ though , gives one more way to call a function - call by reference. In call by value , a copy of the actual contents of the variables is passed to the function. In this case, alters made to the formal variable , as they are called, are not reflected back in the calling function. Passing an address permits changes to be made directly to the memory, which are occupied by the actual variable.

Though, a call by address requires the formal variable to be considered as pointer and therefore the indirection operator has to be used with them. A reference on the other hand, is another name, for a previously explained variable. In other words, after a reference is explained for a particular variable, using its original name as well as the reference can refer to the variable. Hence, a reference is nothing but an alias.

 Thus not passing a copy (call by value) saves time and is efficient. It does not have to make a temporary variable /. And not passing the address(call by address), eliminates the use of pointers in the called functions. But, at the same time, the changes made to a formal variable , using its reference or alias can be reflected back in the calling function.

 


Related Discussions:- Explain call by reference

How can i provide printing for whole hierarchy of classes?, A: Provide a fr...

A: Provide a friend operator class Base { public: friend std::ostream& operator ... protected: virtual void printOn(std::ostream& o) const; }; inline std::ostr

Program that computes square matrix multiplication, Goal: Design a progr...

Goal: Design a program that computes square matrix multiplication on GPU using CUDA. Write the code in C. In particular, your implementation should obey the following requiremen

Usb photobackup, Project Description: Prepare software that will work with ...

Project Description: Prepare software that will work with our USB hardware that easily lets you backup all the pictures in your computer into the USB stick in one single step. Once

What is b-tree, B-tree: A B-tree is an also called balanced m-way tree. A ...

B-tree: A B-tree is an also called balanced m-way tree. A node of the tree may have many records or key and pointers to children. It is also called as the balanced sort tree. It s

Area under curve, write a program to find the area under curve y=f(x) betwe...

write a program to find the area under curve y=f(x) between x=a and x=b,integrate y=f(x) between the limits a and b

Flowchart, questiCreate a flowchart that displays the student''''s average ...

questiCreate a flowchart that displays the student''''s average score for three quizzes. + Assume that there are 3 sections each having 5 students + The only valid number to be en

Main-elipse -vector-arrays in cpp , Unlike C++, other programming languages...

Unlike C++, other programming languages have associative arrays that allow array indices to be strings instead of just integers. You are to create a template class, SVector, that i

Need to fix a code written in c++, Need to Fix a code written in c++,SDL2.0...

Need to Fix a code written in c++,SDL2.00 for high CPU and memory leak There is a 2D simple game written with SDL2.00 using c++. The game isn't complete and the code is a little

Develop a motion sensor in altera control, Develop a Motion sensor in Alter...

Develop a Motion sensor in Altera control Project Description: I want a project written in c using Altera eclipse development tool, that controls a motion sensor ( SRF05 ) fr

Accessibility, What are the legal requirements with which websites must com...

What are the legal requirements with which websites must comply in order to meet the needs of persons with disabilities? Why is maximizing accessibility important to everyone?

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd