Call by reference vs Pointer argument
<blockquote>
  <p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
  <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2139224/how-to-pass-objects-to-functions-in-c"><strong>FAQ</strong>: How to pass objects to functions in C++?</a><br>
  <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/114180/pointer-vs-reference">Pointer vs. Reference</a>  </p>
</blockquote>



<p>Hi all,<br>
in c/c++,
we can pass a object as call by reference or passing pointer of the object.<br>
for example:<br>
i want to create a function which will take string vector as input and output a map that contains some value for each string. the return value of the function is bool, which indicate success or failure.</p>

<p><b>function (call by reference)</b><br/></p>

<pre>
bool calculateSomeValue( vector&lt;string&gt; input, map&lt;string, double&gt;& result)
{
//// bla bla bla
return true/false;
}
</pre>

<p><b>function (using pointer )</b></p>

<pre>
bool calculateSomeValue( vector&lt;string&gt; input, map&lt;string, double&gt;* result)
{
//// bla bla bla
return true/false;
}
</pre>

<p>which one is best? does any one have any idea of the pros and cons of these two options?</p>

<p>thanks in advance.</p>
