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

The difference here is relatively minor.

A reference cannot be NULL.

A nullpointer may be passed. Thus you can check if that happens and react accordingly.

I personally can't think of a real advantage of one of the two possibilities.