Passing a modifiable parameter to c++ function

Question

Provided, I want to pass a modifiable parameter to a function, what should I choose: to pass it by pointer or to pass it by reference?

1. bool GetFoo ( Foo& w

Answer 1

I'd recommend that you consider (may not be best for every situation) returning Foo from the function rather than modifying a parameter. Your function prototype would look like this:

Foo GetFoo() // const (if a member function)

As you appear to be returning a success/failure flag, using an exception might be a better strategy.

Advantages:

• You avoid all of the pointer/reference issues
• Simplifies life for the caller. Can pass the return value to other functions without using a local variable, for example.
• Caller cannot ignore error status if you throw an exception.
• Return value optimization means that it may be as efficient as modifying a parameter.