Return a “NULL” object if search result not found

Question

I\'m pretty new to C++ so I tend to design with a lot of Java-isms while I\'m learning. Anyway, in Java, if I had class with a \'search\' method that would return an object

Answer 1

If you want a NULL return value you need to use pointers instead of references.

References can't themselves be NULL.

(Note to the future comment posters: Yes you can have the address of a reference be NULL if you really really try to).

See my answer here for a list of differences between references and pointers.