Why is a pointer to a returned reference not possible?

Question

Why can't this work? toBeEvolved is a std::vector, .getIndividual returns an element

Individual& EvolutionaryAlgorithm::tournamentSelection(unsigned int i)
{
    return toBeEvolved.getIndividual(i);
}

Individual* in2 = tournamentSelection(0);

Compile Time Error: No viable conversion from 'Individual' to 'Individual*'

Im trying to set a pointer to an element through this function. — Vincent, Sep 23 '16 at 23:58
I think the fact that references are often implemented as implicit pointers is confusing the OP. — Jeffrey Hantin, Sep 24 '16 at 00:14

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:06

You need to take the address of the reference in order to convert it to a pointer. Even though you may know that the reference is handled as a pointer by the compiler "behind the scenes", there is no explicit requirement in the language that references be implemented as pointer variables, and you will still need to use an explicit & operator to tell it you want the address as a pointer. So:

Individual* in2 = &tournamentSelection(0);

Other posters have gone into much greater depth on the distinction between pointers and references.

Why is a pointer to a returned reference not possible?

1 Answers1