Editing Reference (C++) (section)

{{Short description|Datatype in C++}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2013}}
In the [[C++]] [[programming language]], a '''reference''' is a simple [[reference (computer science)|reference]] datatype that is less powerful but safer than the [[Pointer (computer programming)|pointer]] type inherited from [[C (programming language)|C]]. The name ''C++ reference'' may cause confusion, as in computer science a reference is a general concept datatype, with ''pointers'' and ''C++ references'' being specific reference datatype implementations. The definition of a reference in C++ is such that it does not need to exist. It can be implemented as a new name for an existing object (similar to rename keyword in Ada).