C++ trivia

Tristam MacDonald · 2014-01-22T21:02:19

Everyone knows that taking a reference to a temporary is a bad idea:int getX() { return 5; } int &x = getX();But how about a const reference?int getY() { return 10; } const int &y = getY();It turns out that unlike the first case, storing a const reference to a temporary actually extends the lifetime of the temporary to lifetime of the const reference (read Herb Sutter on the topic). Entertainingly enough, I learned this piece of C++ trivia when Coverity's static analysis tool tried to tell me that returning a const reference to a temporary was illegal. All I can say is yay for code checking tools that don't understand the C++ standard...

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Started by swiftcoder January 21, 2014 03:17 PM

9 comments, last by Paradigm Shifter 10 years, 3 months ago

Paradigm Shifter

5,832

January 22, 2014 09:02 PM

Also, knowing the probable effects of undefined behaviour is no substitute for REMOVING the undefined behaviour from the code. In a real interview I'd be saying "don't write code like that, this is what you should do instead...".

"Most people think, great God will come from the sky, take away everything, and make everybody feel high" - Bob Marley

C++ trivia

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C++ trivia

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