c++ initialize array with each element reference?

Question

I'm a c++ beginner, I want to initialize an array so that the element of the array is actually a reference to a variable.

string string_1;
string string_2;
string strings[2] = {&string_1, &string_2};

Is this allowed? So any operation done to the array will be applied to the variables string_1 and string_2 themselves?

Read up on "references" and "pointers" in C++. These are different things, and you can't have arrays of the former. — juanchopanza, Oct 04 '17 at 05:43
You might want to look at https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1164266/why-are-arrays-of-references-illegal — Pravar Jawalekar, Oct 04 '17 at 07:14

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 04 '17 at 06:18

3

You can simulate an array of references:

using s_ref = std::reference_wrapper<std::string>;
s_ref strings[] = { std::ref(string_1), std::ref(string_2) };

Or just use pointers (that's really what reference_wrapper does underneath).

answered Oct 04 '17 at 06:18

1 Answers1