Difference between passing value in function by int ** a and int & a

Question

Is there any difference if i pass int **a in any function and at same place i pass int& a , will both create any difference?. Ex

Bool issafe(int**arr, intx, int y)

Bool issafe(int& arr, intx, int y)

Answer 1

There is a lot of difference between the '*' notation and '&' notation.

Let us have a look at what both mean, in a general sense and little bit of technical detail.

Reference Operator (&)

&x simply means Address of x . It will be a an address value, often represented in hexadecimal notation.

It is often used to pass by reference in functions: func(int &x, char a); This will pass x by reference, but a by value.

Dereference Operator (*)

*p means Pointer to a memory address . We may assign an address to this pointer using the following format:

int *p = x

or

int *p; p = &x

Once the pointer is pointing to an address, *p and x can be used interchangeable through the rest of the program.

Double Dereferencing

Usage of ** occurs when we need a pointer to a pointer.

For example, if we need to make aa 2D Array, we can use the ** notation.

One pointer points to the first element of the first row in the matrix, while the other pointer points to the first row in the list of rows .

Thus, to answer your question in a few conclusive words: Yes, there is a big difference in int ** a and int & a , so much so that they go one level beyond being opposites like * and & .