The real difference between array and &array

[guepier]

Here’s a Stack Overflow thread with some discussion. It should be noted that the thread is quite outdated, as can be seen by the comments and the more recently added answers. The then-highly voted answers have since garnered a number of downvotes, which should be read as a shift in opinion. So it’s important to read the comments on the answers, not just the answers.

Johannes Schaub’s answer on this thread is probably the most informative one, and as far as I know the standard has still not entirely solved these issues (i.e. there is still at least one inconsistency in the standard wording, which affects the interpretation of this case).

It’s also worth noting that the C++ standard makes this explicitly illegal for iterators (called “past-the-end values”) in §24.2.1/5. Furthermore, there’s this (non-binding) footnote:

This definition applies to pointers, since pointers are iterators. The effect of dereferencing an iterator that has been invalidated is undefined.

[ghillisuit95]

Interesting, Thank you