C++ Difference between std::ref(T) and T&?

I have some questions regarding this program:

#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <functional>
using namespace std;
template <typename T> void foo ( T x )
{
    auto r=ref(x);
    cout<<boolalpha;
    cout<<is_same<T&,decltype(r)>::value;
}
int main()
{
    int x=5;
    foo (x);
    return 0;
}

The output is:

false

I want to know, if std::ref doesn't return the reference of an object, then what does it do? Basically, what is the difference between:

T x;
auto r = ref(x);

and

T x;
T &y = x;

Also, I want to know why does this difference exist? Why do we need std::ref or std::reference_wrapper when we have references (i.e. T&)?

Well ref constructs an object of the appropriate reference_wrapper type to hold a reference to an object. Which means when you apply:

auto r = ref(x);

This returns a reference_wrapper and not a direct reference to x (ie T&). This reference_wrapper (ie r) instead holds T&.

A reference_wrapper is very useful when you want to emulate a reference of an object which can be copied (it is both copy-constructible and copy-assignable).

In C++, once you create a reference (say y) to an object (say x), then y and x share the same base address. Furthermore, y cannot refer to any other object. Also you cannot create an array of references ie code like this will throw an error:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    int x=5, y=7, z=8;
    int& arr[] {x,y,z};    // error: declaration of 'arr' as array of references
    return 0;
}

However this is legal:

#include <iostream>
#include <functional>  // for reference_wrapper
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    int x=5, y=7, z=8;
    reference_wrapper<int> arr[] {x,y,z};
    for (auto a: arr)
        cout << a << " ";
    return 0;
}
/* OUTPUT:
5 7 8
*/

Talking about your problem with cout << is_same<T&,decltype(r)>::value;, the solution is:

cout << is_same<T&,decltype(r.get())>::value;  // will yield true

Let me show you a program:

#include <iostream>
#include <type_traits>
#include <functional>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    cout << boolalpha;
    int x=5, y=7;
    reference_wrapper<int> r=x;   // or auto r = ref(x);
    cout << is_same<int&, decltype(r.get())>::value << "\n";
    cout << (&x==&r.get()) << "\n";
    r=y;
    cout << (&y==&r.get()) << "\n";
    r.get()=70;
    cout << y;
    return 0;
}
/* Ouput:
true
true
true
70
*/

See here we get to know three things:

1. A reference_wrapper object (here r) can be used to create an array of references which was not possible with T&.

2. r actually acts like a real reference (see how r.get()=70 changed the value of y).

3. r is not same as T& but r.get() is. This means that r holds T& ie as its name suggests is a wrapper around a reference T&.

I hope this answer is more than enough to explain your doubts.

std::reference_wrapper is recognized by standard facilities to be able to pass objects by reference in pass-by-value contexts.

For example, std::bind can take in the std::ref() to something, transmit it by value, and unpacks it back into a reference later on.

void print(int i) {
    std::cout << i << '\n';
}

int main() {
    int i = 10;
    
    auto f1 = std::bind(print, i);
    auto f2 = std::bind(print, std::ref(i));
    
    i = 20;
    
    f1();
    f2();
}

This snippet outputs :

10
20

The value of i has been stored (taken by value) into f1 at the point it was initialized, but f2 has kept an std::reference_wrapper by value, and thus behaves like it took in an int&.

A reference (T& or T&&) is a special element in C++ language. It allows to manipulate an object by reference and has special use cases in the language. For example, you cannot create a standard container to hold references: vector<T&> is ill formed and generates a compilation error.

A std::reference_wrapper on the other hand is a C++ object able to hold a reference. As such, you can use it in standard containers.

std::ref is a standard function that returns a std::reference_wrapper on its argument. In the same idea, std::cref returns std::reference_wrapper to a const reference.

One interesting property of a std::reference_wrapper, is that it has an operator T& () const noexcept;. That means that even if it is a true object, it can be automatically converted to the reference that it is holding. So:

• as it is a copy assignable object, it can be used in containers or in other cases where references are not allowed
• thanks to its operator T& () const noexcept;, it can be used anywhere you could use a reference, because it will be automatically converted to it.

Added an example to show the difference in value you get when you pass the T& and ref(T) arguments in the bind function.

std::bind copies the argument provided unless it is passed by std::ref()/std::cref().

	void f(int r1, int& r2, int w1, int& w2)
	{
		std::cout << r1 << r2 << w1 << w2; // 5 5 10 10
		r1 = 9, r2 = 9, w1 = 9, w2 = 9;
	}

	int main()
	{
		int w1 = 5, w2 = 5, n1 = 5, n2 = 5;
		int& r1 = n1;
		int& r2 = n2;
		std::function<void()> bound_f = std::bind(f, r1, r2, std::ref(w1), std::ref(w2)); 
		r1 = 10, r2 = 10, w1 = 10, w2 = 10;
		bound_f(); 		                    //  5  5 10 10
		std::cout << r1 << r2 << w1 << w2;  // 10 10 10  9
	}