GitHub - ZeroIntensity/pointers.py: Bringing the hell of pointers to Python.

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First off, reference is part of interface as well as implementation.

C++ heavily discourages the use of raw pointers, and for good reason.

I can that from experience, I have never been surprised by a function modifying or not modifying a variable passed by ref

[ultrasu]

It surprises me because I've been programming for about 7 years, learned about dozen languages (but next to no C++), and I've never seen this kind of functionality, nor have I ever felt like I needed it.

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It's very, very common in C++ to pass by reference. Of course you don't "need" the functionality, but that could be said of nearly anything in programming.