What does 'return *this' mean in C++?

Question

I\'m converting a C++ program to C#, but this part has me confused. What does return *this mean?

template< EDemoCommands msgType, typename PB_OBJECT_TYPE          


        

Answer 1

In your particular case, you are returning the reference to 'this', since the return type of the function is a reference (&).

Speaking of the size of returned memory, it is the same as

virtual ::google::protobuf::Message* GetProtoMsg()  { return this; }

But the usage at call time differs.

At call time, you will call store the return value of the function by something like:

Message& m = GetProtoMsg();