On Sun, 9 Feb 2025 10:46:03 -0800 Linus Torvalds <torvalds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On Sun, 9 Feb 2025 at 10:40, Linus Torvalds > <torvalds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > It's *really* easy to miss the "oh, that changes X" when the only > > little tiny sign of it is that "&" character inside the argument list, > > and then the *normal* mental model is that arguments are arguments > > *to* the function, not returns *from* the function. > > While I'm ranting, this is just another case of "C++ really got this > very very wrong". > > C++ made pass-by-reference really easy, and removed the need for even > that tiny marker in the caller. > > So then you really can't even visually see that "oh, that call changes > its argument", and have to just know. Or make a habit of appending '+ 0' to every argument :-) > > Linus
