Question

I always thought they were about the same thing but someone pointed me out in one of my answers that such ain’t quite true.

Edit: Here is what I said and the comment I got.
Edit2:
What’s the difference between C++’s:

public: void foo(int& bar);

and C#’s

public void foo(ref int bar){

} 

Answer 1

In C#, you have primitive types (ints, structs, etc.) and reference types (objects). These are built in to the language. In C++, you have to be explicit. Here is a set of equivalent ways of referring to objects in C# and C++, based on whether they are reference types or primitives, and whether or not you’re using ref:

C# type                     | C++ Type
----------------------------+---------
Primitive type, with no ref | Normal parameter passing
Reference type, with no ref | Pointer (*)
Primitive type, with ref    | Reference (&)
Reference type, with ref    | Reference of a pointer (&*)