YouTipReturning Values By Reference
# C++ Returning Values by Reference
[ C++ References](#)
Using references instead of pointers makes C++ programs easier to read and maintain. C++ functions can return a reference in a similar way to returning a pointer.
When a function returns a reference, it returns an implicit pointer to the return value. This allows the function to be placed on the left side of an assignment statement. For example, consider the following simple program:
## Example
```cpp
#include
using namespace std;
double vals[] = {10.1, 12.6, 33.1, 24.1, 50.0};
double& setValues(int i) {
double& ref = vals;
return ref; // Return a reference to the i-th element. ref is a reference variable, ref refers to vals
}
// Main function to call the above defined function.
int main() {
cout << "Values before change" << endl;
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
cout << "vals[" << i << "] = ";
cout << vals << endl;
}
setValues(1) = 20.23; // Change the 2nd element
setValues(3) = 70.8; // Change the 4th element
cout << "Values after change" << endl;
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
cout << "vals[" << i << "] = ";
cout << vals << endl;
}
return 0;
}
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result:
Values before change
vals = 10.1
vals = 12.6
vals = 33.1
vals = 24.1
vals = 50
Values after change
vals = 10.1
vals = 20.23
vals = 33.1
vals = 70.8
vals = 50
When returning a reference, be careful that the object being referred to does not go out of scope. So returning a reference to a local variable is not legal, but it is possible to return a reference to a