title: Is there a difference between int& a and int &a?
body: <p>This code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>int a = 5;
  int&amp; b = a;
  b = 7;
  cout &lt;&lt; a;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>prints out 7, and replacing <code>int&amp; b</code> with <code>int &amp;b</code> also prints out 7.</p>
  
  <p>In fact so does <code>int&amp;b</code> and <code>int &amp; b</code>.</p>
  
  <p>I tested this kind of behavior with a simple class as well. In general, does it ever matter whether the ampersand is placed relative to the type and identifier? Thanks.</p>