Question

With C++, I struggle to understand one compilation error.
I have this function, with this given signature:

void MethodNMMS::tryNMSA(double factor, double temperature,double& funcWorst,int& iWorst,      double& funcTry, double* funcEvals)
{
     //...
}

My question concerns argument double& functry (for instance). I call this function tryNMSA() in another function, and I would like functry to be modified during execution of this function. That is why I pass by reference.

Here is the function call:

// other initializations for funcEvals...
double funcTry = 0;
tryNMSA(-1.0,temperature,funcWorst,iWorst,&funcTry,funcEvals);

I put this ampershead because I do want to pass the thing by reference. And that is not permitted. What is wrong, why?

Thanks and regards.

Answer 1

You should not put an ampersand there, as doing so gives a pointer, not a reference to funcTry. Getting a reference to a variable doesn’t require any special symbols or operators – just use the name of the variable.