Can I call a copy constructor explicitly?

Question

I\'m a little confused as to the mechanics of the copy constructor. Correct me if I\'m wrong:

If a method takes a reference to an object as a parameter, and the class d

Answer 1

No, if a function take a reference:

void f1( Object & o );   // call by reference

then no copy is made. If a function takes a value:

void f2( Object o );   // call by value

then a copy is created by the compiler using the copy constructor.

And yes, when you say:

Object * obj = new Object(anotherObject);   // not &anotherObject

the copy constructor is used explicitly (assuming anotherObject is of type Object.) There is nothing magic about the use of new here, however - in this case:

Object obj2(anotherObject);

the copy constructor is also used.