does Trie*& and Trie** means Same?

Question

class Trie
{
public:
    bool isLeaf;
    Trie* character[CHAR_SIZE];

    // Constructor
    Trie()
    {
        this->isLeaf = false;

        for (int i = 0; i < CHAR_SIZE; i++)
            this->character[i] = nullptr;
    }

    void insert(std::string);
    bool deletion(Trie*&, std::string);
    bool search(std::string);
    bool haveChildren(Trie const*);
};

In here does Trie*& and Trie** means Same?

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 14 '20 at 21:43

No, they are not the same. Trie*& is a reference to a (Trie-)pointer, Trie** is a pointer to a (Trie-)pointer. To illustrate the difference, consider this:

void test_a(int*& refToPtr)
{
    refToPtr = new int();
    *refToPtr = 123;
}

To achieve the same using int**, your function would look like:

void test_b(int** ptrToPtr)
{
    *ptrToPtr = new int();
    **ptrToPtr = 123;
}

One difference to keep in mind is that you can locally change ptrToPtr (so you can change to which pointer variable ptrToPtr points). With refToPtr being a reference, it is impossible to locally change to which pointer variable refToPtr refers.

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 14 '20 at 21:34

0

No, they are not the same.

In here does Trie*& and Trie** means Same?

Trie*&: is a reference to pointer.
Trie**: is pointer to pointer.

For more information, you can take a look at

edited Aug 14 '20 at 21:34

Dharman

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answered Aug 14 '20 at 20:01

ibra

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does Trie*& and Trie** means Same?

2 Answers2