Returning Large Objects in Functions

Question

Compare the following two pieces of code, the first using a reference to a large object, and the second has the large object as the return value. The emphasis on a \"large o

Answer 1

A somewhat idiomatic solution would be:

std::auto_ptr getObjData()
{
  std::auto_ptr a(new LargeObj);
  a->fillWithData();
  return a;
}

int main()
{
  std::auto_ptr a(getObjData());
}