What is a reference?

[Fransje]

What exactly is a reference? What does it consist of? Contains it an address, just like a pointer?

[Zereo]

Google and searches are powerful things ;p

http://www.cplusplus.com/articles/1075fSEw/

and

http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_(C%2B%2B)

[Moschops]

It's another name for some object. You use it just like you would the object that it is another name for.

How it is implemented is not specified in the C++ standard. It may use pointers, it may not, but it is not and should not be treated like a pointer. It should be treated like another name for some exact same object.

[Fransje]

OK, thanks.