Re: Returning a reference to a temporary object
Catalin Pitis wrote:
I have a piece of code looking like this:
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;
string foo()
{
return "Something";
}
int main( int, char*[])
{
const std::string& value = foo(); // This is the interest point
/// do something here....
return 0;
}
I've tested the code with MS VC 8.0 and it seems that allows
me to hold a const reference to a temporary object without
crashing (both debug and release targets).
However, is this allowed, according to the standard? Can I use
it like this?
First, the subject line is misleading. You're not returning a
reference to a temporary object anywhere. You're binding a
temporary object (not a reference to it) to a const reference.
This is legal; it also extends the lifetime of the temporary to
match that of the reference. (A special case in the lifetime of
temporaries, which normally are destructed at the end of the
full expression.)
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