Passing parameters by references in C++

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We have discussed how we implement call by reference concept using pointers. Here is another example of call by reference which makes use of C++ reference −

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
 
// function declaration
void swap(int& x, int& y);
 
int main () {
   // local variable declaration:
   int a = 100;
   int b = 200;
 
   cout << "Before swap, value of a :" << a << endl;
   cout << "Before swap, value of b :" << b << endl;
 
   /* calling a function to swap the values.*/
   swap(a, b);
 
   cout << "After swap, value of a :" << a << endl;
   cout << "After swap, value of b :" << b << endl;
 
   return 0;
}
 
// function definition to swap the values.
void swap(int& x, int& y) {

   int temp;
   temp = x; /* save the value at address x */
   x = y;    /* put y into x */
   y = temp; /* put x into y */
  
   return;
}

When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −

Before swap, value of a :100
Before swap, value of b :200
After swap, value of a :200
After swap, value of b :100